Pillow Book of Talmud Wisdom

Chapter 31 Enjoy Moderately, Work Moderately—Jews on Enjoyment (1)
The Jews advocate "moderate enjoyment, moderate work", such a life is perfect.

As the "Talmud" says: The more wealth, the less good dreams; the more wives, the less peace; the more maids, the less chastity; the more male servants, the more chaos.

Make life full, fulfilling and meaningful
A ship encountered a strong storm during the voyage and deviated from its course.In the morning of the next day, when the weather calmed down, people realized that the ship was in the wrong position, and at the same time, they also discovered that there was a beautiful island not far ahead.The ship sailed into the bay, dropped anchor, and took a short rest.Looking from the deck, the flowers on the island are in full bloom, the trees are full of coveted fruits, a large area of ​​beautiful green shade, and the beautiful singing of birds can be heard.Thus, the passengers on board were naturally divided into five groups.The first group of passengers missed the opportunity to set sail because they were worried that there would be a favorable wind. No matter how beautiful the island is, they waited for the second group of passengers to board the island in a hurry, browse the magnificent scenery, and return immediately; The third group of tourists also went to the island to play, but because they stayed for too long, they hurried back when the wind was blowing, lost everything, and finally took the ideal position; the fourth group of tourists observed whether the sails were raised while playing, and Thinking that the captain would not abandon them and drive the boat away, they stayed on the island until the anchor was weighed and hurriedly boarded the boat. Many people were injured because of this; The bells were left on the island. As a result, some were eaten by wild beasts, and some died of illness after eating poisonous fruit by mistake.So, if you were a traveler, which one would you be?The Jews believe that the first group lacks the experience of happiness and lacks fun in life; the third and fourth groups suffer a lot because they are too greedy and hasty; only the second group enjoys a little happiness without forgetting their own. Mission, this is the wisest group.

What the Jews advocate is "pleasure in moderation and work in moderation". Only such a life can be full, fulfilling and meaningful.It is for this reason that the Jews believe that enjoying the pleasures of life is the privilege and duty of human beings. Beautiful clothes, a beautiful home, a virtuous wife, and a smart son will make people happy and increase their strength at work.Therefore, the rabbis considered those who swore not to drink alcohol to be "sinners" and "fools".But the attitude of the rabbis towards wine also reflects the Jewish sense of proportion, so they also believe that wine is the most taboo to drink too much, and trouble will come if you drink too much; would not sin."Thinking about those in life who lost face because of drunkenness, and even froze to death on the street because of excessive drinking, I feel that the attitude of the Jews is very reasonable.Therefore, the Jews believe that when the devil wants to visit someone and has no time, he will send wine as his representative.

When Noah planted the first vine, the devil Satan came and asked: "What are you doing?" Noah said: "I am planting a very good plant." Satan said that he had never seen such a plant grow. What's it like.Noah told him: "It will bear a very sweet and delicious fruit. After drinking the juice of this fruit, people will feel very happy." When Satan heard this, he became excited and had to join the ranks of this kind of happiness. Come.So he ran to catch sheep, lions, pigs and monkeys, killed them one by one, and poured their blood as fertilizer, so that grapes grew, and finally turned into wine.Therefore, when people first drink alcohol, they are docile like sheep; if they drink a little more, they will be as strong as lions; if they drink more, they will be as dirty as pigs; Sing and dance the same way, without any self-control.This is the "happiness" that Satan gave to mankind.Of course, giving up enjoyment completely and working hard blindly should not be advocated.Therefore, the Jews respect the truth and let nature take its course. Even if you have bad thoughts, as long as you don’t do it, you are a noble person. This is the real, flesh-and-blood person, not a man-made "god" who does not eat the fireworks of the world. .

work is not the only thing in life
No matter what, as long as it is within the scope of your rights, you will do it with the greatest strength.Because in the future world you are about to enter, there is no action, no thought, no learning, no wisdom.

The Jews believe that in addition to happiness, there are evils in the world, so people should prevent excessive greed.

For example, when a person is used to eating and drinking, once he can't eat or drink, he will be disappointed, and he will get involved in the most difficult affairs, running around for money, just to keep the table he is used to .This leads to cunning and covetousness, and with it comes perjury and all the other vices that follow... Yet he would not fall into the abyss of these sins if he were not tempted by pleasure.

On the premise of putting an end to greed and evil, a person can pursue his own happiness and joy within his ability, which is the right bestowed on mankind by the Creator.

In Western countries where money is a priority, top executives are calling for a return to family life.Some people put forward the slogan: "Go to life and find a balance between professional and private life." Clark, a department head of Harvard Business School, said to this year's graduates: "Success in career cannot compensate for failure in private life."

The 35-year-old German Christoph Weiss belongs to the young elite with successful careers.He has two children aged 4 and 6.He spends as much time as possible looking after the children.Weiss said: "As a father, the joy of caring for my children is like closing a business. I often rush home on the weekends so that I can swim with my son every week. .and exercising with the kids, and I get energized myself."

According to a survey conducted by the German Institute of Social Issues in 1999, young Germans believe that family is the most important area, ranking first, followed by friendship, health and love, and the future is fifth.

