Why Do We Yearn to Live Forever?

Imagine an author crafting a masterpiece, an artist painting a dedicated portrait, or an architect designing a unique building.

If we ask them, "Why do you invest so many years of your life in such a challenging goal?", they might tell us about the joy of creation, the thrill of discovering their hidden talents, or the fulfillment of personal achievements. But is this the whole truth?

Let's imagine they knew with absolute certainty that they would die exactly one week after completing the greatest work of their life. Would they still invest the same level of effort and enjoy it with the same amount of pleasure as before? Likely, yes, they might even work harder.

Now, let's add another piece to the puzzle: suppose they knew with absolute certainty that one week after their death, a massive meteor would strike Earth, destroying all life. Humanity would vanish, their great creation would disappear, and no one would be left to enjoy it. Would they still invest the same level of effort and enjoy it with the same amount of pleasure as before?

Many would probably agree that under such circumstances, their enjoyment would be diminished. They might even give up and abandon their effort. But why is that?

Seemingly, if the creator is working solely for personal satisfaction, for the joy of creation, this future fact should not change their feelings at all. They would die anyway before the meteor hits Earth, experiencing no difference in the context of their life...

The reason lies in the yearning for eternity: the creator invests in something that outlives them, fueled by the belief that their creation will live on after they die, thus helping them 'escape' death. This investing in a purpose beyond temporary and earthly life provides them with spiritual satisfaction in the present. Therefore, if we remove the imagined promise of material continuity, they lose their sense of meaning, and their motivation is crippled.

For materialistic people, this spiritual yearning for the eternal is expressed in the desperate attempt to immortalize themselves in this world, by establishing buildings and businesses, books and arts, or by founding a family or group of people to remember them.

Most people are not artists, and their longing for eternity is generally expressed through their children, the next generation that will live after them (although they too will grow old and die like everyone else). In contrast, there are people who try to accumulate as many experiences as possible before death. All these temporary goals conceal a deeper, more fundamental yearning that the Creator embedded within us: the life after death.

For this reason, Hashem causes us to feel dissatisfied with the short lives that we are given, and deep inside, He has instilled in us a profound longing for the eternal. So instead of settling for substitutes and imitations, we should connect to our true purpose. Only through the holy Torah can we attain our spiritual perfection, achieving the eternal life of happiness that Hashem destined for us in the world to come. It turns out this spiritual knowledge is deeply etched in our soul.