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Welcome to www.Neshamah.org. "Neshamah" is a Hebrew word meaning "soul". The purpose of Neshamah.org is to promote knowledge about the soul and to help people to actualize their soul's potential. Neshamah.org seeks to bring out the preciousness of every soul and every moment of life.
The founding fathers of the United States of America, in the Declaration of Independence, wrote that all men are created equal and are endowed with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. While it is true that many people exercise the right to pursue happiness all the time, it is also true that very few people actually find it. It seems, in fact, that the more one pursues happiness, the more elusive it seems to become.
There is a book in the Bible that talks about the pursuit of happiness. That book is Koheles, or Ecclesiastes. This book, written by King Solomon, the wisest of all men, describes his pursuit of various approaches to finding happiness. He had a tremendous amount of money, and he acquired everything that money could buy, but that did not bring him the happiness he was seeking. He then tried wine. Wine and other physical pleasures and addictions give a person a temporary chemically induced pleasure, but, when that wears off, he is right back where he was before, or even worse. King Solomon also tried to attain happiness through entertainment, but this too fell short. Entertainment serves to distract a person and provides an escape, but it does not address the core issues of life in a positive or constructive way. He also contemplated the philosophical approach that espouses that nothing really matters anyway, so there is no need to deal with the real issues of life. This approach, too, in truth, is an escape, and does not solve a person's problems.
In order for a person to pursue his happiness successfully, the most important question he can ask is "Who am I, really?". Judaism teaches that man has a soul as well as a body, and that, indeed, the soul is primary. According to Judaism, the soul is a spark from G-d, and it finds its fulfillment and meaning through connecting to its Source. Only this will satisfy it, and leads to its ultimate happiness. It is also this realization that leads to a sense of purpose and meaning in life, even when things happen that we don't understand. It is the soul that seeks meaning and fulfillment in life, and, when a person turns to physical things and distractions to fulfill this spiritual quest, he will fail. Many people are not aware of the depths within them, and of the depths they need to seek.
King Solomon, in Koheles, reaches the conclusion that G-d hears everything; everything we do has meaning. One should fear G-d and keep His commandments; the purpose of life and happiness in life are connected to a relationship with G-d.
