Yeah. Every time I read Kohelet, I think about how much better his life could have been if he could have gotten over his misogyny and started spending time with women as equals.

The world just gets *so much better* when you know that women are people.
#ParshaChat

A3: I see this in education. People who get/collect more degrees and certifications (the latter for new “systems” that supposedly fix everything) are seen as “wiser” & more trustworthy. That has not been my experience as an educator…they rarely listen to relevant lived experiences. #ParshaChat

Maybe that’s actually what makes him so sad #ParshaChat

I had a post go ~viral on Threads yesterday (5000+ views?). It was surprising. Only 7 words. Three of them were “I believe you.” #ParshaChat

I kind of appreciate the cautionary tale, in these times. #ParshaChat

A3: Sometimes, as I think many of us have experienced in the past few years, it can be *really* hard to be willing to keep taking the risks of being in community, and it can be *really* hard to find people who you're willing to risk trusting.

And isolation leads nowhere good.
#ParshaChat

A3: I think there's also a thing where some people end up accumulating a lot of resources, think that having stuff is the same as having wisdom, and end up isolating themselves with their refusal to see other people as worthwhile. #ParshaChat

AND

A3: I think part of this is just misogyny. Being unable to tolerate relating to women as people just... makes everything harder, I think.

And also... #ParshaChat

My mother was horrified at first when I got my toddler clothing at thrift and consignment shops. I just pointed out that I wasn’t going to waste money on fancy new things when my kid loved digging in mud and sand…🤷🏼‍♀️ #ParshaChat

Me, too. But today, this day, feels like a treasure; healing, even as I feel unwell. #ParshaChat

Sending hugs. Community is complicated. Losing community highlights that #ParshaChat

Like, what good is it to have a closet full of pristine toddler pajamas that you can't stand to let an actual toddler wear and get messy? #ParshaChat

It’s been rough lately (several friends died, including one of my oldest, dearest friends for >40yrs), enmeshed with a major work project that culminated in this accessibility event yesterday www.lib.umich.edu/visit-and-st... It’s a lot #ParshaChat

Perhaps! Can you say more about how you're thinking of it? #ParshaChat

And there's a sense in which, even aside from the inevitably of death, people who behave this way and accumulate this kind of hoard don't have the things even *now* in any meaningful way. #ParshaChat

Q3: What's going on here? Why is Kohelet rejecting nearly all men and absolutely all women? What's stopping him from finding wisdom and value in others? #ParshaChat

A friend and I were just talking about “you can’t take it with you.” #ParshaChat

A2 As Kohelet would say, there's a time for merrymaking and a time for mourning. But mourning feels more connected with understanding the world, so perhaps there's greater wisdom there. #ParshaChat

And the pajamas aren't the problem, I actually kind of like them. It's nice to have stuff, but there's... the other thing, and I think it's maybe an instance of what you're talking about? #ParshaChat

A1: And there's something really tragic about the kind of financial resources and emotional energy that go into accumulating bamboo pajama hoards and using them to shore up an identity or something.

Life doesn't *have* to be empty like that!
#ParshaChat