A few weeks ago, I attended a wedding of a former student of mine in New York. The Chuppah ceremony was beautiful and special as the bride and groom married and began their journey of building a beautiful home together.
Then a little later in the evening, came the dancing…..
It was a Chassidic wedding, and the music and dancing was intensely joyous to say the least.
Whether I danced myself or watched the many young guests dance away as they spun, jumped and did every move you could imagine, the joy was truly infectious.
For me it was my first time dancing at a Chassidic wedding since Covid struck and that itself was very special for me.
At one point, I watched another slightly older visitor from Massachusetts, spinning around in a supercharged circle of dancing, with a smile that filled his whole being. The beaming smile on his face told a story of a man being literally lifted off the ground by the intense joy of the dancing which he just couldn’t resist joining with every fiber of his being.
The Power of Joy
In Judaism we have an expression “Simcha Poretz Geder”, “Joy breaks through boundaries”, meaning there is nothing quite like the power of joy and happiness. Joy is also an essential piece of Judaism and we are commanded “to serve G-d with joy”, although the wording used in the verse, implies it often takes real work to be able to achieve that happiness.
Nearly every major biblical holiday includes a commandment to be happy and of course it is an essential part of so much else that we do.
Happiness can often be helped by factors outside of ourselves, and ambience and social dynamics can often help with the process. Yet at the same time, happiness is most often rooted in what is going on within ourselves and how we are dealing and grappling with our inner self.
Our inner self needs to be cultivated and looked after, it also needs to be busy being productive in a meaningful manner, it needs to be involved in giving to others, it needs to be aware of the importance for being grateful for what we have, and appreciating that it has a part in making a difference to G-d’s world. It is then, when the inner core is well nurtured, exercised and healthy, that we can enjoy the happiness from without so much more and in a much more profound way.
We are currently in the Hebrew month of Adar, a month which we actively seek to increase in joy, and this year being that it is a Jewish Leap Year, we add an additional Adar, for added joy.
It is a time, that we seek to activate and strengthen both the inner and outer joys in our life, since joy has a power like no other in giving us a recharge to continue our journey with a powerful inner happiness. Harnessing this joy is important as it is a powerful tool in our toolbox to apply to our lives as we seek to constantly make ourselves and the world around us advance and improve to become more in sync with its inner beautiful potential.
Allowing the inner joy to lift your spirits and lift your being, is not simply something that happens when you dance, but when we learn to access it properly, it can literally be a part of the energy that fuels our growth, empathy, and positive attitude to keep trucking forward over the bumps and potholes that come our way.
Wishing you all a happy and joyous Adar
Good Shabbos & Shabbat Shalom
Yisroel