Shalom, this video is trying to address the question of happiness from Jewish prospective. People think they are happier if they earn more money, if they have more possessions, a bigger house, a nicer car that will lead to happiness. But if that were true then Americans would be very happy and Americans are not. Study after study shows that there has no increase in the caution of happiness despite increase living standards and increased lives. In fact the richer the people are there is no correlation with increase happiness.
Materialism does not seem to be the answer; in fact some people think it is quite the opposite. There is a hedonic trend mill. The more we get on it the more we think that our happiness will come from the next material possession. It turns out that, that is nor right and yet happiness is a very huge concept in Judaism, for example [Foreign language]. it is equated Mitzvoth to be always happy or we say it from the son [Foreign language]. this is the day the lord has made let us rejoice and be Semecha on it.
We talk about the holidays being note [Foreign language] happy holiday. Or for Succoth the Torah says [Foreign language] you should be especially happy. So what is happiness from a Jewish perspective? Well one of the things that it says and the answering the question rhetorically who is rich in the Talmud Miashir, it says [Foreign language]. no one who is satisfied with his portion.
So in fact, it has been Semecha in Judaism and being rich have to do with being satisfied with your portion. Materialism is not the answer to joy, true happiness. Now the question happen this is a huge issue. There is an Israeli scholar at Harvard who offers classes of happiness in their over subscribed all the time trying to examine what it is that makes people happy. And of course there are lots of people on anti depressant medication, sometimes it is a serious illness but it is also a symptom of a society which says I am not happy, why?
Because true happiness for Jews has to deal with god for religion, in fact when you ask the question from lots of perspectives the answer becomes very clear. For example, which city in Israel has the highest life expectancy? And one of the curiosities that are also the city that is the poorest city per capital in Israel. So clearly wealth and long life do not have to do necessarily with materialism and even being above the poverty level. And the answer there is Benebrack. The longest life expectancy and the poor city in Israel but they would also pre-capital the most religious.
Where would you examine people on the question of religiosity? The amount they go to services, the amount they study bible, the amount they pray. Those people show much healthier general equalities, lower blood pressure, higher levels of serenity, a general greater satisfaction life. A general sense that god is with them in their life.
Now there is a wonderful story in the Torah that we actually read recently, this is now the beginning of Deuteronomy read in a few weeks ago. Last week in the portion of Mato Mase which ends the Book of Numbers, in that recounts the various stages of the Journeys of Israel through the dessert, and well the question is why does the torah bother to tell us about the various stages. We know that god led them on those bad journeys even though it was 40 years longer than it should have been. That said that a cloud in pillar fire led them and one of the ideas there is that the Israelites need to learn for all time as all people do that there is the gently handle hand of god guiding us for our lives. In fact, who know what the reasons why, the Torah seems to give a reason for the wondering in the dessert but we never know when our own life, the twist and turn and the ways it takes why it is happening. And people who feel the goddess with them through a gentle guiding hand.
You can always face the future with optimism being in touch with god, those people have a happier life. And so, it is really a plea for religiosity of spirit, if we are interested with happiness which is not about material wealth. It is about being in connection and tied to god, that is the essence of religion, the essence of Judaism. The Torah begins and ends with the idea of god. The god created the universe, that god gave us the ten commandments that we should know the lord is one. that we should love god with all our heart, soul and might. And everything else comes from that. that is really the essence of what religion is the reason why it is provided so much comfort for people, why most people have a sense of guide their lives.
If we want true satisfaction it is not finding it in peripheries and extraneous and secondary manners and pen ultimate things. It is basing it on a life of the spirit of the [Foreign language]. Enthusiasm for life literally from the Greek means to be filled with god. And so if you want to be truly happy, if we want to the enthusiastic about life it is first having a relationship with god, of the spirit, or [Foreign language] of having our [Foreign language] link with god. Because it says that we are made in the image of god and so we are a piece of god, we are holy. And we are linked with god in that profound way.
So I urge you in the words of [Foreign language] to see that it is the midst for trying to be always happy. Not happy to acquire any things but happy with god. And knowing that god is there, the gently guiding hands of the universe and that we are never alone and that god is one.
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