Worldly Pleasures in Chassidus

MyLife Essay Contest 2015

Recently, we are hearing more and more frequently from the young generation about the need to balance Chasdidishkeit and worldliness, or to be more “chilled”. In this essay, we will attempt to explore this craving, its source, and what Chassidus has to say about it.

The Source of Pleasure

Pleasure touches a person at their deepest core. Kabbalistically, it is higher than the Ten Sefiros, the Ten G-dly Attributes, above even Ratzon, will, because a person uses their will in order to satisfy their quest for pleasure. It can be said that most people spend their lives in the pursuit of pleasure, which depend on their level of refinement. As written in the Rebbe Rashab’s Kuntress UMaayan MiBeis Hashem, pleasure can take many forms, from the lowest pleasure of a succulent meal, to pleasure in music, and the even higher pleasure of intellectual pursuit. Higher still is spiritual pleasure, and the highest form is to serve Hashem in order to cause Him pleasure and satisfaction instead of our own.

As can be gleaned from the above, the Source of pleasure is Divine and itself holy. Nevertheless, because of its elevation, pleasure is also susceptible to be brought down to incredibly low levels. As anything, the holier its potential, the lower its possibility to fall. Therefore, as humans, Jews, Chassidim, and Chabad Chassidim, we must strive to ensure that all our cravings are not only permitted, but also holy.

Channeling the Drive for Pleasure

As written in the Alter Rebbe’s Tanya, Jews have been gifted with two neshamos, souls, the first of which is the Nefesh Elokis, the G-dly soul, which is a chelek Eloka mimaal mamosh, a literal part of G-d above, whose only aspiration is to fuse with Divinity and go back to its Source. The second soul is the Nefesh HaBahamis, the animal soul, whose only goal is to provide itself with the maximum degree of pleasure. Although the goal of the Nefesh HaBahamis is egocentric, it is not evil, as the pleasure it seeks is not necessarily downgrading or prohibited. As the Tanya and Kuntress UMaayan, among many other Chasidic works, teach us, a person’s aspiration throughout their life should be to inculcate their Nefesh HaBehamis to learn to get pleasure from increasingly finer things in life, until its unique goal becomes to serve Hashem to its utmost ability, and its pleasure is derived solely from giving Hashem pleasure, kavyachol, as it were.

The Purpose of Life

The purpose of each of our lives is to elevate our Nefesh HaBahamis, body, and chelek, part, of the world to G-dliness and release the trapped sparks in them, as we know from Kabbalah that when the Keilim, vessels, of Tohu, the World of Chaos, shattered, 288 nitzutzos, sparks, fell into our world, the lowest and most materialistic in the chain of worlds, and our mission is to elevate those that match our particular soul.

We elevate these sparks by taking part in the material world for the purpose of serving Hashem and accomplishing Torah and mitzvos. As the holy Tanya explains, performing mundane activities such as eating, drinking, sleeping, etc. for G-d turns them from neutral activities associated with the kelipas nogah, intermediate, transparent shell, to holy acts from the side of kedusha, holiness. In essence, there are no neutral thoughts, words, or deeds in this world. There are either good or bad ones, and anything “neutral” either becomes bad if done with only selfish, pleasurable intent, or holy if done in the course of carrying out our life mission.

Perceiving Oneness – No Dichotomy

The above will help us understand how to approach life and worldly pleasures. In essence, there is no duality in this world. Everything in the world was created to help us achieve our mission, even those aspects which we elevate by avoiding them. As explained in Tanya, the 248 positive mitzvos are associated with the level of Elokus, G-dliness, called Memale Kol Almin, a level of G-dliness that permeates the world, and by performing them we reveal that level of G-dliness in the world. However, the 365 negative mitzvos are associated with the level of Elokus termed Sovev Kol Almin, a level of G-dliness so high that it cannot permeate the world, but only encompasses it. In order for it to affect our world and ourselves, the only way we can reveal this intense G-dly light is by refraining from doing a prohibited action, as no action would be sufficient to direct that light into our lives and our world. Thus, not only are we told in the Talmud that we are rewarded for refraining from an aveirah, a transgression, as if we performed a positive mitzvah, but in doing so we reveal an even higher light of G-dliness. Therefore, sometimes we should not be involved in certain things or go to certain places, as to elevate the sparks found there, we need on the contrary to refrain.

Once we understand this, the question of the “balance” between the ruchniyusdike, spiritual, and gashmiyusdike, material, worlds becomes moot, as the answer is very simple: If what one seeks to think, say, or do is leshem Shomayim, for Hashem’s sake, then it is holy, and the opposite holds true as well, which would require that one refrain. This does not mean that a person should spend their day davening, praying, and learning Torah.

Of course, if one is a yeshivah bochur, a yeshivah student, that is exactly what should be done, but at each stage of life, the manner of serving Hashem changes, and different sparks are able to be elevated. In whatever occupation one is involved, they should use it to provide an honest parnasah, livelihood, for themselves and their families, give tzedakah, charity, and set aside time to learn Torah. Earning a parnasah in order to provide for oneself and one’s family as well as giving tzedakah is itself a mitzvah and not just a mundane occupation. The same holds true for eating, sleeping, etc. All of these activities should be done in order to sustain the body so that that it will be invigorated and refreshed to serve Hashem. In terms of relaxation, this also can be done leshem Shomayim so as to serve Hashem better after, in reasonable amounts and with kosher activities, and not unholy entertainment or reading material.

