Living for Love, Not Reward: The True Purpose of Life

Human beings weren’t created to live for the sake of receiving, but for the sake of giving. The root of all life is love, and we express that love when we give of ourselves to benefit others. The ultimate goal of our actions shouldn’t be personal reward.

And yet, the Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto) explains that humans were created to receive the goodness that G-d wishes to give us in this world. It appears that our task is actually to seek the true pleasure G-d wants to provide us, namely, our spiritual reward.

It’s clear that we can’t "do favors" for G-d, because He lacks nothing. We can’t give Him anything He needs. All we can do, in truth, is receive. Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin addresses this question in Nefesh HaChaim: Is the ideal motivation in serving G-d love, or reward?

We should indeed seek the pleasure that G-d enables us to experience, but not because it serves our own interest. Rather, because it is His will. We should therefore enjoy everything life offers us, knowing that G-d desires this. We must also understand that if G-d hypothetically desired us to suffer, we would obey Him just the same.

In this light, life is not some investment scheme where we avoid today's pleasures in hopes of receiving future dividends. Quite the opposite: Life is a school of love. We do good not because of the reward, but because we love G-d, and because He loves us, we trust that the outcome will ultimately be good for us, even in this world.

The joy that comes from following the Torah isn’t the goal, but rather a natural byproduct. We should know how to receive that gift, but must first clarify a few details.

What If I Don’t Follow the Torah?

Can I just close my eyes and live life my own way, without overcomplicating things? Of course you can! That’s exactly what free will is for. But choosing truth means choosing with clarity. Imagine you had to choose between two barrels: one full of treasure and the promise of lifelong peace and abundance, and the other full of swarming flies that would bother you endlessly. Which would you pick?

Logically, anyone in their right mind would choose the treasure.

That’s exactly the logic behind choosing the path of Torah and truth. As it says in the Torah: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil... and you shall choose life!” (Deuteronomy 30:15). The Torah is inherently good- it is life itself. Without it, a person drifts toward self-destruction.

Furthermore, the goodness of Torah is absolute and divine. It is not subjective or based on personal taste, but is good for everyone, always.

Indeed, it may seem intimidating at first. Torah doesn’t sell itself with marketing gimmicks. Its persuasive power lies in its inherent truth, not in slogans. Over time, those who break through the initial barriers and genuinely seek Torah find a life rich with everything humanity longs for including pleasure, meaning, success, and deep happiness. To reach this, we need to understand what those terms really mean.

The Levels of Pleasure

There are several kinds of pleasure, ranging from the most basic and superficial to the deepest and most refined.

At the lowest level are physical pleasures of eating, drinking, intimacy, relieving pain, or staying warm. These fulfill either physical needs (like food or sleep) or emotional desires (like luxury or comfort). The difference is that needs keep us alive. Desires often convince us that they are needs when they’re not- such as craving chocolate when you’re not even hungry.

Next comes sensory pleasure such as enjoying a beautiful painting, a moving song, or an inspiring sunset. This touches not only the body but also the emotions.

Higher still is intellectual pleasure- the joy of discovering new ideas, solving a puzzle, or grasping something deeply. Even a lazy student enjoys the moment they understand something challenging. This is the joy of feeding the mind.

Above all of these is the most refined and lasting pleasure: the fulfillment of doing something truly good and the satisfaction of living meaningfully. This arises when you use your potential to make a difference.

Imagine that you see a freezing beggar on the street. You give him food. Then, realizing that’s not enough, you find him a place to sleep. The joy you feel afterward isn’t something you can touch like chocolate, but it fills your soul and stays with you. 

This is the pleasure that comes from doing what G-d wants from you. It crosses all levels of human experience and reaches the soul’s highest point. The joy we receive from Torah includes all these types of pleasure, and culminates in that final, spiritual joy. Even if we don’t always feel it fully in this life, that joy will be revealed in full in the next.

You’ve probably done meaningful things in your life that you never fully appreciated, because you were too busy or distracted to stop and reflect. If only you gave yourself the time to consider them, you'd want to dance with joy.

One day, you will feel that joy- whether from what you’ve already done, what you’re doing now, or what you will do in the future.