Dear JCCNS Members and Community,
As we approach this year’s High Holidays, it is time for me to account for the pledges I made last year. More generally, I am prepared to spend some quality time exploring what I refer to as my “spiritual status.” This season, I have been aided and challenged by the reality of having recently entered my 70th year of living, a number that is, quite frankly, hard for me to wrap my head around. Of course, the signs of my life’s relative longevity are all around me — upon reflection of the wedding of my youngest daughter (Baruch Hashem!), the knee that has relegated me to a slower-paced, old man’s doubles tennis game, an annual physical that is fraught with more apprehension than ever before, recurring thoughts of what retirement might look like (as some of my contemporaries enter their retirement), and finally the recognition that denial has become a less effective response to my inevitable aging.
What focuses the mind most for someone of my vintage is thinking about the entire arc of my life’s journey, not simply the past 12 months. As I recently stated to a life-long friend, we are now in the “fourth quarter,” and much of the game has already been played.
I share these sentiments not only for consumption and/or reassurance (you are not alone!) for those in my situation, but also for those in the other three “quarters,” as well. 15 years ago, my wise and beloved former Rabbi, Michael Stern Z” L, advised that each of us should strive to live life the way we would want our obituary to be written about us. This piece of wisdom serves to inspire anyone, at any age, to contemplate what is truly important and what reflects how we want to be and see ourselves, especially when confronted with an ethical or spiritual issue. It can also help us deal with the background noise that invades and warps our pursuit of meaning and purpose in our lives. Do we allow the news and technological bombardment we are collectively and individually exposed to every day to change our moods, our priorities, and our respect for our fellow human beings? Why is it so common to see a family sitting together at a restaurant, but barely enjoying the togetherness because they are all on their phones? It’s sometimes hard, but necessary work, to focus on the things that are most important and that will allow us to fully enjoy the life that God has granted us.
None of us are beyond the point where we can still alter our life’s story in a meaningful way. There’s always time, and it is still possible. I believe in a generous and forgiving God who recognizes human frailty and has bequeathed to us these High Holidays to help illuminate the path forward with renewed energy and an opportunity for us to grasp another chance for redemption and growth. It’s a time to remind ourselves to Carpe Diem, as now is as good a time as any for us to seize this moment for all it is worth.
Let us consider the following piece of Torah wisdom that may help us all in our quest to seek a more elevated and pleasurable existence:
Rabbi Noah Weinberg Z” L was the founder and inspiration of the Aish Hatorah movement and spoke of the five distinct Levels of Pleasure.
There is a lot written about each level, but hopefully this introduction to the concept will whet your appetite to explore it in deeper detail. The great Rabbi believed that God created humankind to experience pleasure. The Torah is seen in his world view as the essential guide for living life and his thoughts on pleasure derive from that belief. Furthermore, he suggests that pleasure provides energy and a sense of well-being, that propels you to tackle difficult jobs and face the ongoing challenges of life.
In descending order, here are the Five Levels of Pleasure as explained by Rabbi Weinberg but paraphrased by me for brevity. While you may not agree with certain aspects of the list or the order in which Rabbi Weinberg labels them, I do believe they contain some eternal and valuable truths that may help us as we prepare for our entrance into the new Jewish year and beyond.
5th Level of Pleasure: Physical and Material pleasure
Weinberg’s fifth class of pleasure encompasses all physical and material pleasure. This is the most basic and available level of pleasure and includes that which is experienced by our five senses. It also includes material pleasures like shelter, transportation, food, clothing, and material items that make us happy. Judaism does not frown upon earthly pleasures, but rather acknowledges that these types of pleasures serve as an essential foundation to experience the next higher levels of pleasure.
4th Level of Pleasure: Love
Rabbi Weinberg’s fourth-class pleasure is love. The Torah defines love as the emotional pleasure we get when we focus on the virtue of another. On our 20th wedding anniversary, Rabbi Stern suggested I write down and share twenty reasons why I love my wife. It was a meaningful activity, and I can now recommend it to others as a worthy exercise to celebrate a special occasion with anyone you love. I am sure most of you have heard the sentiment that our children bring about our greatest pleasures and our greatest pains. Parenting can be hard, but the rewards are great. This concept of pleasure suggests that the greater the effort required to acquire pleasure, the greater the result of achieving and experiencing the pleasure.
3rd Level of Pleasure: Meaning and Purpose
Next on Weinberg’s list of pleasures is finding and living with meaning and purpose. This encompasses the pleasure derived from making a positive difference in the world we live in. It also includes the human desire to find deeper and greater meaning in life, beyond just our simple everyday living and the sense of accomplishment and self-worth we feel when we make a choice to do the right or noble thing.
2nd Level of Pleasure: Creativity
Creativity is the ability to tap into the wisdom and understanding you yourself have acquired to give other people pleasure. For many, this level is experienced in their professional lives when we are given the opportunity to create, direct, plan and conceive of new ways to help our colleagues succeed. At the JCCNS, this is something I am lucky enough to see every day among the incredibly wise and dedicated professionals with whom I work. And yet, the ultimate example of this second-level pleasure is often in one’s personal life: creating a family, having children, and inculcating them with values, molding them, as best you can, to be healthy, productive, and caring individuals who explore and better the world.
1st Level of Pleasure: Encounter with God
Lastly, the first level of pleasure is an encounter with God. Experiencing moments when, as Weinberg says, “We have been struck by the awesomeness of life – the birth of a baby, seeing the stars above us, watching a lightning storm. It takes our breath away… No human being is totally satisfied unless she is in touch with the transcendent dimension. We each seek to reach out of this finite world and connect with the infinite. To become one with God.” Even if we have achieved the other levels of pleasure in our lives, we have not fully lived unless/until we experience and acknowledge something that is beyond our control in the human world. And that is the awesomeness of God, and the highest level of pleasure.
May we all enter the new year with a sense of understanding that our lives are meant to be filled with various levels of pleasure, and a desire to enjoy them all!
Wishing you a happy, healthy, and meaningful Rosh Hashanah and year ahead.
L'Shana Tova!
