WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT SIMCHA?
We are reminded every morning to serve HaShem happily: Ivdu es HaShem besimcha!
The Rambam writes: “The simcha that a Yid should experience when he fulfills mitzvos, and when he loves HaShem Who commanded us to observe them, is a great level of avoda... There is no greatness or honor other than celebrating before HaShem.”
The Rebbe would regularly emphasize that a Yid should always be joyful since he is constantly serving HaShem in whatever he does.
(רמב"ם הל' לולב פ"ח הט"ו, שמחה ובטחון בה' ע' כ)
ABOLISHING SADNESS
Chazal warn us that the Shechina does not rest on those who are sad, downhearted, or lightheaded. It only rests where the simcha of a mitzva is present. Thus we see that when Elisha HaNavi became angry at Yehoram Melech Yisroel for his wicked ways, the spirit of nevua left him – and returned only after music was played before him.
(שבת ל ע"ב, מלכים א' פ"ג)
The Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya that the only way to defeat the Yetzer HaRa is through zerizus. And zerizus springs from simcha; it is not weighted down by worries or sadness. If a wrestler is downhearted and dejected, lazy and sluggish, then even if he is physically stronger, his opponent will easily overcome him.
The Rebbe writes in a letter that one of the Yetzer HaRa’s favorite and most effective tactics is to make a person sad and downhearted. He looks for an opportune time, such as when that person is weary, for then it is easy to draw him into that heavy frame of mind.
(תניא פרק כ"ו, אג"ק ח"כ ע' קכ"ז)
The Baal Shem Tov taught: “Worry and sadness are the source of all kelipos. One cannot serve HaShem properly without simcha. The Yetzer HaRa tries to persuade a person to be sad for having failed to fulfill a certain chumra, telling him that he has committed a serious aveira. That Yid must give him a straight answer: ‘This is just a trick of yours to disturb my service of HaShem! For even if I have truly committed an aveira, it is now more important to HaShem that I serve him with simcha.’ “
(תולדות יעקב יוסף פ' משפטים, צוואת הריב"ש אות מ"ד)
In response to one chossid’s complaint of machshavos zaros, the Tzemach Tzedek advised him to rejoice in his avodas HaShem. Since a person’s soul inevitably seeks enjoyment, if it does not find that joy in avodas HaShem, it will seek it elsewhere. Although one must always grow, he must nevertheless rejoice with his current state, and specifically through this joy, he will reach greater heights.
(אגרות קודש אדה"ז-הצ"צ ח"א ע' שע"ד)
A certain chossid of stature called Reb Shlomo once shared an unusual experience with his fellow chassidim: “Late one night, while I was learning, I suddenly felt the presence of someone sitting near me. Alarmed, I extinguished the candle and went to bed.”
“But why?” they asked. “It could have been Eliyahu HaNavi!”
“It wasn’t,” answered Reb Shlomo. “Eliyahu HaNavi is always happy. This fellow was full of sadness, so I knew he must have come from the kelipa.”
(סיפורי חסידים זוין תורה ע' 147)
THE WAY OUT
Regarding a worry in a person’s heart, it is written in Mishlei, דאגה בלב איש ישחנה. The last word, yashchena, literally means “he should suppress it.” However, Rav Ami interprets it to mean that one should remove it from his mind (יסיחנה), and Rav Assi interprets it to mean that one should share it with a friend (ישיחנה).
(סנהדרין ק ע"ב)
A chossid once told the Tzemach Tzedek of the sadness he felt, and the Rebbe told him, “This is truly shocking, for when one says shelo asani goy in the morning and recalls that he is a Yid, this alone should give him enough simcha to last all day long.”
(מגדל עז – מעשי אבותי אות קל"ו)
So, too, a Yid once entered the room of Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev and saw him dancing happily whilst saying Birchos HaShachar.
“Why all the simcha?” he asked.
Reb Levi Yitzchak answered, “When I came to the bracha of shelo asani goy, I thought about the great zechus of being a Yid. After all, things could have been otherwise...”
(תורת מנחם ח"ח ע' 172)
A chossid once wrote to the Tzemach Tzedek that he had difficulty feeling simcha. The Rebbe responded, “The thought, speech and action of a person have the greatest influence on his behavior. Therefore, one must make sure to only think thoughts that evoke happiness, to refrain from speaking about negative and dispiriting things, and behave in a joyful manner, even if he is currently not feeling so.”
(אגרות קודש אדמו"ר הצ"צ ע' שכ"ג)
The Rebbe gave many reasons as to why one should be happy: HaShem created him; He made him a Yid; He is always with him; He has given him so many things (as we say in Birchos HaShachar); and He has enabled us to connect with Him. Besides, we are heading towards Moshiach.
To one person complaining about sadness, the Rebbe wrote that one should be so busy doing what needs to be accomplished, that there should be no time to think about sadness.
(אגרות קודש חי"ד ע' תק"ג)
Chazal say, Mishenichnas Adar, marbim besimcha. The Rebbe explains (אדר תשנ”ב) that this simcha should begin with learning Torah, which ‘gladdens the heart’, and then blossom into action through the performance of mitzvos. This will lead one to experience genuine simcha.
(סה"ש תשנ"ב ח"ב ע' 391)
CONSIDER
Is joy a tool to enable one to serve HaShem through practical mitzvos or is it an avoda of itself?
