Prioritize Your Pleasure

What does G-d want for you?

A nice house? A Caribbean vacation? The perfect cappuccino? Sure — He’s your Father. He wants you to enjoy His world.

But you weren’t born just to be comfortable. You were born to live with purpose. You were born to experience something deeper. You were born for real pleasure.

Judaism teaches that pleasure is not only allowed, it’s the goal of life — but only if you know where to find it.

There are five levels of pleasure in this world. Most people get stuck at the bottom and wonder why life feels so empty. But if you keep climbing, you’ll taste a kind of joy you didn’t know was possible.

Level 5: Physical Pleasure

This is where most people live. Food, music, sunshine, fashion, that perfect first bite of chocolate cake.

And it’s all good. The Talmud says we’ll be held accountable for pleasures we could’ve enjoyed and didn’t. G-d created a beautiful world for His children to savor.

But the trap is indulgence. When you live only for your senses, it backfires. Pleasure without purpose quickly becomes pain.

The goal isn’t to avoid physical pleasure — it’s to enjoy it mindfully, as a gift from above.

Level 4: Love

Love is what makes life worth living. Not the Hollywood kind. Not the swipe-right kind. Real love — the joy of seeing the goodness in someone else and wanting to give.

You wouldn’t trade your child for all the money in the world. Because love isn’t a thing. It’s everything.

But love takes work. It takes focus. And when you learn how to love, you unlock a pleasure that no luxury vacation can touch.

Level 3: Meaning

Imagine this: You’re on a boat and someone falls into the water. You dive in, risk your life, and save them. It’s scary. Dirty. Exhausting. But years later, that’s the day you remember with pride.

That’s the power of meaning.

Living for something bigger than yourself — truth, justice, goodness — is a deeper pleasure than anything physical. It’s why we admire people who sacrifice for a cause. Because they remind us what life is really about.

Level 2: Creativity & Accomplishment

There’s a pleasure in building something — a business, a painting, a family, a legacy.

This isn’t about control. It’s about contribution.

When you shape something meaningful — using your mind, your gifts, your soul — you reflect G-d’s creativity. After all, He’s the Ultimate Creator. And when we create, we feel more alive, more whole, more divine.

Level 1: Connection to G-d

This is the highest pleasure a human being can experience.

To stand in awe. To pray with tears. To light candles and feel the room change. To see the Divine in the world — and in yourself.

We are spiritual beings in a physical world. And our souls crave connection to the Infinite.

This isn’t a fantasy. It’s real. And once you taste it, nothing else compares.

You Were Made for This

Too many people spend their lives chasing pleasure…But never realize they were holding the map the whole time.

Climb the ladder. Don’t settle for the quick fix. Don’t let society sell you a watered-down life.

You were created for greatness. You were created for joy. You were created for G-d.

So live boldly. Choose higher. And travel first class.

Based on the teachings of Rabbi Noah Weinberg, founder of Aish HaTorah: The 5 Levels of Pleasure.