A journey through Ecclesiastes to uncover its timeless wisdom and surprising insights.
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MONDAY, 10:00-11:30am (ET) October 27, 2025 - January 19, 2026
“Ecclesiastes is the most painfully truthful book in the Bible, which is why it almost wasn’t included in the Tanach. It validates the spiritual turmoil we often feel by asking the questions we fear to ask.”
-Rabbi Norman Lipson
Course Description:
Phrases like “The Sun Also Rises,” “Turn, Turn, Turn,” and “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” may sound like they belong to Shakespeare or modern poets, yet they come from one of the Bible’s most enigmatic works—Ecclesiastes (Kohelet), penned by an anonymous sage whose insights are as timeless as they are unsettling.
Kohelet’s reflections—stark, candid, and deeply human—speak most poignantly in the late autumn season, when change hangs in the air and leaves turn color (well, everywhere but South Florida). His quest is one we all share: What, if anything, endures? What is our place in God’s world and the vast universe? Or, to borrow from another voice, “What’s it all about, Alfie?”
Some suggest Peggy Lee’s famous line—“If that’s all there is, my friend, let’s keep dancing…”—captures Kohelet’s message. But that’s far from the truth. This book is no cynical shrug; it’s an unflinching journey toward meaning, hope, and a surprising conclusion.
Join us for this ten-session course as we explore Kohelet’s profound and often surprising wisdom—a conversation across the centuries that still speaks to our lives today.
Mondays, 10:00-11:30am (ET)
Dates: Oct. 27; Nov. 3, 10, 17; Dec. 1 ,8, 15; Jan.5, 12, 19
About the Instructor:
Rabbi Norman Lipson moved to Miami, FL in 1955. Following graduation from the University of Miami, he entered the Hebrew-Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio and was ordained in 1972. He has served on the national staff of the Anti-Defamation League and as spiritual leader of congregations in Mississippi, Texas, Hollywood, FL and most recently Temple Dor Dorim in Weston, where he was the Founding Rabbi, and now is Emeritus. He is married and the proud grandfather of four brilliant grandchildren (direct quote :-).
