Qohelet

Debra Band draws upon her love of both the manuscript arts and the Jewish textual tradition in her acclaimed illuminated manuscripts. She is the author and illuminator of The Song of Songs: The Honeybee in the Garden (JPS, 2005), I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms (with Arnold J. Band) (JPS, 2007), Arise! Arise! Deborah, Ruth and Hannah (with Arnold J. Band) (Honeybee in the Garden, 2012), and Kabbalat Shabbat: The Grand Unification (with Raymond P. Scheindlin) (Honeybee in the Garden, 2016), among other works. Her paintings have been widely exhibited across the United States and Canada. She resides in Potomac, Maryland, with her husband, Michael Diamond, MD, and menagerie. Menachem Fisch is Joseph and Ceil Mazer Professor Emeritus of History and Philosophy of Science at Tel Aviv University, TAU codirector of the Frankfurt-Tel Aviv Center for Religious and Interreligious Studies, and senior fellow of the Goethe University Frankfurt's Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften. He is author of The View from Within: Normativity and the Limits of Self-Criticism (with Y. Benbaji) (Notre Dame, 2011), Creatively Undecided: Toward a History and Philosophy of Scientific Agency (Chicago, 2017), and Covenant of Confrontation: A Study of Non-Submissive Religiosity in Rabbinic Literature (Hebrew) (Bar-Ilan, 2019).

Foreword by Ellen F. Davis Preface by Moshe Halbertal Introduction by Menachem Fisch: Making Sense of Qohelet Introduction by Debra Band: Approaching the Book of Qohelet The Illuminations Frontispiece Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Commentary Materials 1 Introduction: Setting the Stage Commentaries on the Illuminations 2 Introduction: Dashed Dreams of a Lasting Achievement Commentaries on the Illuminations 3 Introduction: Qohelet's Great Turning Point Commentaries on the Illuminations 4 Introduction: The Politics of Cooperation Commentaries on the Illuminations 5 Introduction: Foolishness Multiplied: The Religious Dimension Commentaries on the Illuminations 6 Introduction: The Futility of Hindsight Commentary on the Illuminations 7 Introduction: Breaching the Limits of Self-Critique Commentaries on the Illuminations 8 Introduction: Knowing the Limits of One's Strength Commentaries on the Illuminations 9 Introduction: The Case against Hedonism Commentaries on the Illuminations 10 Introduction: A Fool's Dystopia Commentaries on the Illuminations 11 Introduction: The Beginning of an Optimistic End Commentary on the Illuminations 12 Introduction: When All Is Said and Done Commentaries on the Illuminations Afterword by Menachem Fisch Mysteries Dispelled: Qohelet in Biblical and Liturgical Context Key to Bible Translation Abbreviations

Illuminated manuscripts have a rich tradition to which this gem adds creatively. Not only does Debra Band's exquisite micrography, calligraphy, and artwork invite us to marinate in and meditate on Qohelet's suggestive composition, Menachem Fisch adds a unique and penetrating philosophical analysis. This work takes us from the ancient world of the Bible through medieval traditions of illumination and into a reading of Qohelet as a harbinger of post-modern thinking." - Peter A. Pettit, Teaching Pastor, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa"'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,' wrote the mysterious author of the biblical Qohelet-Ecclesiastes, in English, from the Greek. 'There is nothing new under the sun.' For generations, the meaning of this haunting outlier text seemed clear and even merciless: in its endless cycling, nothing in the cosmos lasts, so nothing matters. Even if God is real, human life is in the end unreal and can have no real purpose. Resignation is the only valid response: at best, 'living for the moment;' at worst, existential despair. But what if there were something new under the sun? In this fresh approach to Qohelet, philosopher Menachem Fisch and scholar-artist Debra Band radically re-vision a text whose interpretation was 'settled.' Through exciting exposition that ranges from the history of rabbinical thought to analytical philosophy to the pain of personal loss, and illumined by Band's glowing paintings, the authors return us to the original Hebrew word on which Qohelet pivots: hevel. When hevel is not read 'figuratively' but is restored to its literal meaning as 'vapor' or 'mist,' an unexpected theology is revealed. What if the text were never a meditation on absurdity after all, but instead 'a vivid portrayal of the limits of human knowledge?' These limits can inspire us to return to our deepest human challenge: how should we live? Fisch and Band show how we can take up the question again in fascination-and even more, in hope. An unforgettable book." - Kimberley C. Patton, Professor of the Comparative and Historical Study of Religion, Harvard Divinity School