Also, the same activity can be done in a kosher and unkosher manner. For example, someone can give a cursory glance at the day’s news in order to keep abreast of what is going on in the world, while another might waste a lot of time reading and watching inappropriate material or kosher material but in inordinate amounts which pollute the neshama and causes one to be botel Torah, neglect the study of Torah, which is a serious aveirah, sin, for a man. Similarly, someone can take secular classes in order to speak and write better on Shlichus, learn how to balance their budget and create computer presentations needed for their work, etc., while another may take secular courses just to know more about the goyishe, non-Jewish, world and imbibe their world view. Thus, a person should be very careful when engaging in “gray” areas of life, as in fact nothing is gray, but either black or white, depending on what it is and the purpose for which it is done. In order to determine this, one should study Chassidus and follow the guidance of a rov, a competent authority in Jewish Law, and a mashpia, a spiritual mentor, for personal advice and guidance, as the Rebbe advised time and again.

Living Up to Our Privilege

As Chabad Chassidim, we have a special mandate to live up to this high standard, and being Chabad Chassidim, we were given the strength to do so and have no excuses. There is no such thing as “Chabad-lite”. Chabad may be everywhere Coca-Cola is, lehavdil, but it is not a drink, and there is no light version. To be a Chabad Chossid is a privilege—not a hereditary right—to be earned by anyone who wishes to abide by the Chabad tenets, expounded upon in Chabad Chassidus and the horaos, directives, of the Rebbeim, especially of the Rebbe of our generation whom Chabad Chassidim follow. None of us are a Rebbe, and we are not to alter any practices to suit our whims. As the Rebbe told people who asked if they could be considered his Chassidim, the fundamental requirement to be a Chossid is to be on the way up in the learning of Torah and the performance of mitzvos, as illuminated by the luminary of Chassidus; the direction one is going on is more important than the person’s current level, and as has been proven, stagnation is the beginning of regression.

However, we are not to be ascetic, but on the contrary involved in the material world and with technology, all leshem Shomayim, for G-d’s sake. In fact, all these things were created just for us to accomplish Torah and mitzvos with them, as the Midrash teaches that gold was created solely for the Mishkan and Beis HaMikdash, and the Rebbe teaches that the purpose of technology is to diffuse Yiddishkeit. As the Rebbe said in his last Maamar of VeAta Tetzaveh in 5752, that it was quite odd that in Russia and other places some fifty years ago or less when people suffered many difficulties, they hung tight to carry out Torah and mitzvos with utmost love and dedication, and nowadays when we thank G-d do not need to have mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice, in such a manner, many unfortunately take a lax approach to Yiddishkeit, Judaism. This is a trick of the Yetzer Harah, evil inclination, and human nature to fight adversity and let go in times of ease. Nevertheless, this is something the Rebbe decried and that we must be vigilant not to G-d forbid fall prey to.

Once, the Rebbe was questioned that his Chassidim look serene and almost naïve. He answered that is was not naïveté, but the calm and happy disposition of people who do not live a life of dichotomy between what they believe to be the ideal life and actually living that life. This is not only the type of life we should aspire to, but the one we should live 24/7. We should always keep in mind the pesukim, Torah verses, of “Shivisi Hashem lenegedi somid”, “I have placed G-d before me always”, and “Bechol drachecho doeihu”, In all your ways, know Him”.

The purpose of a human being, how much more so a Jew, a Chossid, and especially a Chabad Chossid, is not to achieve “balance” in life, to G-d forbid give Hashem certain hours of the day and night, and act in unG-dly, pleasure-seeking ways during the remainder of the day and night. As it says, it is possible G-d forbid to be disgusting in the confines of Halacha, Jewish Law. Our mindset should not be to try to get away with the minimum requirements, but on the contrary to learn Halacha and Chassidus, and go lifnim mishuras hadin, above the halachic requirements, and fulfill all mitzvos behidur, with beauty, as this has always been the definition of a Chossid, even in the Talmud. There is nothing “cool” about being “chilled”; chilled is exactly what it is, G-d forbid chilled in one’s service to Hashem, (although serving Hashem is the very purpose and raison d’être of our existence), and lacking in the warmth and vitality necessary in order to live our Yiddishkeit to its fullest. Being chilled leads G-d forbid to apathy, which is the kelipah, impurity, of Amalek, which must be totally eradicated, and the beginning of the most terrible downfall, G-d should protect us, as written in HaYom Yom.

On the contrary, we should strive to always grow in Torah and mitzvos, as illuminated by the luminary of Chassidus, and accomplish our purpose in this world with joy and gladness of heart, as the Rebbe always says. We should be joyous in the knowledge that each one of us has been individually chosen by Hashem to perform a mission which is singularly ours and which no one else who has ever lived or will ever live will ever be able to carry out in our stead. In the merit of all that Yidden, Jews, have done throughout the generations, including ours which will tip the scales, and in fulfillment of the Rebbe’s promise to us, that Moshiach will be here very soon, may we be zoche to the Geula Sheleima bekorov Mamosh, merit the complete Redemption speedily right now!