We see this spiritual yearning at Har Sinai. Klal Yisrael was warned not to approach the mountain because if they would do so, they would die. Yet Rashi notes that Moshe Rabbeinu was sent down a second time to again remind them not to ascend the mountain. Why was this reminder needed?
Evidently, without repeated warnings, without a threat of death, their drive to get close to Hashem would have drawn them onto the mountain.
The quest for meaning exists even by non-Jews, but so much more so for a Jew. The neshamah of a Jew emanates from Hashem’s Throne; it is described as a “Cheilek Elokah Mi’maal,” a part of Hashem Above. A Jew’s soul comes from a most elevated place and urgently seeks to return.
This desire drives us to better ourselves in this world. It is why we seek to have a clear conscience when we daven, and why we feel guilty when we cannot. It is why we give tzedakah to the poor, why we wake up early to learn the Daf, why we make a seder between sedarim, and why we are reading a book like this one. It is an elemental force in our live - the desire to be in His presence.
We certainly cannot fathom the pleasures of Olam Haba, of basking in the presence of the Shechinah, as the Rambam writes. But we experience the slightest glimmer of this feeling in our daily lives when we feel connected to Hashem. We feel this deep happiness when we see our ruchniyus growing. This feeling is a “mei’ein Olam Haba - a taste of the World to Come.” It is the satisfaction of the princess returning to the palace.
Primary to this connection to Hashem is keeping to the dictates of kedushah, as we will see i”yH.