Written by Rabbi Krebs, College Rabbi

This past Shabbat, during Chol Hamoed Sukkot, synagogues around the world read from the book of Ecclesiastes, Kohelet. This profound yet sombre work, composed by King Solomon, like his Proverbs, has gifted us with numerous powerful maxims—many of which have become timeless.

“All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full.” 

“Two are better than one… for if they fall, one will lift up his fellow, but woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.”

Perhaps the most well-known passage is one immortalised by The Byrds: “To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die… A time to kill, a time to heal; a time to laugh, a time to weep… a time to mourn, and a time to dance… a time of war, and a time of peace.”

In the original Hebrew, Solomon uses the prefix “lamed” (ל) to introduce the phrases, indicating “a time to live” and “a time to die.” Yet, when it comes to mourning and dancing, the text shifts to “a time of mourning and a time of dancing.” 

Our Rabbis have remarked on this shift, noting that while living and dying, or war and peace, are mutually exclusive, mourning and dancing are not.

They can, and at times must, coexist.

As we approach Simchat Torah this Thursday night, perhaps we can suggest that this year is such a year. It takes emotional depth to tolerate conflicting feelings, to carry the emotional extremes simultaneously. Yet we are living in a time that demands of us just that; greatness of spirit, courage of conviction, and the strength to dance through the tears.

May 5785 be a year of blessing and peace for our families, our community, and our people. 

Chag Sameach.