The Rolling Stones, Satisfaction & Enough

The Rolling Stones, Satisfaction & Enough

I don’t get no

No, no, no…

No satisfaction

Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones

In Hebrew, “dai” means ‘enough.’ The third or fourth name given to God in Genesis is Shaddai. And Shaddai, one of 100+ words relative to relation with God, means God, God Almighty, all sufficient, enough. (There is no direct word for God meaning More).

Now in Latin the word ‘satis’ as in satisfactory also means ‘enough.’ Yet, satisfactory and enough, unlike in Latin, are not synonymous in Hebraic meaning or Judaic intention.

Enough to live on; Enough to live for

Versus

One who has 100 wants 200

Kohelet Rabbah 1:34

From a Torah perspective Enough is relative to Lack/Need whereas To satisfy is about Wants/Desires.  Enough is about ‘gottas’ whereas satisfy is concerned with ‘oughtas and nicetas’ (regardless if one thinks ‘oughtas’ and ‘nicetas’ are ‘gottas/absolute requirements for living.’). Given the Hedonic Treadmill (1)– in satisfy there is no satisfied.

From the Judaic perspective, El Shaddai, enough, provides needs - what is lacked by man to facilitate man’s purpose to continue to complete his character/soul incompletions and creation (2). Shaddai  does not provide ‘to satisfy’ the never ending wants and desires of man..

Judaically, therefore, Enough is about betterment whereas satisfy is about bettering (if onlys) or bettering relative to or than others (more, more, more) which ironically is never enough (regardless of temporary altered state and spike in the homeostasis of the hedonic treadmill).

            In relationship to Shaddai, theoretically as Jews we are to seek to become ‘betterment’ in character, deed and behavior through adhering to God’s values rather than Shaddai providing the winning ticket, the only if only, or ‘the one.’

          Enough and enoughness may enable the inside out job of completing (2); more’s satisfaction is an outside in validating confirmation and endorsement.

            The ‘enough is to live on and enough to live for’ is not for satisfaction (which is never enough nor ever satisfied.)

            Maybe that’s why age 70+ Rolling Stone Mick Jagger continually wails, “I Don’t Get No Satisfaction.’

1.- Hedonic Theadmill – the theory that humans continually adapt to bad and good circumstances and return to relative neutrality in time. Example: taking a woman a second time to Hawaii (ho-hum – been there, done that, have the tee-shirt).

2.- Continuing to complete our incompletions through character building tests (spiritualizing the material; materializing the spiritual) to earn the return for the connection, alongside with or within for continuation