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Why is being religious the right move? How do we know that it's what we're supposed to be doing? Why can't we live a regular life like the rest of the world? It's an excellent question. Well, let's start with the last one. What does it mean that we don't live a regular life? I think perhaps what you mean is that we have more opportunities and also more restrictions that come with those opportunities. And it sounds like the questioner really wants to explore to see what it would be like to go out and be able to do whatever you wanted. Now, the reason we can't do that is because we're not designed that way. So when we behave in a way that's not in consonance with our design, it doesn't work. It could be done, but it leaves us. A person deeply unfulfilled. So, for example, a friend of mine. who's a balchuva when he was in college he went to some major party colleges so he always said you knew who the jews were because everyone else was sort of like inside and then there'd be a group of people in the back of the house or outside in the backyard and they were having.
these deep philosophical conversations and at some point in the conversation inevitably it would come up what religion they were and he said like 90 percent of the time they were jewish we are inclined towards certain behaviors it's part of our spiritual makeup so the reason we behave that way is because that's who we are and it's not it's not unnatural to behave that way i can understand the desire to, go all out and have an amazing time and do whatever you want. I can certainly understand. that. But ultimately, it won't leave you fulfilled and satisfied because it's not your design. The reason why I chose to start with the last question first is because I very often think that the first questions are really informed by this last question. What I mean to say is as follows. If you didn't have the restrictions of Judaism, if you could do whatever you wanted, would you ask yourself, is being religious the right move? How do we know that it's what we're supposed to be doing? Part of the reason we ask the question is because we have bias, and that's okay, but we should know, are we really asking questions or are we giving answers?
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And there's a difference. If we're really asking questions, then we have to acknowledge the fact that every one of us has a bias when it comes to these things. We want to be able to do what we want, so we ask ourselves, is being religious the right move? And the answer is, it is the right move. And the reason it's the right move is because we should do our best to live with the design of the way that we were created. So God told us, this is why I created you. You have a mission. The mission is to bring godliness into the world, to reveal godliness in the world. The way a Gentile does that is he follows the Sheva Mitzvos B'nei Nawach. Now when you branch those out, it becomes over 200 mitzvos. But let's do that. Let's just calm seven for a second. For a Jew, we have 613 mitzvos, and that involves leading a life with some restrictions. But those restrictions come because of the importance of what we're doing. If someone was playing basketball, for example, there are restrictions. You're not allowed to walk with the ball. You have to dribble. You can't go out of bounds. The restrictions make the game. That's the borders within which the game exists.
Same thing for a relationship. Relationships involve exclusivity. Those borders, the restrictions, are part of the mission. So we have a mission as Jews. We should fulfill that mission. We should do our best to fulfill that mission. Being religious means leading a life that's connected to the mission of godliness. That's all we're trying to do here. Now, how do we know that it's what we're supposed to be doing? The truth of the matter is that's much bigger than a five-minute WhatsApp. But suffice it to say this. The reason you know it will not be because you can test it in a test tube. Religion is not science. So you're never going to be able to prove it as 1 plus 1 equals 2. But the important things in life are not the things that we prove. They're the things that we live. So, for example, you can't prove love. You can prove chemicals. But if you think love is just chemicals, then you and I have a fundamental disagreement, right? You can't prove art. Art is just color on paper, right? But it's not. For those who appreciate art, they understand it's much, much more than that.
So if what you mean is how do we know that it's what we're supposed to be doing, and you're looking for proof in the scientific or the mathematical sense, then I can't help you. But if what you mean is how do I know it, like how do I know it deeply, well, think about it. Who's asking the question? The part of you that deeply wants to be connected. The reason you know it's true is because it's inside of you. There's something called emunah pshuta. It's the symbol faith that every single Jew has that we're doing. Exactly what we're supposed to be doing. And I believe that about every single one of us, deep in our hearts, even after all the questions, we know exactly what we're supposed to be doing.
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