Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
There is a statement in the Book of Ecclesiastes, 1:9 that
reads: “There is nothing new under the sun.” We find similar statements in
Akkadian proverbs, such as “The life of the day before yesterday is that of any
day” (ANET, p. 425). R.B.Y. Scott tells us that one finds parallel statements
in Elamite and Greek texts (The Anchor Bible, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes,
p.211).
The meaning of the Hebrew proverb is not clear: does it
imply that things always remain the same and that there are no changes in
anything? This goes against our human experiences. Very often, we see that what
was acceptable yesterday is no longer de rigueur now. In fact, we see changes
everywhere. Nothing remains the same. The river keeps flowing. Styles change, habits
change, our language changes as they reflect what is going in our lives
today.
Some commentators in the past tried to explain the proverb according
to their own understanding of the times. The Talmud, for example, states that the
biblical assertion that “there is nothing new under the sun,” simply means that
there are no new creations after the six days of creation” (Sanh. 110a). For the
medievalist commentator, Rashi, “the phrase contrasts futile daily activity
done ‘in place of the Sun (: Light, Torah), i.e, in contrast to the spiritual activity of
Torah study and living”(The Jewish Study Bible, p. 1607).
My wife and I now live in the independent section of a
retirement community outside of Boston. My experience here seems to echo the
biblical assumption that changes are not always well received, especially by people
of old age. Many residents don’t want to
see any changes in the structure of our association. They long for the days
when dinner was formal, with proper attire by the servers. No phones during
dinner time. Any change is threatening to their psyche. Maybe because seniors
have seen too many changes in their lifetime, and now that they have reached the
zenith of their existence, they wish to preserve whatever they had accomplished
intact. Any alteration, for them, means that what they had done in the past is
no longer good or valid. And that hurts. But, I think, this is simply part of
the fear of death or the fear of the unknown. It is better, I believe, to confront
the changing realities around us and face them with courage, instead of ignoring
the novelties that affect our daily lives. Changes will happen, whether we like
it or not. We might as well deal with them.
