Someone asked a question on another site. I was tempted to answer it. The question:

What are the benefits of living an “Ultra-Orthodox” lifestyle?

Here is the way I would answer.

G-d created man with a soul and a body. The soul is the essence of the person. When the soul is happy the person is happy. Torah is what gives happiness to the soul. The Torah in essence guides you through its laws to be your true self.

When you are your true self – you are truly happy. No trying to imitate the stars. No trying to catch up with the Jones.

[Orthodox] Judaism gives a person a fulfilling life that satisfies the soul of a person. Thus a person is in touch with himself and ultimately finds true happiness. A Gallup poll presented a survey recently that showed that those that follow Torah are happiest out of all other groups in America. They live a fulfilling life, a family life a life with a close knit community. Torah is the only – divine document in which millions of people heard G-d speaking at mount Sinai. Torah is not religion. Torah is Life.

There are four questions  that a person can ask to find the veracity of Torah and find out what G-d wants from you. Jews & Gentiles can observe Torah. Gentiles Observe the 7 Noahide Laws.  Jews Observe the 10 commandments & Shulchan Aruch. Those who follow Torah have a life that G-d / Hash-m is center of their lives and thus they live a life of meaning and purpose.

As to the difficulty of finding a Job for lack of marketable skills – G-d helps in that domain as well.

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Note:

Personally, I do not regard by the man-made terminologies of “Orthodox, Reform, Conservative..” . When a baby is born he or she is not “Orthodox” or “Conservative.”  They are considered Jewish if their mother is Jewish. Judaism is also clearly defined by the Torah – by looking what it says in the Shulchan Aruch by Rav Yosef Caro. It defines very clearly, what is expected of each Jew. As for what is expected of every Gentile see the Rambam – Mishne Torah (Hilchot Melachim, ch 9-10). As an aside – In chapter 11 it also explains the requirements for a person to be the Messiah.