Mussar from Moshe

I would take issue with the apparent assumption that religion, and specifically Judaism, is supposed to make one feel "good". To the contrary, the prophet tells us "Woe to those who are at ease in Zion". To be religious is first and foremost to be a partner with God in repairing the world under his sovereignty, and to do that you have to be concerned first in foremost with the needs of others. There is an old hasidic saying to the effect that most people are concerned with their own physical needs and other people's morality, when in reality it should be the other away around.

How can I be a religious person if I am first and foremost mainly concerned with my own pleasure? Should I be worrying mainly about my "highs" in a world where:

-mass murder is still being committed in places
-billions of people are denied basic democratic freedoms
-millions of people in the USA have inadequate health care
-a few can make billions of dollars themselves, while in the process nearly drive the world's economy into a depression with impunity
--thousands of Jewish families have to nearly impoverish themselves to obtain a Jewish education
--a madman threatens the extinction of the State of Israel and is pursuing the means to make that threat a reality
--many more thousands of Jewish children do not receive any sort of proper Jewish education
--thousands of senior citizens are living lonely lives in old age homes, rarely visited by anyone
---Rabbinic leaders commit brazen criminal offenses and thus shame the Jewish people.

I could go on. My point is that I am not at all convinced that feeling good is God's first priority for us down here, as far as I can tell from the sacred texts of Judaism. Certainly, asceticism is not encouraged either. But neither is a vapid quest for pleasure. One need go no further than read the upcoming haphtorah for Yom Kippur to see what we are truly called upon to do.

So if one wants a true religious "high", may I suggest trying one or more of the following:

1. Visit a lonely senior in an old age home.
2.If you are financially able, pay for a month of yeshiva for a poor Jewish child
3.Say a kind word to someone in your shul whom you don't get along with so well.
4. Refrain from using insulting epithets against commenter to your blog with whom you disagree.
5. Increase your tzedakah giving, and take the time to study and become familiar with the organizations whom you donate to, to make sure the money is well used.
6. Hire a needy person to build your succah and pay him more than the job is worth.
7. Don't sit down to your yontif meal without making adequate provisions for a poor family to eat at least as well as yours is.
8. Write your elected representatives and tell them that it is a disgrace that people should be driven into bankruptcy in a rich society because they are struck down by an unexpected illness.
9. Attend a rally protesting Iran's nuclear ambitions.

We say in the Yomim Noraim liturgy "Seek God where He is to be found." And where is that? "Close is God to those who are broken in spirit". Raise the spirits of the lowly, the oppressed, and the downtrodden, and your spirit will be made "high" in the process.