הַכְּסִיל֙ חֹבֵ֣ק אֶת־יָדָ֔יו וְאֹכֵ֖ל אֶת־בְּשָׂרֽוֹ׃
The fool foldeth his hands together, And eateth his own flesh.
Rashi on Ecclesiastes
The fool. The wicked person.11Alternatively, “the fool.” (Targum)
Kohelet Rabbah
“The fool folds his hands and eats his flesh” (Ecclesiastes 4:5).
“The fool folds his hands” – To what is this matter analogous? To two people who were toiling in Torah; one toiled and flourished, and one toiled and abandoned it. The one who had toiled and abandoned it sees the one who flourished standing on the side of a group of the righteous, and he is standing on the side of a group of the wicked. Immediately, he “folds his hands and eats his flesh.”
“The fool folds his hands” – To what is this matter analogous? To two people who were toiling in Torah; one toiled and flourished, and one toiled and abandoned it. The one who had toiled and abandoned it sees the one who flourished standing on the side of a group of the righteous, and he is standing on the side of a group of the wicked. Immediately, he “folds his hands and eats his flesh.”
Rashi on Ecclesiastes
Folds his hands. And does not toil, and he eats only from robbery.