Judaism says that God is our Father in Heaven, and we are His children. Just like any parent, God wants His children to enjoy life's pleasures. There are five different levels of pleasure -- each a class unto itself. Each of these five levels of pleasures is so unique that you cannot exchange 10 units of level one pleasure for even one unit of level two pleasure. So how do you assign a value to any given pleasure? Pleasure gives you energy. Watch out for counterfeit pleasures. For every pleasure, the price tag is effort.
LEVEL ONE - PHYSICAL GRATIFICATION
Level one pleasure is physical and material pleasure. This includes anything that involves the "five senses." God made the physical world for us to enjoy. God could have created bland mush with all the vitamins and minerals necessary for our survival. And this is the counterfeit of level one -- too much of a good thing. When you partake of level one pleasure without savoring this gift, you end up not being able to enjoy it. The key is awareness. When you are aware, you won't lose control and allow your appetites to rule over you.LEVEL TWO - LOVE
There is no exchange rate. No amount of level one pleasure can buy you even one morsel of level two pleasure. What is worth more than all the money in the world? Love. The Talmud defines love as the emotional pleasure we get when focusing on the virtues of another. The counterfeit of love is the notion that it is effort-free -- something that just happens to you. Love is built on knowledge. The more intimate the knowledge, the more you can love. Real love is forever, but it takes work.The greater the pleasure, the greater the effort required. Therefore, if you want to succeed in life, the key is not to eliminate pain entirely -- that is impossible. Rather, focus on the pleasure which you receive as a reward for all that effort.LEVEL THREE - MEANING
What in the world could compel someone to give up what they love most dearly? A cause. The drive to make a difference in the world. The desire for greater meaning in life. The need to do the right thing. In Judaism we say: If you don't know what you are willing to die for, then you haven't begun to live. Otherwise you are merely playing a game.LEVEL FOUR - CREATIVITY
Level four pleasure is the power of creativity. To take inert matter and turn it into something productive, useful, beautiful. One of the greatest forms of fourth level pleasure is creating a family: giving birth to children, then inculcating them with values, and molding them into healthy, productive, caring individuals. Why is creativity such a thrill? Because it touches the essence of God. The ultimate expression of creativity was God's creation of the world. He made something from absolutely nothing. Only an Infinite Being can do that. Expressing our own creativity is a taste of that power.LEVEL FIVE - G-D
Imagine someone who has mastered the four levels of pleasure. He enjoys enormous wealth and material pleasures, a beautiful loving family, meaning in life, power used to create good in the world. Yet there's still something missing. An encounter with G-d. No human being is totally satisfied unless she's in touch with the transcendent dimension. When all is said and done, what we each seek is to reach out of this finite world and connect with the infinite. Awe is the experience of merging our small, relatively insignificant selves with something much greater. We break beyond our own limitations and connect to the unity of G-d. Level five pleasure is incomparable to any other experience. Nothing finite, nothing bound up in this world, can compare to the infinite.Click here for the full article from aish.com.
