This world and the next world

The question is an ethical one,
Is it good to enjoy life or not? I'm confused…
Of course I'm not talking about the pursuit of pleasures, but about reasonable pleasures. Is there a positive value in enjoying the world? I have a feeling that ”Judaism” views pleasures with a negative eye. Am I wrong?

Let's say you are an enthusiast of some kind of sport in which you have become somewhat proficient. Does this mean that you pursue pleasure itself, or what actually interests you is the achievement, the goal, or the very sporting ability, and then, following successful performance, the pleasure of professional fulfillment comes naturally?

Most people I know most of the time do not pursue pleasure, but rather a certain success at the peak of which pleasure usually also appears, although it is not entirely identical with the purpose for which they desired.

I don't know what's wrong with enjoying life, as long as the pleasure is permitted. I think that in reasonable doses there is no problem with it (not even abrogating the Torah). It's not a matter of a positive value to enjoy the world. There is no such value, but there is no problem with doing so. It's a permission, not a value.

I will just clarify that there is certainly a virtue in someone who dedicates all their time to valuable pursuits. But it is an existential virtue. Those who do this deserve great respect. But it is not a positive virtue (as opposed to an existential one), meaning that those who do not do this are not criminals. They choose to be ordinary people and not virtuous people. This is completely legitimate.
And of course, you have to be careful not to go crazy and behave in a way that you cannot stand and that is not healthy mentally or physically. Most people need ventilation.

For me, I must enjoy life so that I can succeed in pleasing Hashem.
When I enjoy life, I can awaken gratitude, and I manage to awaken to the fulfillment of His will, the Blessed One. For me, this is a starting point that allows me to have a relationship with Hashem.
When my life is devoid of pleasures, it is difficult to find a motive, so I began to serve Hashem.
I don't necessarily think so intellectually, there is an obligation that goes beyond the fact that we enjoy (slave labor). But in practice, pleasure contributes to the service of my Hashem.

In such a situation, can we say that there is value in pleasures? (And perhaps this is the intention of the Jerusalemites who will give up their lives for what we could have enjoyed in life if we had enjoyed it?)

On the 14th of Elul, 8th of August,

To so-and-so, – Peace be upon you,

If we do not begin to learn to enjoy life – what will we do in the world to come where we will sit forever and ever with our crowns on our heads and enjoy the light of the Shekhinah?

If we do not enjoy life, how can we bless and thank God for every ‘bit of olive oil’ that we taste? And how can we show kindness to others and care for their well-being if every material good we bestow on them is vain? And there is a well-known story about the Rebbe who heard from his rich follower that he was content with &#8217flour with salt and water sparingly’ which is not appropriate, for if he himself were to be content with –flour with salt – He would think that the poor have enough gravel 🙂

We need to enjoy the material good that our Creator has bestowed upon us in His goodness, but to do so in moderation, and to know how to translate the energies we received from the material good that deprives our lives, to also create for us spiritual pleasures that will accompany us a hundred and twenty years later.

Did we eat and enjoy ourselves? Did we travel and enjoy ourselves? Now let us take the forces we received and use them for Torah and good deeds that will also bring us true spiritual satisfaction. The ‘world to come’ is not only in the future, but a world that is coming and going’, starting now and lasting forever. And when we know how to find spiritual pleasures for ourselves as well, our material life will also receive added flavor and meaning.

With best wishes, Sh”z Levinger

In the case of Judah and more to Sh”el and Moharer Harar Michi; So-and-so, Rabbi Kook learned. His entire mission was to sanctify the mundane and enjoy life. In his opinion, this is even a value (contrary to the opinion of Rabbi Michi). Start with Yosef ben Shlomo's booklet Shirat HaChaim. And start singing in your life. (I'm not even talking about a pantheistic view, in which case you can celebrate at all, as the eccentric and intriguing Rabbi did, many of his followers who sign their name – then (=Avraham Chaim Zagdon) in graffiti in the streets of Jerusalem: ”The main thing on Shabbat is eating, and that is to let her eat and enjoy herself’ (!) “Be'rot Avraham Chaim”, p. 75). This is a long delusion and many are wrong about this, but without studying Rabbi Kook enough, there is nothing to begin the discussion with. The same controversy also exists regarding marital relations, and when I turn to it, I can refer to an article about it in ”Zohar”. Once you understand that it is a controversy and do not try to compromise by all means, it is easiest to choose a side.

An important and primary source of pleasure is the Kuzari, Chapter Three, which explains the matter of the blessings of the enjoyer: “What increases his pleasure and deepens it, and adds pleasure to him upon pleasure, is that he accepts upon himself the blessings for everything he receives from this world and for everything that happens to him in it.” The preparation for pleasure, the feeling of it, and the image of its absence beforehand double the pleasure from them.” Kuzari, translated by Michael Schwartz, p. 152.

The one who really manages to explain in depth what pleasure is is Aristotle in Ethics, Chapter 10.

On the 11th of Elul, 8th of July

For a lifetime!

The issue of enjoying the world in order to elevate it appears in the Ramachal at the peak of the holy stage, when before a person reaches it, he goes through the stages of renunciation, in which he distances himself from materialistic desires and directs his will to purity and piety, making peace with his Creator. It seems that when a person's life is directed towards a higher goal, then we can speak of the sanctification of matter. The question is at what stage the person is at.

In any case, the narrator testified that when he ate, he would not bend his head over the food but would raise his spoon to his mouth, an action that required a difficult maneuver. I later saw this strictness in my son-in-law's grandfather, a Jew who is now over a hundred years old, from the Beta Israel who immigrated from Ethiopia, where he would sit as straight as a ruler while eating and raise his spoon to his mouth and not tilt his head towards the food.

With best wishes, Sh”z Levinger.

There is a disagreement in the Gemara about whether the one who is being tortured is called a sinner or a saint (the Kuzari and Rabbi Kook are of course not the source of anything). Even if it is said that the conclusion is called a saint (this is not clear from the Gemara if I am not mistaken), it is certainly not obligatory.

D
You meant to say “Even if we say that the conclusion is called a sinner…”
Otherwise your argument doesn't make sense.
The Kuzari and Rabbi Kook were wise men and it is worth hearing their explanations even if there is no halakha here.

So-and-so, the problem with your perception is that it revolves around you and your pleasures. How do you maximize my overall pleasure? Is it worth enjoying this world or waiting and receiving a reward for pleasure in the next world? In short, a classic egoistic, petty perception. That has nothing to do with reality.

And back to reality, in reality your pleasures are both vanity and a means. And the results of your actions are what matter.