Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living

by Debra Band, Menachem Fisch

How to live a life of wisdom and fulfillment in a far-from-perfect world? Philosopher Menachem Fisch and artist Debra Band together probe Qohelet’s inquiry into the value of life "under the sun" in this brilliant work―the first illuminated manuscript of the entire biblical text, the first philosophical analysis tracing the coherent path of this biblical thinker’s full argument. Whereas modern readers influenced by the famous declaration "vanity, vanity, all is vanity" from the 1611 King James Bible have commonly understood that Qohelet found only futility and hopelessness in human life, Fisch restores the literal meaning, "vapor," to Qohelet’s key word, hevel , with implications that reveal Qohelet’s path to wisdom and even serenity. Through linguistic precision and careful unfolding of the book’s philosophical argument, Fisch uncovers Qohelet’s twin life is short, and situated as we are, far below the heavens, we can never be assured of comprehending our world, or understanding divine will and intent. He reveals Qohelet’s understanding that since we can never fully predict or understand our fortunes or the heritage we leave behind us, the best we can do is to live our lives fully, relating to others attentively, always aware of the limits of human life. In her glowing, immersive, and discursive illuminated paintings of the entire text, Band imagines Qohelet’s teachings, employing the grandest of palaces, the Alhambra, as the central metaphor for the beauty and impermanence of human life and accomplishments. She fills its halls and gardens with often surprising imagery, symbolism, and related poetry, creating a visual midrash that reveals the relationship of Qohelet’s thought to other biblical texts and Jewish lore and its reverberations across the centuries and cultures of Western civilization, from ancient Israel to today’s America. Each illuminated page is complemented by lucid commentary explaining its full meaning. Renowned scholars Ellen F. Davis and Moshe Halbertal crown the work with a penetrating foreword and preface. "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 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 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  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 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

Genres: Philosophy

208 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 2023

About the author

Debra Band melds scholarship and art in her inspirational books of Hebrew Bible and Jewish tradition. She works in the intimate classical medium of the illuminated book, an integral part of Jewish, Christian and Islamic religious traditions since the advent of the bound book (around 1000 CE), that fuses beloved biblical and other traditional Jewish texts into jewel-like paintings on calfskin vellum, painted in ink, gouache (opaque watercolor), and “illuminated” in 23KT gold leaf and palladium leaf. Each painting in every book presents intricate symbolic imagery drawn from related biblical sources, archeology, rabbinics, modern science and related classics of Western society. Each book includes commentaries explaining the symbolism of the paintings, as well as explorations of the texts by celebrated Judaic scholars.

Debra holds a BA Honours in History from Concordia University in Montreal and an MS in Political Science from MIT, and turned full attention to Hebrew manuscript arts in 1987. Descended from an eminent rabbinic family, her extensive studies of Jewish texts and research into medieval European and middle Eastern painting and manuscripts inform her work. Her work, celebrated for its intellectual and spiritual depth as well as visual beauty, includes illuminated and papercut books and ketubot, other manuscript pieces and papercuts, in exhibits, private collections, community institutions and galleries across the English-speaking world. Debra works extensively with Jewish women’s organizations across the US. Her many short videos are available on YouTube. Debra’s work tours museums and galleries across the United States. Debra lectures frequently on her work across the United States in Jewish and Christian venues. In addition to her artwork, Debra participates in medical ethics review activities at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Debra has lived throughout the United States and Canada and presently resides in the Washington, DC area along with her family and menagerie.

Reviews

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is rare that I read a book for school that makes me cry, and this one did. Fisch and Band put their hearts and souls into this book, and it shows on every page. this is a stunning and impressive deep dive into Qohelet that I took so much from, and will definitely be returning to in the future!

[Matthew Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Menachem Fisch's commentary on Qohelet is fascinating and Debra Band's illuminated manuscript is absolutely beautiful! I love that the illuminated manuscripts were in both Hebrew and English. Likewise, the pictures accompanying the text were astonishing and beautifully represented her fascinating commentary, as well.

[James-Michael Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most beautiful commentary I have ever laid eyes on!

[Briana Grenert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely beautiful illuminations
Breathtaking and pushed me to think more seriously about Qohelet