Another area that Meira”h stood out in was his constant simcha. Everyone remembers the bright smile that never left his face. As a bochur, he had his struggles, just like every bochur. But, he never let them faze him. Always, in every situation, he faced it with infectious joy and positivity.
והחייתן אל לבו.
This, too, must be carried on, so that his life continues on through his living friends. It may seem challenging, daunting, in the face of such an overwhelming tragedy, and with all the darkness that we are engulfed in these days in general, to react with unbridled joy. But that is our most powerful weapon. In fact, in 5752, the Rebbe emphasized repeatedly that the sure way to annul all negativity is by harnessing the force of 60 days of simcha, an unstoppable wave of happiness that will overpower anything undesirable. And as soldiers, all that matters to us is what weapon will be effective to help us move on, to continue going forward until we, inevitably, win the war!
[When Reb Sholom Shaya Deitch made a shidduch for one of his children, he went by the Rebbe (for kos shel brocho), and thanked the Rebbe for (the brochos that resulted in) the shidduch. The Rebbe responded to him: “In that case (that you are crediting me with the shiduch), you owe me shadchonus”. He wasn’t sure what the shadchonus was that the Rebbe was expecting of him, and shortly afterwards (before the chasuna), he passed away. His wife, who was left a young widow, with young children to raise (now) alone, was subsequently in yechidus. During the yechidus, she referred to the above exchange, and she told the Rebbe that she knew that her husband a”h had wanted to pay up this debt, and therefore she asked if the Rebbe could tell her the amount of the shadchonus, so that she could pay it on her late husband’s behalf. The Rebbe told her that, in fact, she could pay it upon behalf of her husband, explaining that “The shadchonus that I’m expecting is simcha, and you can pay it upon behalf of your husband by being b’simcha!” In fact, the Rebbe added, he wanted her to avoid crying during the chuppah (of the upcoming chasunah), and display only a face of joy. She heard the expectation, and wondered how this could be possible, with everything she’d been through. She, especially didn’t think it was attainable to avoid crying by the chuppah. But the Rebbe didn’t relent, explaining that “through Emunah and bitochoin, you will be able to experience genuine simcha (to the point of not needing to cry by the chuppah)!”]
We need to strengthen ourselves in Emunah and bitochoin, in the realization that we are fighting the final battles of golus that seem overwhelming in their intensity. We have to armour ourselves with courage and bravery, with dedication and determination, and with simcha and bitochoin. With the power of these weapons we are sure to prevail, and speedily transform the intense darkness of the final moments of the night of golus into the everlasting and infinite light of Moshiach now!
