An Orthodox Jewish Perspective On Happiness
Toba Cohen
May 21, 2015
Capstone
Maalot of Baltimore Social-scientists, phychologists, philosophers, and the media are all seeking to find the true root of happiness and well-being. Each views the meaning of happiness differently. Some of them define happiness in the context of pleasure. How does traditional Judaism define happiness and suggest its attainment? How does this compare to and differ from the secular goals of happiness? Traditional Judaism is a religious sect which bases its principals, values, and lifestyle on the Torah. The Torah was given to Moses by G-d on Mount Sinai over 3000 years ago, and has been handed down through the generations in its unchanging form. Traditional Jews view the Torah as a divine guidebook for life. The Torah contains instruction about how to live a meaningful life and very specific details pertaining to the service of man towards G-d (Ethics of the Fathers 1:1). The Torah contains many references to happiness and its attainment. The main word that is used to mean happiness is simcha. The Jewish people say in the daily prayers, “Serve G-d with joy” (Psalms 100:2). In Deuteronomy, G-d rebukes the Jewish nation and warns them that if they do not follow His words, they will be cursed with detailed specific punishments. G-d attributes all of these punishments to the fact that they “did not serve G-d with joy and with a good heart” (Deuteronomy, 28:47). To understand what the word simcha
Beginning with Greek philosophers, mankind has constantly pondered the meaning of happiness. Questions of how to attain joy, and how to keep it have been debated for centuries. Various religions provide roadmaps to achieve contentment: Christians preach the Ten Commandments and Heaven, and Buddhists prize the idea of karma and reincarnation. Yet others seek a more material form of satisfaction; especially in the United States, increasing emphasis is placed upon personal wealth.
Happiness, an elusive eight letter word with a mighty punch! Many have sought to define happiness, but found it a difficult task to do. While reading an article published in the New Yorker by Will Sorr on July 07, 2017 titled “A Better Kind of Happiness”, I was informed that happiness is more than just a word, happiness is essential to the well-being of human health. Dating back nearly two and half million years ago an ancient Greek Philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, proposed the idea of eudaemonic happiness. He stated that “happiness was not merely a feeling, or a golden promise, but a
A person’s happiness can have an impact on others. People can get agitated because a group or individual is at peace or sons and daughter can be happy as a result of witnessing their parents being content. Delightment is capable of encouraging expansion of one’s knowledge. For instance, if one realizes their potential in achieving greatness in a certain subject, the satisfaction could lead to desiring to draw in more knowledge, knowing the greatness that individual can achieve. Someone who is depressed doesn’t have the motivation to achieve something positive. There are people that misinterpret or have a negative pleasure and peace of mind. That’s the incredible potential happiness
Judaism preaches that all things are under gods rule. God is the creator of the universe and still is in charge of it. The Torah is a list of commandments that reveals rules of how to live for his followers. although there are ten commandments, this religion also gives their followers the free will of choice. In Judaism, religion is not a part of life but it is life. For example this is why Jews pray three times a day. Like the Christians believe that god sent a human to the earth to teach us, the Jewish also have a similar belief, in a figure named Messiah. When asked about the essence of Judaism there is this story about a man that comes to mind. He was a rabbi named Hillel who summed up Judaism while balancing on one foot, he said, "...What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the Torah. The rest is commentary..." Basically Judaism is based on self choice, there are rules to live by, but it is entirely up to the person on how to live and apply these
Although there are a number of different nuances and qualifications for this particular term, happiness actually can be defined. In fact, it usually helps to best define happiness in terms of what it is and what it is not. Happiness is certainly a state of fluctuation there is no consistent, prolonged state of felicity. If so, it then becomes normal, the normal becomes boring, and the result a sort of benign content becomes a bland, meaningless state devoid of any significant stimulus. Instead, what is needed for happiness is the vicissitudes of life. Were there no unhappiness, there could not be happiness. Happiness, therefore, is a function of rebounding from and considering the unhappiness that is a potential for virtually almost everyone, although the unhappiness for a particular individual is most relevant to him or her. With that in mind one of the most essential qualities regarding happiness is the fact that it is extremely relative, much like motion, and is best defined as the feeling of satisfaction (ideally punctuated by elation) one gets after achievement or averting the negative vicissitudes on might have encountered.
Happiness is one of the most significant dimensions of human experience. Many people can argue that happiness is a meaningful and desirable entity. Studies indicate that everyone pursues happiness in various aspects of their life. Our four fathers saw happiness as a need, so they made the pursuit of happiness as one of the three unalienable rights branded in the Declaration of Independence. There is a sense of complexity behind the meaning of happiness; its definition is not definite. Think of happiness as a rope; there are many thin fiber strands bonded together to become the strength of the rope. Like the analogy of the rope, there are numerous factors that can contribute to an individual’s overall happiness in life. This study is going to
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, happiness is defined as, “ A state of well-being and contentment.” This attribute of happiness is displayed in the book Brave New World by Alduous Huxley. It takes place two hundred years in the future where the world has now turned into a satire full of individually promiscuous people with beliefs rather than those who create families. The book indulges in a young and careless approach to life where the creators of the society believe that their society is happier than ever. In a “soma” driven world a drug used for basically everything, just like in today’s society where drugs and depression have taken a total toll in people’s everyday life. Society’s happiness as a whole has
Judaism is one of the world's oldest religious traditions. Pre-modern Judaism constituted (and traditional Judaism today constitutes) an integrated cultural system of Jewish law,
Happiness is a result that we deserved, furthermore, it becomes a motivation for us to keep trying and getting success in life.
Judaism is a religious custom with origins going back about four thousand years, established in the old close eastern region of Canaan. Starting as the convictions and practices of the general population known as "Israel," traditional, or rabbinic, Judaism did not rise until the first century C.E. Judaism follows its legacy to the covenant God made with Abraham and his heredity, that God would make them a sacred people and that God would provide them with Holy land. The basic people of Israelite culture are the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophet Moses. Mosses who received God’s laws or the ten commandments from God on Mt. Sinai. Judaism is a convention grounded in the religious, moral, and social laws as they are verbalized
The history of the Jewish faith begins with the Hebrew bible or the Tanankh which has been referred to as the old testament by Christians (Fisher, 2005). The history begins with Moses who led the people according to gods commandments. This includes new teachings and a book called the Talmund. The Jewish people believe that if they obey God’s commands in turn God will deliver on promises he had made to them. The Torah is a set of rules that was given to the Jewish people by Moses. It contains rules for living a moral
When first asked, I believed that happiness was simply fulfilling a desire, but through topics discussed in class, I now realize that there is so much more to happiness. The road to happiness includes using virtues to receive gifts from God and from others. From the Beatitudes, we can learn to use what Jesus has taught us, to gain happiness in our everyday lives. We are taught that when we believe in God, mourn, be gentle, seek righteousness, show mercy,
Happiness is what all human beings/rational beings desire. It is always the end (goal) of our activities, it is an unconditional good.
Happiness is the central purpose of human life and a goal in itself. All action is goal oriented and the goal of every action, is to reach happiness. According to Aristotle, happiness is “living well
The everlasting question of "What is Happiness?" has been inquired since the creation of men. Unfortunately, the only agreed answer that humanity came up with is that all the creatures seek happiness, but no one has the concrete directions for achieving it. Our libraries are overwhelmed with books about happiness, but no dictionary definition explains which path men must take to be happy. No mathematician gave us the axiom which we could use to solve the problem of living in bliss. No scientist brought up the formula of fusing certain ingredients to produce the "drink of happiness". Still almost all the people consider that their ultimate purport in