גיטין ט

A מגיד, who was known for his דברי תוכחה, complained that a חזן who had come to town merely posted his name and the time and place of a concert and almost the whole town showed up and joyfully said שפתים ישק. But the מגיד had posted details of his דרשה and his יחוס and hardly anyone came. Even those who showed up said הבל הבלים. “Don’t take it personally,” said a listener. “When שלמה המלך wrote שיר השירים, he didn’t detail his יחוס and position. He merely wrote שיר השירים אשר לשלמה. And the response was ישקני מנשיקות פיהו. By contrast, when he delivered the words of תוכחה in קהלת, he set forth his יחוס, saying דברי קהלת בן דוד מלך ירושלים and in the end he was answered:הבל הבלים אמר קהלת.”

06/10/2021