Considering Ki Savo and the art of joyous living

Nechama Leibowitz was fond of teaching her students to find the milah mancha, a shoresh (root noun or verb), word or phrase that appears numerous times in a given section.

In Parshat Ki Savo, a surprising milah mancha is the root of the word simcha, meaning joy. While the word only appears in three contexts, each instance brings its own set of valuable lessons.

The first reference to joy comes in the context of bringing the first fruits. After placing the basket on the floor of the Mishkan, having said one’s declaration of gratitude, the Torah says, “You will rejoice in all the bounty that G-d has given you, along with the Levite and the ger who lives amongst you” (26:11). The joy here comes from a recognition that the gifts we enjoy come from G-d.

The second mention of joy alerts the people of a time, in the hopefully not-too-distant future, when they will gather at Mount Eyval after having crossed into the land of Canaan. Moshe instructs them as to how they will construct a mizbeach (altar) out of uncut stones and bring sacrifices upon it. “You will bring peace offerings there and you will rejoice before your G-d” (27:7), with joy coming from a feeling of closeness to G-d because we are in the land He promised and we are seeing the circle of the Redemption from Egypt coming to a close.

The third time we see the word simcha is in the Tokhacha (Rebuke), when the people are told of all the curses that will come upon you “because you did not serve the L-rd your G-d with joy and a merry heart on account of having plenty of everything” (28:47). It seems the Torah is suggesting that, for some people, money can buy happiness. But the idea that the money causes people to forget G-d, and consequently not to serve G-d with joy, is one of the ingredients that will bring about the curses of the Rebuke.

Living life with joy, and rejoicing with G-d, seems to be an easy antidote to life’s ills and pitfalls

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Those who follow the teaching of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov that “it is a great mitzvah to be happy,” have a built-in reminder that, as much as everything weighs on the shoulders, there is a higher calling. We can look at all the blessings we have and be reminded that life is good.

The Torah explains why the curses of the Tokhacha would be visited upon the Jewish people, and it tacks on the message of not serving G-d with joy. We need to find joy in everything we do.

The celebration at Mt. Eyval, which is recounted in Yehoshua Chapter 8, was a reminder that G-d fulfills His promises — even though the fulfillment of the promises sometimes comes to a different generation. There is merit to serving G-d, to fostering the man-G-d relationship and rejoicing in the gift of being from G-d’s People.

We build the relationship through our time commitments, our monetary commitments, and through our life choices. We pray, we learn, we act, we serve, we fulfill commandments, and many are committed to growing in observance, in learning, and in each person’s closer feelings for G-d.

If we smile more and rejoice more in our service and dedication to G-d, who knows what can happen? Maybe the Messiah will come. And maybe we’ll become a light unto others as we are “motzim chen b’einei Elokim v’adam” (finding favor in the eyes of G-d and Mankind).