The basic pattern for all three of these characters' final speeches is this: too much of a good thing is not good anymore. The Neheneh started out by saying that man should enjoy the pleasures of life because G-d made this beautiful world for man. He then decided that, because G-d is in complete control of the world, man has no accountability for his actions. In other words, a man can go "POW POW!" other people and not be punished for it. During his final speech, he came to the ultimate conclusion that man should do whatever he wants in life because there is no accountability for your actions at death; there is no judgement and G-d is not in control. The Ammal, who wrote himself out of the book, came to an equally extreme conclusion. In his final speech, he claimed that men should strive for perfection. However, perfection is impossible, so הכל הבל. The king can't lead his society to get rid of injustice; this is also worthless. Finally, man wants everything. If he can't have everything, then הכל הבל. The Chacham's central philosophy was that man should use his intellect to understand the world. By the end of his final speech, he has started to sound like the Neheneh: man is stupid, so all that is left in life is to enjoy it. (I might be slightly off, but we haven't learned it in class yet.) We have yet to hear from the Yirei Elokim, but I certainly hope that he has something genuinely uplifting to say. I have never seen the Yirei Elokim as an extremist, so I still have hope for him
Recently, I have been watching a bunch of kids movies, including Kung Fu Panda. And then I came across this wonderful video:
Imagine that the turtle is G-d and the other guy (what animal is he?) is man. What G-d is essentially saying here is that man needs a little bit of "everything" to make life meaningful and to fulfill his mission. Before departing from this world (because the story calls for it), the master turtle passes on some important advice. He tells his student to use his intellect and put forth effort to make the Panda succeed in his fight against the evil tiger. Also, there are some things that he just can't control in this world. All he can do in those situations is accept the things he can't control and work to make his own life and world better. Finally, he has to believe, as cheesy as that sounds. On second thought, maybe this movie isn't just for kids.
What do you think? Do you think that everything in moderation can give meaning to life? What about belief in G-d? Is it necessary or not? If it is necessary, what does it add to life?
Okay, this was by far the greatest video ever posted on either blog so far this year. What a great start to the morning. :) So great.
ReplyDeleteI really don't know what I think about life. I think all of this depends on a person. Believing in God might give meaning to one person and be meaningless to the next. I think that we're all different like that. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there's something that everyone needs to have a great life... I donno..
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Racheli. Such a lovely video. I do think that everything in moderation can give meaning to life. All the characters we have discussed each brought something valuable to the table. On their own, they would not give us meaning. However, a nice combination of these ideas could help us lead fulfilling lives. I think belief in G-d is the core of our lives as Jews. Racheli raised an interesting point. Some people don't believe in G-d. Do they still live meaningful lives? Perhaps so. As Jewish people, our fundamentals lie in G-d, so they bolster our pursuit of meaning.
I don't agree that things in moderation give meaning to life, because somethings you need a lot of to find meaning. For me, I need a lot of kavanah to find meaning in life which leads me into the next question. I think that belief in G-d is very necessary because that and Torah is what shapes my life as a Jew. It gives me a sense that there is a higher power over me who is looking over me.
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