The Five Levels of Pleasure and Peace - a few ideas put together

The Five Levels of Pleasure is a hierarchy that the late Rabbi Noach Weinberg (my grandfather’s younger brother) devised which delineates each level culminating with the highest level of the pleasure of the Divine. Already on a lower level of pleasure, the pleasure of having children, my uncle points out that people don’t know how to capitalize on this pleasure, and life goes by bereft and often even on the contrary, people are greatly pained by their children. So my uncle introduces the Yiddish word: kvel, which means to simply sit and reap in the sensation of the goodness being graced before you, like when a one looks lovingly at someone, kvelling is the practice of doing just that. This is really beautiful, and when it comes to the highest level of pleasure of the Divine, one really needs to do this, and in this sense it is classically known as divaikus (clinging, bonding, attachment).

So after such a beautiful presentation proving and selecting divaikus as the highest pleasure and purpose of intent, and also pointing out how people categorically ignore and do not even know to capitalize on the real pleasures, and pointing out the need to do things like kvelling, one would think, ok this guy has it all figured out he must be putting it into action. But no, not in his institution of Aish Hatorah, or in any institution that I know of today (with the exclusion of meditation and yoga, which maybe some can consider to be an attempt at divaikus), do they have a program to proactively seek divaikus. There are sessions for all types of subjects and studies, even sessions to teach of divaikus, but to actually commit to achieving and even living a life of divaikus everyone shirks away.

Peace, everyone knows that you can’t force peace, force and peace are opposites. Some people try to get around this by trying to cultivate peace with incentives, to make it worthwhile for both parties to be at peace. But what type of incentive can rival the vitality and the industry of hatred? Money or sensual pleasures, are often very insufficient to keep hate at bay. And when the money and pleasure are coming from people whose lives are so empty and meaningless, what appeal do they have? The recipient can hope to gain the “good life” of the donor?!

So ultimately peace has to come from each individual, first one must gain inner peace, peace in his home, and then he can pray and promote peace in the world (-see this in Likutay Moharan, Torah-lesson 14). Also when a person reaches a standard of living which has a vitality much more powerful than hatred, then just his presence alone will force the other side to submit to him. In the Story of Ancient Times of the Seven Beggars, Rabbainu revealed different aspects of his good life that he had, these are not only incentives for peace, but they actually induce peace, because without the teeth to actually dig into these paradigms that Rabbainu revealed, one will only be able to shirk away humbled. It has been said that when a person see someone very great, in his mind he sees a reflection of himself. This is true of seeing a great person whose greatness is superficial and self aggrandizement, such a great person who knew how to successfully achieve the empty pleasures of this world. When looking on such a great person, a person will see in his mind a reflection of his own self. However when a person looks at a truly great person, then he will see how much he himself is in the dark and how his own personal immense deficiencies. So the more people up their game and begin to achieve the true pleasures of life, the pleasures of the Divine, the more everyone else will follow suit, and the more peace will reign.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman!

Five Levels of Pleasure

HH

Truth is that this is really good Torah, I am not sure how he merited to it, but he did. This is a Torah from my uncle (grandfather's younger brother) R' Noach Weinberg ob"m. You can see it at length at the aish website they have a page with the whole thing laid out.

Basically we know that man was created to delight in G-d (Ramchal, who's hilula is this Friday), so my uncle laid out 5 levels of pleasure (which can easily be correlated to the 5 partzufim, nukva, zeir, ema, aba, arich). 1st level pleasures are sensual, including sex. 2nd level: love and children. 3rd: a cause. 4th: power. 5th: G-d.

As my uncle points out, the problem is that people don't know how to enjoy these pleasures, and usually they actually suffer from them. So he introduced a Yiddish word that actually made it into the English dictionary: kvell. Which means to experience the joy and pride from something. Parents can just sit and kvell watching their children in delight.

The thing is that kvell also falls short, both in quality and quantity. That of course is where meditation comes in. The problem with meditation is that most of the systems out there are based on pagan idiots, and the framework for "Jewish meditation" is quite shaky.

[This is why addictions and pornography prevail. People get an easy score from them, whereas they can't find any satisfaction from a higher source. Once a person learns how to reach and push Divine buttons, he creates a refuge, allowing himself the possibility of delving into kosher channels, even if it takes more effort, instead of feeling compelled to resort to low measures].

In addition, meditation can not be the complete solution, for even someone who can achieve very satisfying experiences when meditating must still face the challenges life presents to him, and the chances are, the higher that person can go while meditating the more cataclysmic life will be for him. Take for example the great Kabalist Avrohom Abulafia who achieved what can be considered minor prophecy - Abulafia writes how he was completely confounded by tempest of trials and tribulations which encompassed him subjugating him to impure forces and energies, making it utterly impossible for him, for many years, to even attempt achieving the states of consciousness he knew how to access.

Rabbainu's way of hisbodidus is therefore the supreme method and guide in forging a path of meditation which builds a persons life in balance, giving him mastery of all the pleasures G-d set out for him.

Rabbi Nachman and his disciples offered many important tips and directives on how to go about doing hisbodidus. Some of them are brought down directly in regard to hisbodidus, and some are small statements found interspersed in the great vast teachings of Breslov. Today different rabbis or gurus have assembled packages of instructions which they offer to the public. Unfortunately I have yet to see, or even hear of anyone today that can profess achieving any serious ecstasy from their hisbodidus. Sure many people experience euphoria and some transient high, but I haven't found someone who can actually build a proper establishment of Divine pleasure.

Like everything, especially with Rabbainu Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman, the key is in complete simplicity and straightforwardness. Focus on this objective, latch on, and keep strong till you win.

Since the objective is G-d Himself. Focus on G-d, latch on, and don't let go.

This is what Rabbainu said once, to sit down by the table, and feel G-d looking upon you until you turn red in the face. Very simple, extremely powerful, utterly rewarding!

This should be a common practice, exercise, the Baal Shem Tov praised the tzadikim who go about their whole day with this consciousness. So it is a good idea to do it for at least a few minutes a day. To feel the effect, the touch, the kiss of the Divine...

Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman!