Traditional Judaism
In traditional Judaism, Ecclesiastes is read either on Shemini Atzeret (by Yemenites, Italians, some Sepharadim, and the mediaeval French Jewish rite) or on the Shabbat of the Intermediate Days of Sukkot (by Ashkenazim). If there is no Intermediate Sabbath of Sukkot, even the Ashkenazim read it on Shemini Atzeret (or, for Ashkenazim in the Land of Israel, on the first Shabbat of Sukkot). It is read on Sukkot as a reminder to not get too caught up in the festivities of the holiday, as well as to carry over the happiness of sukkot to the rest of the year by telling the listeners that without God, life is meaningless. When the listeners take this to heart, then true happiness can be achieved throughout the year. The final poem of Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes 12:1-8) has been interpreted in the Targum, Talmud, and Midrash, and by Jerome, Rashi, Rashbam, and Ibn Ezra, as an allegory of old age.
Read more about this topic: Ecclesiastes
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