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there's something so depression-inducing about health problems, something so profoundly טוב מותי מחיי, and so irretrievably מה שהיה הוא שיהיה, that no other type of problem in my life (homer simpson so far dot jpeg) seems to have
explaining and translating jewishisms, some caps, sui, re: -
first sentence:
"Better that I die, than that I live." -- jonah, to god, after being forced to be at a place he never wanted to be, to do something he never wanted any part of, by a god he was utterly terrified of, who he was originally trying to run away from; after (spoiler alert) being THROWN OVERBOARD from a ship during a STORM, and getting swallowed up by a WHALE that took GOD KNOW HOW LONG to take him to NINEVEH, which is A THOUSAND OR SO MILES AWAY from his home and even farther from where he was going, JUST so he can tell them they made god ANGRY and that he's gonna NUKE THEIR ASSES -- so after all that jonah's there next to the city, fainting from the heat and the wind and exhaustion, and he pleads to god to end his life, saying "better that i die, than that i live"
~
no one's gonna read this wall of text but i still enjoyed writing it
translating jewishisms pt 3, mh-
"ושבח אני את המתים שכבר מתו מן החיים אשר המה חיים עדנה. וטוב משניהם את אשר עדן לא היה אשר לא ראה את המעשה הרע שנעשה תחת השמש"
"and i praise the dead who already died, over the living who still are alive. and more than both: those who still were not yet, who haven't seen the bad deeds done under the sun"
explaining and translating jewishisms pt 2, somewhat bleak philosophy, food mention, alc mention, re: -
second sentence:
"What was, is what will be, (and what was done, is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun)"
Kohélet was king of jerusalem, probably during the 3-4 century bce, and he saw the world around him, and noticed that everything is cyclical -- the sun travels around him, again and again, and the seasons keep seasoning, again and again, and the rich exploit the poor, again and again, and nothing in the world has any real significance anyway.
i mean, (or rather, he means), who even SAID that our souls go up, or down, or ANYWHERE AT ALL when we die? we are all but DUST in the WIND, acting out PREDICTABLE PATHWAYS we can NEVER ESCAPE FROM, and the world NEVER fundamentally changes. day IN, and day OUT, and the Land. Still. Stands. the rivers all KEEP FLOWING OUT to sea, and yet the SEA somehow NEVER FILLS UP; from where the water goes to, it goes back to where it came from
what good is it even to WORK and to TOIL and to do ANYTHING at ALL???, except whatever just feels SLIGHTLY less SHIT????? cause, u know,,, all of us r just gonna........ literally all die, and leave behind a constant, cyclical, unchanging, uncaring world, that will never become better or worse for us having lived in it.........
so just try to escape this sorrow if you can, young pup -- learn things, eat well, drink fancy wine -- take part in anything that will somehow ease your pain. like everyone before you and everyone after you. because it's all the same anyway
(at least according to kohelet)