Rav Gershon Edelstein
From a sichah delivered at the opening of the zman in yeshivah, Summer 5762
There’s a pasuk in Divrei HaYamim (I 29:17), “And now I have seen Your people, who are here, with joy they offer willingly to You.” When Dovid HaMelech made all the preparations for building the Beis HaMikdash — he himself didn’t build it, but he prepared whatever was needed for it: silver and gold and whatever else was needed — and all of Klal Yisrael brought donations, many donations. At that point, Dovid HaMelech davened for the Beis HaMikdash that had to be built, and he recalled Klal Yisrael’s zechus, “with joy they offer willingly to You,” everyone offered willingly, they all brought donations joyfully.
Rabbeinu Yonah writes in Shaarei Teshuvah (4:9), “The reward for performing mitzvos with joy increases and grows.” He cites the pasuk that Dovid HaMelech said in his tefillah, “And now I have seen Your people, who are here, with joy they offer willingly to You.” He mentioned this as a zechus for Klal Yisrael, to recall that they brought donations joyously.
Why is joy in performing mitzvos so important? Because a person is happy about something which he feels is good for him. So if he’s happy about what he donated to the Beis HaMikdash, that’s a sign that he feels it’s good for him, and that’s why he’s happy. That’s why Rabbeinu Yonah writes the maalah of being happy about mitzvos is so great — because when a person is joyful about a mitzvah, it’s a sign that he senses the importance of the mitzvah, he realizes how good mitzvos are for him. And this is a very high level in recognizing the chashivus of a mitzvah — volunteering and giving one’s gashmiyus for kedushah, and doing it with great joy. And this tells us that he has attained this level of recognizing the importance of the entire Torah and mitzvos...
