Jewish Words of Wisdom

"To be satisfied is one of the greatest blessings that can ever be bestowed upon human beings. But this blessing has little to do with the amount of food or belongings that people eat or own. A minimum amount of possessions is plenty."

"The Torah teaches us that when the people of Israel live in accordance with the requirements of the Torah, mankind will be blessed with a mental state in which matters of possession and food will take on a completely different dimension. This attitude is not something that human beings can develop on their own, but will come about only as a result of their approach toward God’s response and the divine. When people will achieve high moral and spiritual attitudes, they will view the world in a very different light. They will live in what Eric Fromm calls the “being and becoming mode.” One acquires one’s essence and happiness through spiritual growth. (See Erich Fromm, To Have or to Be, London: Abacus Books, 1976) What is of real importance is not what man “has” but what he “is.” And in that moment of realization, satisfaction is no longer the result of possessing more but of being more."

Furthermore: 

"Joy is concomitant with productive activity. It is not a peak experience that ends suddenly, but rather a plateau that is the product of one’s essential human faculties. It is not the ecstatic fire of the moment but the glow that accompanies “being.” It is only with this type of true joy that one is able to be satisfied with the minimum while experiencing it as the maximum."