What is 'spirituality'?

[00:00:00] I remember how as a child, I was once watching the news when a reporter was describing the wonderful conditions they have in a new neighborhood. [00:00:11] She went into the bakery and showed how fresh and tasty everything there was. And then she but as they say, not by bread alone lives a person. [00:00:24] There is also a a clothing store in the area. [00:00:29] Usually when they say, not by bread alone lives a person, people think of spirituality. [00:00:36] We always use this word. We say spiritual values, spiritual life. [00:00:41] But what exactly does it mean? [00:00:44] Maybe a clothing store can also be spirituality. [00:00:50] Does this term spirituality have a definition? Or is it just a subjective idea by which anyone can understand whatever they want? [00:01:02] Maybe bread can also be called spirituality. [00:01:06] What will then the phrase not by bread alone mean? [00:01:11] A classical pianist once told me that music is spirituality. [00:01:18] Yes, I asked him, all types of music are. [00:01:22] What about hard rock? No, he replied, well, what if you will ask a heavy metal guitarist, what will he say? When Nazis were gassing Jews to the sounds of classical music, were they spiritual people? [00:01:39] Is performance art a form of spirituality? If yes, does it include adult film actors? [00:01:46] No, that's not real art, you will say. [00:01:48] But I know people who will disagree. [00:01:51] Who is the judge of what is considered real art or real spirituality? [00:01:58] Spirituality comes from the word spirit or soul. [00:02:03] That we have two souls. One takes care of our material needs and the other one of our spiritual needs. The Torah refers to them as an animalistic soul and a godly soul. We can call them a material soul and a spiritual soul. Whatever the materialistic or animalistic soul desires cannot be spirituality. It is wanting only physical pleasures. It understands nothing in spirituality. But godly or spiritual soul desires are spirituality. [00:02:39] But how can we distinguish between the desires of these two souls? [00:02:43] We said that the only objective difference between the two souls is selfishness. [00:02:50] An animalistic or material soul wants only everything for itself. It is incapable of selflessly dedicating itself to something other than its own interests. A godly or spiritual soul is is altruistic. [00:03:05] If I do something for someone other than myself, I am motivated by my godly soul, and this is spirituality. The Torah says the material needs of another person are my spiritual needs. [00:03:21] My spirituality is an action that I do not for myself, for another person, or for God. If I do something because another person wants me to do it, that is spirituality. If I do something because God wants me to do it, that is spirituality. Therefore, fulfilling the Torah's commandments, the actions that I perform for the sake of God is spirituality. And everything that I do for myself, the things I benefit from, or I just like them cannot be spirituality. [00:03:58] These are the desires of my animalistic soul. [00:04:03] Some of the desires of my animalistic soul may be simple to have a nice home or good food, and some can be more sophisticated, like the enjoyment of fine arts or poetry. Of course, if a person has already sunken in the material world, it is better to if his material desires are more sophisticated, but they're still material. [00:04:28] The phrase not by bread alone lives a person used by the reporter is a quote from the Torah. To understand it, we have to read it in context, and we have to read the entire sentence. The full verse states, not by bread alone lives a person, but by the words of God he shall live. [00:04:53] Judaism teaches us to be more spiritual, to do what other people ask of us and what God asks of us.