Work and family make up almost all of one's personal life.Values ​​are different, and the judgment of their importance will also be different.No matter which side you prefer, you can't ignore the importance of the other side.Career and family are like two legs of a person, only by walking on two legs can we walk steadily and in the long run.A good job can provide a family with better financial security; family happiness can also create a stable "logistics" for work.

Although family and work are completely different areas of life, they are inseparable.Jerome Warren's career is doing well, and his family is also very warm.After experiencing the initial turmoil of starting a business and working day and night, although Jerome now often runs around talking about projects and cooperation, he puts family and health in a more important position.For the most part, Jerome lived a regular life, commuting to and from get off work regularly and spending time with his family.Even when he is away on business, Jerome always has his family in his heart.Therefore, Jerome has a happy and stable family; it is precisely because of the strong backing of the family that Jerome can be confident in his career.

Only when both career and family are successful can it be considered true success.If your career is successful but your family is unhappy, you cannot be happy; and if your career fails and your family is not settled, you cannot be happy either.Family and career are the positive and negative sides of the coin of happiness. Happiness and success can only be truly realized when the two are combined into one.

Balancing career and family

Making money is for enjoyment, this is the purpose of the Jews to make money, and it is also their best interpretation of business purposes.Therefore, the Jewish people have a certain amount of work and rest when doing business, so that work and life can be balanced, and they truly appreciate the true meaning of life.

In the eyes of the Jews, people who have no free time and can't arrange their time reasonably are people who can't make money.The Jews believe that in order to make money, you must first have the time to make money, and you must use the time reasonably in making money, otherwise it will be a waste of time.A person's life is short but long, many people are busy all day long but do nothing; many people indulge in wine tables and cards all day long, and their days are wasted for no reason. These people can't arrange their time reasonably, and they are destined to fail Great weapon.

Some people are "busy people" because they have been working hard and busy making money.According to Jewish business rules, you must be busy when you should be busy, otherwise there will be no efficiency.However, "busy" and "idle" are relative, learn to "sneak in", life is rich and colorful, and people who know how to live are real people.Therefore, Jewish people are often "big idlers".

The Jews regard time as money. When doing business, they will talk about their own and other people's life expectancy objectively and nonchalantly: "Sir, I am 70 years old this year, and I may live another 5 to 10 years!"

For any other ethnic group, if they talk about this kind of "unlucky" when they meet for the first time, they will definitely be met with blank stares.But the Jews are very calm. They think that people are doomed to die after they are born, and they don't have to fear death like a tiger.Knowing how long you have left to live means knowing how much money you have left to make.The Jews live to earn money until they are old, and their attitude towards death is objective and calm. Once they know they can live for a few more years, they will seize these few years to enjoy and make money.

Since Jewish children receive "independent" education from an early age, it is impossible for Jewish elderly to rely on their children for support. Only when they earn money can they have a comfortable life.It is precisely because the Jews know their destiny that they desperately seize the time to make money.At the same time, they are the most enjoyable people in the world.

Therefore, the Jews believe that they should relax their tense mood - put down all work and think about some questions, such as: why were you born into this world?What mission?What is the goal of life and so on are the most basic thinking of people. Even if the answer can never be found, it will strengthen the depth of a person's thinking.

In addition, people should learn to relax themselves and learn to rest.There are many people who often work hard and gradually distance themselves from the life they should have.Jews believe that at first glance, "busy" seems to be a kind of diligence, but in fact it is not, and being busy is not always praiseworthy.

For this reason, one of the biggest characteristics of Jewish life is that they attach great importance to holidays.In Israel, Jews have many holidays, and Jews all over the world often regard vacations as an important part of their lives.

During holidays, Jews do not talk about work, do not think about work, do not read books about work, do not engage in calculations about work, and concentrate on entertainment and relaxation.

During the holidays people can visit friends, put work behind them, talk to each other about outlook on life, life and art... Parents hang out with their children, check their homework, ask them what they learned in school, or ask friends Or take the whole family to travel around, feasting your eyes and mouth.

In the hearts of the Jews, work is beneficial to life, but if a person only knows work and does not know rest, they will lose their humanity.Therefore, during the holidays, they can really break away from all the shackles of work and rest wholeheartedly.

Imagine that you are thriving in your career, but your family is in shambles.The wife is divorced, the child has turned bad, and your home is deserted, with no one to talk to.Even if you achieve great success in your career, who will you share it with?You dare not go home, afraid of being alone, so you work harder, and you get more success.However, are you happy?Are you happy?Do you feel sad when you see other people's families are happy?Do you feel like you are missing something very important?Yes, you lost your family and you lost your happiness.

You can also carefully ponder such an old saying: Poor and lowly couples, everything goes bad.If you have money, you don't necessarily have happiness, but if you don't have money, you can't be happy.When you and your family worry about eating and dressing all day long, when you see your children delaying their education because of poverty, can you still feel the joy of life?Can you still experience the happiness of family?

The ancients said to start a family first and then a career, but modern people believe in a career before a family.This is all one-sided.There is no question of who comes first in career and family, they are juxtaposed, and you need to manage them at the same time.If you manage it properly, you can freely shuttle between career and family, and you can feel the infinite happiness of life in balance.

(End of this chapter)