Joy or Happiness?

Message of Jewish Holiday of Sukkot 5782.

We are a world in turmoil. Between our distrust of governments, people, and even science (think Corona) we often forget how to relate to one another.

We see the maskers and non-maskers. We see the 'vaccinators' and non-vaccinations. We see the left and right sides of politics.

No, it is not just the West or America. It is everywhere. There is a Spring (think Arab Spring) everywhere from Afghanistan to the White House to China to the forests of the Amazon. One minute it is oppressive and then suddenly open. Or one minute a pathway of openness and then suddenly lockdown enforcements.

In short, it is a world worthy of Covid. No -- Heaven forbid - I don't mean the PLAGUE. I mean the social upheaval. I mean the anarchy from it. I mean the distrust. I mean the fear.

Covid pushed the world to a new plane of existence. Where we spent near a century of globalization - Covid pushed us back to xenophobia. Where we spent years building bridges between cultures and religions and peoples - Covid pushed us back to the minimum family unit.

But we Humans are resilient. Our Creator has blessed us with the ability to adapt to our environments.

And so, we rebuilt whole businesses online. We schooled virtually. We worked remotely. In short, we tried to survive.

But, if you look at the psychological ramifications of the plague you will find there is a significant increase in hate, depression, and fear.

In short, the physical and psychological manifestations of this time have robbed many of the ability to see, and feel happiness.

The etymology of happiness is: 'Happy' from the Middle English word hap, meaning good luck. Many of the early European words for happy actually referred to good luck, rather than a feeling of joy. On its own, happy means an enjoyable or satisfied state of being.

So, the secular English meaning of happiness is to essentially acknowledge your good fortune. It is not about an internal state of being nor self-driven impulse. It is about reaction to getting.

The Hebrew word for 'happiness' should then be good luck - or Mazal Tov.

So, how do we describe the inner state of elatedness that is not dependent on our good luck?

We call this in English JOY.

And its etymology: The noun joy is at the root of joyful, from the Old French joie with its Latin root of gaudere, "rejoice."

And in Hebrew how do we define joy?

It is called Simcha. The Torah uses the word 94 times to describe situation of rejoicing and inner uplifting states.

Such as:

Who is rich? He that rejoices (simcha/sameach) in his own portion (Ethics 4:1)

On a side note, you will find in other languages the similar word. Ugaritic the word shmh - "to be glad, rejoice", the Arabic shamaha - "was high, was proud" and the Akkadian shamahu (samahu) - "to sprout, flourish".

The holiday of Sukkot (which literally means the Festival of booths) is named for the particular booth that we sit in for our festival.

Yet, the holiday is given another name: The holiday of our simcha.

Let's try to understand the meaning of this simcha to the holiday.

Historically, this holiday is days after the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). We complete the 10 days of the start of the year in introspection and cleansing/resetting our spiritual clock. So, essentially we come out of a clean spiritual connection to celebrate .... Life.

Historically, the booths represent the 40 years of wandering in the desert on the way from Egypt to the Holy Land. During the years we lived in a booth open to the elements. We also had the protection of spiritual clouds and fire surrounding the camp.

During that time period, we were totally dependent on the will of our Creator. From food - the Manna to water - the Well of Miriam, and weather - the Clouds.

And we were challenged with rejoicing in our newfound independence from slavery.

Sometimes we flourish. Unfortunately, historically, not always.

And now, we yearly celebrate this festival - one of the three primary festivals in Judaism. We eat and celebrate in a booth outside.

The message is clear: Rejoice in your newfound independence from the slavery of last year. Rejoice from your inner self. Don't play on happiness (your good luck) but rather rejoice as Simcha.

And thus the holiday message is Simcha. Your Simcha.

In the past during the Temple times, this holiday was celebrated by the entire world. The Temple Priests would give offerings and prayer for each nation of the world (70 nations from Noah)

Our inner Simcha, therefore, has two faces: Ourselves as both individual and a people/nation and the world.

We are ultimately challenged:

Celebrate with Simcha this festival - enjoy and rejoice in what you have. Be where you are no matter what. But always show and share that Simcha with others - in fact the whole world.

My brothers, sisters, friends, family, both close and far:

On this holiday - this time period - this chag simchateynu - let us find our inner joy our creative light and love and share it. Let us pray and celebrate with each other (where possible) or in our minds and heart (where not possible) and elevate this world from the state of 'no happiness' to one of true inner joy - simcha.

May you all be blessed with radiant joy, in health, wealth, success, and comfort. Each day, this year, and in all years.

May you all be blessed with spiritual light of love and honor.

May the One that brings Peace in the Heavens bring Peace to us and all the World. And let us say: Amen.

LeChaim - to Life!

LeSimcha - to Joy!

#happiness #love #Sukkot #joy #peace