A Communal Life Worth Living

This is a Sukkot sermon based on Kohelet, the Book of Ecclesiastes, recently preached at Shuvah Yisrael Messianic Synagogue in Plainview, New York.

During Sukkot, we turn to the Book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), a text dedicated entirely to considering what is truly valuable in life.

I appreciate the translation of the book’s core refrain found in the new Jewish Publication Society version:

The words of Kohelet, son of David, King in Jerusalem: “Futility, futility, said Kolelet. Utter futility! All is futile! What real value is there for a man in all the gains he makes beneath the sun?”

This passage presents the central question of Kohelet: What is the most beneficial path a person can choose in life? In his considerations, Kohelet judges most human endeavors to be futile because they are either cyclical—going in circles without real linear purpose or outcome—or because they are ephemeral—we cannot take our gains with us, and others will inherit the benefit of our sweat and toil.

None of us want to waste our time in the year ahead. To avoid that, let’s use three questions emerging from Kohelet to examine the values we embrace as a community:

1. What do we mean by values?
2. Why is the selection of values important to us?
3. How can we best go about living by well-chosen values?

What Are Values?

Values are our rulings on what is worthwhile.

Values are formed through experiences over time, influenced by many sources: parents, friends, teachers, media, organizations, and our social environment, which shapes our values even without our conscious knowledge or consent. This is why Paul warns the Romans, saying:

“Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity” (J.B. Phillips Translation).

Values should guide our decisions and actions, not merely exist as pious statements in a document.

Criteria for Real Values

Real values meet the following seven criteria:

1. They are Chosen freely (without external pressure or coercion).
2. They are Chosen from among alternatives (all possible options considered).
3. They are Chosen after careful reflection (advantages, disadvantages, and consequences assessed).
4. They are Prized and cherished.
5. They are Publicly affirmed.
6. They are Acted upon (applied to specific situations).
7. They are part of a Repeated pattern of action in your life (demonstrating commitment).

Ultimately, values are our pivotal assessments: rulings on what is worthy of our attention, our time, and our conformity.

Why Values Are Important

Kohelet provides the definitive answer to this, a truth affirmed by our entire Jewish and biblical experience—and highlighted throughout the Ten Days of Awe. Why should values be important to us? Kohelet answers this in the book's final verse: “God will bring to judgment everything we do, including every secret, whether good or bad” (Ecc. 12:14a).

This truth brings us directly back into the thought world of the High Holy Days, a dress rehearsal for the Day of Judgment. The most crucial point for our daily life is this:

Values guide our actions, and our actions guide God’s evaluative judgment.

The theologian Mark Kinzer wrote on the qualifications for a happy final destiny:

The teaching of the tradition of Peter and James shows remarkable consistency in answering this question. Yeshua's words in Matthew 7:21 are emblematic of this answer: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." What counts are actions (i.e., words and deeds) that conform to the divine will.

This tradition places emphasis on the action component (Matthew 16:27; Matthew 12:36-37; 1 Peter 1:17; Revelation 20:12-13) and often stresses that the required deeds conform to the commandments of the Torah—that is, they are righteous deeds (Matthew 19:16-17; Matthew 5:20).

As Dr. Kinzer reminds us, and in keeping with our teaching during the High Holy Days: “The love that fulfills the Torah is not a sentiment, but an action done in the context of a relationship – a relationship with God, and a relationship with other human beings.”

A value, therefore, is a pivotal assessment. Values are crucial because they shape our attitudes and actions, which, in turn, shape God’s judgment.

Ralph Waldo Emerson captured this same channel of thought as Kohelet:

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”

How to Live by Well-Chosen Values

We now turn to our third question: What shall we do about acquiring and living by appropriate values?

There is no magic bullet—no prepackaged set of values to last a lifetime. As we grow, our perspectives shift, and within limits, our values adjust. We see this wisdom in the penetrating quotation from Abraham Joshua Heschel: “When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.”

Nevertheless, we can identify foundational sources for determining our values.

Wesley’s Four Sources (The Quadrilateral)

We can learn from the wisdom of John Wesley, one of the wisest men who ever lived. He used four distinct sources, in the context of a relationship with God, for coming to spiritual convictions—a framework often called the "four-legged stool":

1. Scripture: The Holy Bible (Old and New Testaments).
2. Tradition: The wisdom and experience of the people of the God of Israel throughout the ages.
3. Reason: Rational thinking and sensible interpretation.
4. Experience: A person’s personal and communal life with God.

Evaluating Our Values

To arrive at dependable values, we can integrate these four sources with the final conclusion of the Book of Kohelet: “Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his mitzvot; this is what being human is all about. For God will bring to judgment everything we do, including every secret, whether good or bad” (Ecc. 12:13-14). We evaluate our values by this goal, through the lens of Wesley’s four criteria, by asking these questions:

1. Fear of God: On the basis of my consideration of Scripture, within the context of tradition, reason, and experience, does this perspective/course of action exhibit a fear of God?
2. Mitzvot: On the basis of my consideration of Scripture, within the context of tradition, reason, and experience, is this perspective/course of action informed by God’s commandments (mitzvot)?
3. Judgment: On the basis of my consideration of Scripture, within the context of tradition, reason, and experience, will this perspective/course of action pass the test when I must give an account of myself to God?
4. Greatest Commandments: On the basis of my consideration of Scripture, within the context of tradition, reason, and experience, does this perspective/course of action express my love for God with all my heart, soul, and mind, and of my neighbor as myself?