Neheneh + Chacham = Teen of the 21st century

Yesterday, in our session about what aspect of Judaism is most worth fighting for, Mrs. Perl mentioned how a sense of meaning and connectedness in Judaism as the aspect that she is the most passionate about. She also mentioned that if you combine the Chacham and Neheneh together, you come up with what is basically the average teenager of the 21st century, who is lacking this important sense of purpose in their life. These two personalities are based off of lifestyles in which a person is most concerned with themselves, and their own instant gratification. The Neheneh finds this gratification through eating, drinking, and enjoying the world, while the Chacham finds his own gratification by looking for wisdom through his own intellect. In both cases, these philosophies' themes are centered around how things are or appear to be to the individual involved. As we see later, because of this "fatal flaw," neither the Neheneh or the Chacham can later find meaning, because their ideologies end up collapsing on themselves at the end; there is simply no base to hold them up because they are supported by themselves. This highlights why the system of finding meaning that the Yirai Elokim suggests- recognizing that there is a higher power and living a lifestyle that goes with this idea- is so important to stay grounded in this world. Without the knowledge that there is something above you keeping you firmly rooted, it becomes much easier to drift. When a person is drifting in situation like this without realizing this important point, it is possible that they may never learn this important point, and will not be able to anchor themselves down and be secure in their sense of meaning in life.