The Mitzvah of Joy – Serving God with Happiness and Love

There is a great mitzvah to be joyful, as it says (Psalms 100:2): “Serve the Lord with joy”, and also (Psalms 149:2): “Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion exult in their King.” Further we are told (Devarim 28:47): “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart.” In halacha, too, it is mentioned: “When Adar arrives, we increase in joy” which indicates that joy is required all year long, and only in Adar there is an extra measure.

How can we be commanded to serve God with joy? How can one fulfill such a mitzvah when, by nature, it is not easy for people to feel true joy in serving God — and especially in situations where joy seems impossible, such as during challenging times.

The answer is found in God’s words: “I have loved you, says the Lord!” (Malachi 1:2).

If we would truly recognize the Fatherhood of the Creator, which is pure, unlimited, unconditional love, we would never be sad, broken, or hopeless in any situation. The knowledge that we have a Father who cares about us would give us constant life and vitality. Even when He punishes, it is with trembling and concern that we not be lost. Everything comes only from love and for an eternal good purpose.

In fact, the reason our service of God is not always done with joy is precisely because we don’t believe strongly enough that the Holy One truly rejoices in us and takes pleasure in our deeds. We see ourselves as mere “tax-payers,” like slaves who must perform the orders of their King against their will. We do not feel the sense of Fatherhood in relation to God. If however we sharpened that awareness, and believed that He truly cares about our success and that He rejoices deeply over every prayer, mitzvah, and word of Torah we learn — like a father who delights when his child shows him a good grade, we would approach our service with joy.

Because we lack that sense, serving God feels like a burden. Especially when our spiritual lives are full of ups and downs, we imagine that God is disappointed in us, and that He views us as failed, unwanted slaves. If we truly felt the Fatherhood of God, and if we honored our dignity as His children, we would always have joy and the confidence to return to Him at every moment, in every state. We would not belittle ourselves with false humility, thinking: “Who am I that God should listen to my voice? Who am I that He should desire my service?”

Knowing God’s Fatherhood Elevates and Protects from Sin

When we don’t see ourselves as children of the King of kings, this very feeling drags us down to lowly behavior. A person who thinks of himself as degraded allows himself to connect with degraded people and actions. However, one who feels dignity, and who knows his true status, holds himself upright and avoids falling into sin.

If we would internalize that we are not only servants, but also children — as the Talmud says: “All Israel are children of kings”, then we would recoil in disgust from the filth of foreign ways, or at the very least, we would be ashamed and hesitant to fall into sin. Just as people of dignity refrain from following the manners of the common crowd, and even if they wish to, they restrain themselves easily because of their inner sense of honor, so too, if we truly lived our status as children of the King, we would naturally rise above unbecoming paths.