CHASSIDIC PEARLS BY RABBI LAZER BRODY ON PARSHAS BEREISHIT

And God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good (Breishit 1:31). Shlomo HaMelech (King Solomon) is known as the wisest of all men that ever walked the face of the earth. Yet, how could he criticize Hashem's world and say that it was devoid of all substance, "Futility of futilities" (Kohelet 1:2), in direct contradiction to the Torah? Rebbe Nachman of Breslev teaches that the task of a Jew in this world is to free his or her brain from foreign wisdom, which prevents the Jewish mind from its source of vitality, namely, the Divine wisdom of Torah. It is this wisdom of Torah that leads to the awe of God and to happiness in the heart (see Likutei Moharan I:5). As such, the more a Jew seeks the Divine wisdom of Torah, the happier he or she will be. Unfortunately, the opposite holds true as well – the more people clog their brains with foreign wisdom, the unhappier they will ultimately be. In light of Rebbe Nachman's above teaching, there is no contradiction between our Torah passage at hand and between Kohelet's utterance, "Futilities of futilities." Our Sages teach us that Hashem created the world using the Torah as a blueprint; therefore, when the world is governed according to Torah, and specifically when a Jew lives his or her life according to Torah, everything is good, just as Hashem created it. But, when the world is used in violation of Torah, it becomes a futility of futilities. Consequently, the Torah and the Divinely-inspired Kohelet are in perfect harmony with one another.