קהלת, פרק י״ב, פסוק ד׳

As life reaches its twilight, the physical and mental faculties of a person slowly fade, causing the external world to feel increasingly closed off and distant. This stage is a gradual parting from worldly pleasures and the natural abilities of the human body. The closing of doors serves as a poignant allegory for the shutting down of the body. The primary approach among commentators is that these doors represent the lips [אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד, תעלומות חכמה] or the various bodily orifices [רש״י, תורה תמימה]. This closure is directly linked to the fading sound of a grinding mill, which symbolizes the chewing of teeth [מצודת דוד] or the internal digestive process [רש״י, אבן עזרא]. As an older person eats less, the digestive system slows to a halt, causing the lips to remain shut. From a more somber perspective, this imagery captures the final moments of life when internal organs fail, and a person loses even the strength to move their lips to confess [תעלומות חכמה]. Taking a more literal approach, the closed doors represent the bustling marketplace; lacking an appetite, the elderly person simply has no desire to go out and visit the shops [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Bridging these ideas, the quiet grinding of millstones [רלב״ג] and the closing of shops due to a lack of flour perfectly mirror the shutting of an elder's lips [אבן עזרא].

Because of this reduced intake of food, the older person's sleep becomes incredibly light and restless. Consequently, even the faint, delicate chirp of a bird is enough to wake them [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ, אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד]. This physical wakefulness is compounded by the heightened nervous sensitivity of old age, where the sudden sound of a bird might trigger anxiety, leading the elder to imagine that robbers are approaching [תורה תמימה]. On a deeper, spiritual plane, the call of the bird acts as a haunting announcement that the soul is preparing to depart from the body [תעלומות חכמה].

The general decline of the senses extends to the fading of melody and joy, described as a lowering of song [רש״י]. One perspective is that the elder loses their hearing and their appreciation for music; the once beautiful sounds of instruments and singers now register as nothing more than pointless, tasteless chatter [רש״י, תורה תמימה, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another viewpoint focuses on the loss of the elder's own voice. The throat, which previously produced vibrant melodies, weakens until it can no longer be heard [מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The imagery of daughters is used here because female voices are naturally more pleasant for singing. This loss of song is also attributed to the failing of the lips, which shape speech, or the heart and kidneys, which serve as the emotional and thoughtful sources of music [תורה תמימה, תעלומות חכמה].

Alongside the deeply personal experience of aging, this imagery carries a national and symbolic weight concerning the destruction of the Temple. In this context, the closed doors are the actual gates of the Temple. They were locked because the Israelites abandoned the study of Torah, which is compared to a millstone that should never stop grinding. As a result of this spiritual neglect, Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, who is symbolized by the bird, rose up and destroyed the Temple. This devastating event ultimately silenced the singing of the Levites and brought an end to the nation's joy [תורה תמימה].