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Why does Koheles call human achievement 're'us ruach' - spirit-breaking? Success itself creates immediate anxiety about potential loss, which clouds judgment and leads to poor decisions. The spies exemplify this: righteous when chosen, their new leadership positions generated fear of losing status that corrupted their mission.
Rabbi Zweig analyzes Koheles 1:14 where King Shlomo states that everything under the sun is futile and 'breaks the spirit' (re'us ruach). Unlike other commentators who suggest this refers to wanting more after achieving success, Rabbi Zweig argues that Rashi (רש"י) indicates success itself breaks one's spirit through the immediate anxiety it creates about potential loss. He illustrates this through the story of the spies from this week's parsha. The Torah (תורה) describes them as righteous men (anashim) when chosen, yet later indicates they had evil intentions from the beginning. Rabbi Zweig resolves this apparent contradiction by explaining that while they were righteous when appointed, their promotion to national leadership positions created anxiety about losing their new status, which clouded their judgment and led to their biased report.
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Koheles 1:14
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