The Right Train for a Genuine Life

"The wicked are called dead even while they live, the righteous are called alive even after their death" (Tractate Berachot 18b)

There are "living" lives and there are "dead" lives. There are "living" days and there are "dead" days. A dead day is one that has passed and is gone. A person wakes up, eats, drinks, accomplishes what they accomplish, enjoys what they enjoy, passes another day, and - that's it. That day is dead. Like a calendar from which you tear off a page and throw it away, tear off another page and throw it away, until it's empty. Thus a person burns away day after day, and what does he gain in the end? What do his life amount to? So many tons of food consumed, so many years (!) of sleep, so much money earned, and so much money spent [the difference between them is no longer his concern, it's the concern of his heirs], pleasures of various kinds that have passed and are gone.

"And I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity!" (Isaiah 49)

But there are different life journals than these! Journals where the pages are not torn out and thrown away, but filled and preserved, page after page, day after day, until they become an eternal life narrative. This is what was said about Abraham, the father of the Israeli nation: "And Abraham was old, advanced in days" - Abraham in his old age indeed took all his days with him, each and every day of his life remained alive and existing!

How? What does it depend on? Where lies the great difference?

This question is the life question of the wise person!

Here we have a modern, luxurious, and sophisticated car. A small child is impressed by the shine and the lights, by the horn sounds and the soft upholstery; his older brother is impressed by the powerful driving and excellent performance; the mechanic is impressed by the strong engine and the rich technical specifications; the car salesman will try to determine who the manufacturer is and who the importer is. But the driver holding the steering wheel - what should concern him more than all these? First and foremost, he needs to know how to drive the car and what destination he wants to reach! If he focuses only on the peripheral things - he won't get anywhere, and may even drive the car into an abyss. The sophisticated car will not justify its existence and will not achieve the purpose for which it was created.

Our lives on earth - they are special and wonderful. The superficial enjoy the very experience that life provides them, trying to extract all the pleasure - "Eat and drink for tomorrow we die!". The more serious try to explore the technical specifications, engage in various natural sciences, and make amazing discoveries. Spiritual people try to deal with more essential questions, to delve into the depths of phenomena, and develop various theories about the world. But the truly wise person asks first of all: Where is this leading me? What should I be doing? How should I navigate my life's path? How should I actually live?

King Solomon was the wisest of all men. His reign was a period of glory and flourishing for the Jewish people. Economically - "silver was not considered valuable in Solomon's days", "the king made silver in Jerusalem as common as stones" (1 Kings, Chapter 10). Politically - peace and tranquility prevailed in the land, many nations paid him taxes, and the renown of his wisdom spread throughout the world. Kings from all corners of the earth sent him honorary delegations and gifts. One could say he represented the 'peak of success' that a person could aspire to reach. In the book of 'Ecclesiastes' he expresses his inquiry - what does a person really gain from all this? What comes from all the successes, achievements, wealth, wisdom, honor - that a person manages to attain?

Anyone who studies the book of Ecclesiastes ['Ecclesiastes' is a title for King Solomon] will find this question crying out again and again from the lines!

"The words of Ecclesiastes, son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?! ... I, Ecclesiastes, was king over Israel in Jerusalem, and I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven... I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind... I communed with my heart, saying, Lo, I have acquired great wisdom, more than all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge... I searched in my heart... to see what good there is for the sons of men which they should do under the heaven all the days of their lives? I made my works great, I built myself houses, I planted myself vineyards, I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them... I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house... I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces, I acquired male and female singers... and the delights of the sons of men... So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and behold, all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun! Then I turned myself to consider wisdom... So I said in my heart, As it happens to the fool, it also happens to me, and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, This also is vanity!... Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind!... So I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun!... For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?!..." (Selected verses from chapters 1-2)

The question is powerful and penetrating: wealth, status, wisdom, impressive achievements, pleasures - what ultimately comes of all this?

And at the end of the book comes the answer - clear and sharp:

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear Hashem and keep His commandments, for this is man's all!"

This is the entirety of man. Period. It doesn't matter what you did in your life, what successes you achieved, how much money you earned, where you spent time and what pleasures you enjoyed, how much you weighed and how many calories you burned, what you ate and what you slept on, what job you worked at and what profession you chose. It's all tasteless, it's all marginal.

- Fear Hashem and keep His commandments - this is man's all!

The bottom line: If in your life you have merited to do Hashem's will, you've boarded the right train. Your life has fulfilled its purpose. Your life lives on and exists forever. You've "made a life," as they say. But a person whose life has passed without doing Hashem's will - then, unpleasant to say, the food he ate and the oxygen he wasted were squandered. Everything has passed, everything is dead.