Serve Hashem with Joy: How to Fulfill This Mitzvah?

There is a great mitzvah to be joyful, as it is said (Psalms 100:2): "Serve Hashem with joy," and it is also said (Psalms 149:2): "Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King," and further (Deuteronomy 28:47): "Because you did not serve Hashem your God with joy," and it is recalled in halacha: "When Adar enters, we increase in joy." This implies that all year one should be joyful, particularly increasing during Adar.

Now, the question arises, how were we commanded to serve Hashem with joy, and how can a mitzvah be implemented when it is generally difficult for people to experience true joy in the service of Hashem, especially in situations where joy seems impossible, such as times of judgment, punishment, and harsh decrees or when one has stumbled in a grave sin. How is it possible to be joyful then?

The answer: "I have loved you, said Hashem!!!" (Malachi 1:2).

If we recognized the "fatherhood" of the Creator which embodies boundless love, unconditional love: "I have loved you...", "Everlasting love have You loved us, Hashem our God, with great and abundant compassion have You had compassion on us...", "Hashem is good to all [the wicked and the good] and His mercies are over all His works..." (Psalms 145:9), we would not be sad, fallen, or despairing in any situation. This knowledge would always give us life. We have a Father, who cares for us... He punishes, but with fear and concern lest we be lost. Everything is out of love and for an eternal good purpose.

Moreover, the reason our service of Hashem is not done with joy is that: We do not believe that the Holy One, Blessed be He, takes such joy from us and derives joy from us. We see ourselves as "taxpayers", as slaves who must perform the king’s orders against their will. We do not feel the sense of fatherhood towards the Creator. If we sharpened this sense, we would believe that He cares for our success and is greatly joyful with every prayer, mitzvah, and Torah study we do, like a child who brings home a good grade and shows it to his father - how happy his father is.

Therefore, the service of Hashem feels heavy and like a burden to us, especially when our service is accompanied by ups and downs, feeling as if the Creator has despaired of us and sees us as unsuccessful and unworthy servants. If we truly felt the Creator’s fatherly affection towards us and knew how to honor the dignity of being "children", we would always have the joy and willingness to return to the Creator at any time, and in every situation where we are, we would not act with false humility and the feeling of 'Who am I and what am I that Hashem should listen to my voice... Who am I that Hashem should desire my service...'

Knowledge of Fatherhood Uplifts and Saves from Sin

And moving from matter to important matter: by not feeling ourselves as children - the children of the King of all kings, this itself leads us to base actions. A person who feels low allows themselves to connect with base friends and actions, whereas one who feels honor and knows their true status, keeps themselves stable to avoid falling into the filth of the base.

If we were to emphasize to ourselves that we are not only servants, but also children, as the Talmud states: "All of Israel are the children of kings" - we would abhor and be disgusted by the impurity of the ways of the nations, and at least be ashamed and refrain from falling into baseness and sin, much like we observe that honorable people refrain from behaving according to the ways of the commoners, and even if they desire and wish to do as they do - they would easily abstain due to their sense of honor. 

The article is taken from the book "Living in Faith." To purchase Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Lugasi's book click here.