Every Bit of Joy Accomplishes Good Things:
Rav Yossel of Horodenka zt”l, a chasid of Rav Dovid Moshe of Tchortkov zy”a, related that one year, on the night of Simchas Torah, a group of chasidim were standing outside the Rebbe’s room after hakafos and joyfully singing and dancing. Hearing the noise, the Rebbe came out of his room and said, “Yossel, are you happy?”
He continued, “When a person feels a sense of yirah, he has to be concerned that this fear is not the result of sadness. Simcha, however, is always good. As Shlomo Hamelech says (Koheles 2:2): ‘What does simcha do?’ This means that whenever one experiences joy, it ‘does’ something good.”
Being Happy For One’s Friend’s Torah:
Sefer Darchei Chaim V’Shalom (Munkatch, Ois 634, He’ara 1) relates that one year on Simchas Torah, Rav Moshe of Dolina (author of Sefer Divrei Moshe) went to the mikvah very early in the morning. On his way, he passed a simple tailor who was carrying his talis in his hands and his face was shining with joy.
The tzadik asked him where he was coming from, and the man said that he had already davened and was leaving shul. Rav Moshe asked him why he was in such a rush and he replied, “This is the day when Hashem tells us to be happy. I already davened and now I’m going home to eat, drink and rejoice! You, on the other hand, are just going to the mikvah now. You will barely have any time to rejoice today.”
Rav Dovid asked him, “Why are you so happy about Simchas Torah? How much Torah did you learn this year?”
The man answered that he didn’t know how to learn and he hadn’t learned any Torah that year. “But I am still happy,” he said. “If your brother made a wedding for his son or daughter, wouldn’t you wear your finest clothes and take part in the simcha even though it is your brother’s child’s wedding and not your own? So too, since all Jews are my brothers, I am happy for their Torah learning and I rejoice in their simcha.”
Kol Yisroel Areivim Zeh Lazeh:
Similarly, Sefer Sifsei Chochomim relates the story of an ignorant man who was very joyous on Simchas Torah and who sang and danced with all of his might. A dayan asked him why he was so happy. After all, he had barely learned anything that year.
He responded, “On Yom Kippur, I said Vidui for many sins that I didn’t commit. For example, I said Al Chet for taking bribery, but I never took any bribes. So why did I do that? Because kol Yisroel areivim zeh lazeh. You, as a dayan, may have taken bribes, so I said Vidui for you. Therefore, I can also dance for your Torah!”
Simcha Even for Simple People:
Sefer Bais Yaakov quotes Rav Yaakov Aharon of Zalashin zy”a as asking why this holiday is called “Simchas Torah”. The reason we celebrate is because we are happy that we learned the Torah; so why isn’t it called “Simchas Yisroel”?
