Qohelet

Of the making of books on Ecclesiastes-Qohelet there is seemingly no end, and yet this one truly stands out. Debra Band, a renowned visual artist, and Menachem Fisch, a distinguished philosopher, together explore one of Judaism's--and indeed, the Western world's--most provocative and elusive books and offer us new ways of reading the text and imagining the experiences and struggles it evokes. Whether Ecclesiastes is relatively new territory for you or whether you've spent decades studying and puzzling over it, you will undoubtedly find new insight and inspiration in this remarkable book. Band and Fisch offer us a feast for the eyes, the mind, and the heart.

~Rabbi Shai Held, President and Dean, the Hadar Institute

This wonderful book offers a biblical, philosophical, artistic, and (ultimately) theological account of one of the deep treasures of wisdom in Scripture, Ecclesiastes. Seeing the tension between the absolute timeless norms of divine expectation and the inherent transience of all human reckoning and understanding in Qohelet's account, Fisch offers us a deeply reflective review of the book which takes both the urgent divine call and the limits of human knowing just as seriously. Only a philosopher and text scholar of Fisch's extraordinary calibre could offer so rich a commentary and, moreover, do so beautifully in partnership with Debra Band's art and calligraphy.

~Tom Greggs, Marischal Chair (1616) and Head of Divinity, University of Aberdeen

This is an exquisite combination of pictorial imagination with abstract reflections of the most philosophical book of the Hebrew Bible, penned by two experts in the respective domains. Menachem Fisch's fresh interpretation of the ultimate message of Ecclesiastes as a portrayal of a transient--in lieu of a futile--world, is a permanent contribution that will guide any serious reader of the book in the future. A more balanced attitude to the magnificent worldview that pretends to reflect a king's experience of life, decodes an original type of ancient Jewish religiosity, which has some more optimistic valences than previously assumed.

~Moshe Idel, Max Cooper Professor Emeritus in Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and Senior Researcher at the Shalom Hartman Institute

If our life seems to go nowhere, our enjoyment of things seems shallow, our understanding of things seems thin, our attempt to pursue justice seems to get nowhere, where do we go? We could always read Ecclesiastes, with this illuminating commentary. Among the many studies of the book, Qohelet is like no other in offering two Jewish perspectives, a philosopher's and an artist's, and incorporating a wondrous profile of artwork with which one could sit for a long time.

~John Goldingay, Senior Professor, Fuller Theological Seminary

Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living is an important contribution to philosophical theology, which rereads Qohelet through a philosophical lens. This book corrects scholarly misperceptions of Qohelet as a strange outlier in the Bible and in ancient Judaism and instead retells the story of its relevance western thought. The contribution of Qohelet as an important voice for reflective and philosophical thinking in ancient Judaism was not lost on the Rabbis. Moreover, this book demonstrates that the voice of Qohelet can now be heard in conversation with the history of western philosophical reflections. Fisch and Band weave philosophical commentary, rabbinic reflection, and artistic illumination together into a new inheritance of Qohelet.

~Hindy Najman, Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture, University of Oxford

Band and Fisch's Qohelet commentary is a feast for both eyes and mind. Qohelet, roughly a contemporary of Aristotle, jumps off the page into the interstices of our own struggle to make sense of how God wants us to understand ourselves and how we had best conduct our lives. These two religious Jews let Qohelet speak from the Jewish canon, not about or on behalf of Judaism but about the human condition. The calligraphy is clear yet absorbing in both Hebrew and English with the Hebrew fully vocalized and with Masoretic cantillation marks. Qohelet urges us to enjoy life's pleasures fully, being ever mindful of their evanescence in the face of inevitable death.

~Ellen T. Charry, Professor of Systematic Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary

This inventive, probing, and thought-provoking volume argues that the biblical book of Qohelet (Ecclesiastes) is a singly authored composition propounding a coherent philosophy of life, one that is highly pertinent today. The accompanying artwork, drawing imaginatively and learnedly upon Jewish and non-Jewish traditions alike, enriches the reader's appreciation of this enigmatic ancient text.

~Jon D. Levenson, Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies, Harvard Divinity School

Qohelet is the one book in the Hebrew Bible that is essentially a philosophic meditation, written like all genuine philosophy in the first person. Only a genuine philosopher like Menachem Fisch could enter the mind of this unique biblical author by making the author's questions his own. Debra Band's illuminations and commentary beautifully complement Fisch's meditation in Qohelet.

~David Novak, J. Richard and Dorothy Shiff Professor of Jewish Studies and Philosophy, University of Toronto

Debra Band's illuminations in Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living illustrate her outstanding ability to marry art with text. Her intriguing paintings balance the rich commentary in an elegant embrace. Her vision rests upon Menachem Fisch's accompanying analysis of the biblical text. Band's artistic view illuminates the book and sets forth in a compelling visual narrative the words of both biblical text and the other sources upon which the paintings draw. We are fortunate to have such a wonderful display of art interpreting the written word.

~Laura Kruger, Curator Emerita, Dr. Bernard Heller Museum, Hebrew Union College, New York

What a rereading of this fascinating scripture! Menachem Fisch's decades of study, in which he has worked to combine rigorous and self-critical philosophy, immersion in Rabbinic Judaism, and perceptive attention to life now, have finally been distilled into this profound interpretation of the Book of Ecclesiastes. The portrayal of types of foolishness ring uncomfortably true, and Qoheleth's positive wisdom is something each of us needs to learn--for the sake of our personal, political, economic, intellectual, and religious lives. Not only that: because of Debra Band's accompanying visual illuminations, this is a new seeing as well as a new reading.

~David F. Ford, Regius Professor of Divinity Emeritus, University of Cambridge

Fisch’s philosophy of uncertainty and humility dovetails meaningfully with Kohelet.

~Hayyim J. Angel, Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought

Upon opening the pages of Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living, readers will first encounter unexpected beauty. From the intricate illuminations to the impeccably laid out commentary, Qohelet is nothing less than a masterpiece. But upon closer inspection, this work is a complex argument engaging with one of the most debated books in the Hebrew Bible, even claiming for it a new voice--one that is ready to argue with past reception and interpretation of this complicated text.

~Allison Garde, Literature & Theology

This compelling and creative complement to the existing commentaries on Qohelet will resonate with scholars on this book, but also with readers more generally interested in Bible and art, philosophical work and Jewish thought. The book ends with a four-page bibliography, an index for authors and keywords.

~Samuel Hildebrandt, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament