NOTES for Ecc 1:2
When reading Ecclesiastes, the great teachings of the East involuntarily come to mind. "All is vanity" sounds very Buddhist. But reality is what it is, and here it is unimportant who exactly managed to notice something characteristic of it and typical for it. A world where God's presence is unnoticed is indeed no more than vanity. And Ecclesiastes sees the world exactly this way. No, of course, Ecclesiastes is by no means an atheist. He is not even an agnostic. But the issue is not theory and not even worldview.
The issue is the sense of God's presence. A sense that is always very concrete. It can make the world eternally new, because in fact it exists only as an active manifestation of God's will. As the embodiment of that will. As the dynamic of a constantly renewed reality. Outside this dynamic, however, the world is not eternally new, but eternally old. But we, accustomed to a world from which God is not visible, usually see precisely such an eternity. So Ecclesiastes looked at the world through our eyes. And he saw that there is nothing new under the sun. But if so, then everything is indeed vanity. "Vanity of vanities" means the same vanity, but in all its fullness. Or rather, in what in this case replaces fullness.
For vanity is movement around emptiness. And what, in such a case, should be considered fullness? Perhaps infinitely fast and never-ending movement around emptiness. Investigating it is truly exhausting. But "the sons of men" exercise themselves in it with all diligence, for in the fallen state nothing else remains for them. At least until the Meeting takes place. But one must still come to it. And Ecclesiastes begins his path.
A path that, as he warns in advance, will lead to sad conclusions. But one that still must be walked so that life may receive at least some meaning. Even a negative one. After all, negative meaning is still meaning. And meaninglessness is only emptiness. "Vanity of vanities." Agreement to the meaninglessness of life is therefore spiritually equivalent to suicide. Ecclesiastes does not want suicide. He is ready to seek meaning.