Torah is Happiness

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

Bible: It’s for our good. God needs nothing; all which God created on Earth is for man to have all necessary physical needs for a good physical existence. Over and above “needs,” God also created plenty of pleasures to provide man a happy psychological state. Both target a life with a majority of time to study God’s wisdom, the goal of creation. But if man seeks “many calculations” (Koheles 7:29) by toiling for luxuries and excessive unnecessary physical enjoyments, he will be cursed in toiling all his days and won’t be given the opportunity to learn:

RABBI MEIR  SAYS, “MINIMIZE BUSINESS AND ENGAGE IN TORAH. BE HUMBLE OF SPIRIT BEFORE EVERYONE. IF YOU NEGLECT THE TORAH, MANY REASONS FOR NEGLECTING IT WILL BE PRESENTED TO YOU. AND IF YOU LABOR IN TORAH, THERE IS ABUNDANT REWARD TO GRANT YOU” (Avos 4:10). 

Of course the difficulty is that most people—even in the religious Jewish community—labor from dawn until dusk to attain a wealthy lifestyle. It is hard to depart from the lifestyle followed by most, and live with the bear minimum. But that’s what’s needed if one wishes to indulge most of his time in Torah. So we must cease from seeking applause, “Remove yourself from man” (Isaiah 2:22) and seek only God’s approval, which means to live doing what truly provides enjoyment—Torah study. Seeking human applause is living in our imaginations; it’s fantasy. In fact, when we keep up with the Joneses, it breeds their jealousy, not their thunderous clapping for which we hoped. And Yom Kippur prayers advises man to “abandon the oppression of our hands.” 

So we have identified one major drive behind the drive for luxuries and the inescapable 9-5 work lifestyle: peer approval. But God designed us to need quite little daily physical resources, so most of our day can be invested in what truly satisfies our design: His endless wisdom. But “wisdom” is not what mankind pursues, or even discusses. Rabbi Chait once said that movie stars and heroes are not models of great minds. Rather they are martial artists, superheroes, secret agents, race car drivers and the like. They are idolized for their strength and competition, not for their minds or character. This too steers the impressionable public away from admiring Rabbis, Aristotles and Einsteins. 

But one who has experienced Torah’s beauty, and properly views Earth as temporary, will make the easy decision to “minimize business and engage in Torah.” He loses the desire to compete with his peers, and prefers uncovering more and more of God’s wisdom. This is Torah’s philosophy. The is what provides satisfaction, living in one’s mind and making discovery. In contrast, striving to maintain social status with expensive homes, cars, suits and vacations does not provide happiness. We were not designed to attain happiness with “things.” King Solomon experimented on himself and discovered that no amount of wealth, palaces, servants, or wine yield happiness. Wisdom is what lit up his face (Koheles 8:1). 

All wise men pursued wisdom and not physicality. They led were quite enjoyable lives. 

Biblical Laws: Not Optional

If one says he doesn’t have to follow God’s will, he contradicts himself. For although he feels so convinced that following his own will is fully under his control—“By speech we shall prevail, our lips are under our control, who can be our master?”(Psalms 12:5)—however, he possesses that free will ability only due to God’s will that he exists! Thereby, he values God’s will that he exists with free will. He does not see his contradiction, that he rejects God’s will of Torah but welcomes God’s will of creating him.

Pharaoh too said, “The Nile is mine and I made myself” (Ezekiel 29:3). Self-aggrandizement pervades the corrupt man’s thoughts. But the realistic man says “What am I?”—Moses.  “I am dust and ashes”—Abraham.  “I am but a worm”—King David.

AGAINST YOUR WILL YOU WERE CREATED, AND AGAINST YOUR WILL YOU WERE BORN, AND AGAINST YOUR WILL YOU LIVE, AND AGAINST YOUR WILL YOU DIE, AND AGAINST YOUR WILL YOU ARE DESTINED TO GIVE ACCOUNT AND RECKONING BEFORE THE KING OF KINGS, THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE (Avos 4:22).