פרשת כי תבא
In this week’s Parsha, we see the great importance of the Midah of Simcha. At the end of the Parsha, we read all of the קללות. The Torah explains that the basis for all these curses is תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה’ אלוקך בשמחה. The reason that all of these bad things are happening to you is because you didn’t serve your God with Simcha. How can it be that Simcha is so integral to the service of God to warrant such a punishment?
I once heard from the Mashgiach Rav Meir Chadash ztz”l, that when a person is B’Simcha, he is filled with Ruach Chaim, whereas a person who is depressed, finds it very difficult to function, even on a basic level. Rav Meir Chadash was Mechadesh that this is even truer on a spiritual level. A person who has a lack of Simcha finds it very difficult to grow spiritually. On the other hand, when a person is in a state of Simcha, he finds himself able to grow by leaps and bounds.
Moreover, R’ Chadash brings a Tosfos in Succah דף נ which brings down the story of Yonah ben Amitai who only received his prophecy during the Simchas Beis Hashoeva in the Holy Temple. Tosfos derives a rule from this, with support from the Yerushalmi, that the Shechina can only rest on a person when he is B’Simcha. From here we see how integral Simcha can be for spiritual growth.
The Meshech Chochma brings down that a Jew’s Simcha is not the same as a Goy’s simcha. A Goy’s Simcha is limited to the earthly pleasures, whereas a Jew’s Simcha is based solely on his connection with his creator. This is the Pshat in the Passuk that we quoted in the beginning תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה’ אלוקך בשמחה. The Passuk goes on to say מרב כל … i.e. we tried to derive our happiness from “Rov Kol”, which is the earthly pleasures, but as Jews, we couldn’t achieve Simcha through this.
The Simcha of a Jew that we are referring to is portrayed in the week’s Parsha in reference to the Mitzvah of Bikurim. ושמחת בכל הטוב אשר נתן ה’ אלוקך… – The Passuk refers to Simcha as a result of bringing Bikurim. What is this juxtaposition? When does a person perform the Mitzvah of Bikurim? Only after a person has toiled the entire year with great difficulty, can a person perform this Mitzvah. Yet even so, before he enjoys the fruit of his labor, he must first “offer” his fruits up to God, as if to say, “It is not me who has toiled with my produce, but rather God, who has been beside me the entire time”.
The Gemora in ערבין brings down that a person must actually say Shira when he brings Bikurim. What Shira does he say? ארומימך ה’ כי דיליתיני ולא שימחת אויבי לי – I elevate you God because you didn’t let me fall into the hands of my enemies. How is this connected to Bikurim? I think the answer is that a person, who worked for his new crop the entire year, must have certainly encountered agricultural challenges and adversity in the process of raising his crop. So we recite this verse to show that although we encountered these troubles, we know that it was only God who gave us these challenges, and God who navigated us through those murky waters.
When we bring the Bikurim we also mention some of the history of the Jewish people, such as our difficulties in Egypt and our forefathers’ difficulties with Lavan. Again we could ask, what is the connection between these topics and the Mitzvah of Bikurim? We could answer that just as God has been with us on a constant vigil since our inception, so to He is with us until this very day that we are bringing the Bikurim. The Chinuch adds a beautiful point; As we bring the Bikurim we have a very warm feeling that just as God has been with us until now, and he is with us now as well, it is likely that he will continue being with us. Knowing this generates great Simcha and strengthens our Bitachon!
All of these points that we have mentioned on Bikurim, seem to have one common theme. If a Jew feels constantly that God is with him, whether in his exalted moments and his triumphs, or during his difficult moments Vis-à-vis his tribulations, and God is assisting him in overcoming them, this leads a person to true Simcha and security.
Yet a higher level of Simcha is Simcha shel Mitzvah. The Mesilas Yesharim in Chapter 9 brings the Midrash which asks, how does a person reach Simcha shel Mitzvah? The Midrash answers that when a person is davening or doing a mitzvah, he should develop an understanding of how great the God is that he is serving. This type of serving God will bring a person to great perfection. The Mesilas Yesharim continues by bringing the passuk in Shir Hashirim, which says that God brought us into his inner chamber. He explains that this passuk means to say that the more you foster this recognition of “how great the God that you are serving is”, the more Simcha you will have.
The Baal Haturim in the Parsha of Krias Shima bring down that the crown on the letters “בשכבך ובקומך ” symbolize that if a person says 100 Brochos during the day, (ק) they will be saved from the 100 Klalos mentioned in this weeks Parsha. What is this connection?
When a person says a Bracha, what he is essentially doing is heightening his recognition of God in the world. Every single pleasure in this world warrants a Bracha which recognizes God as the source of that pleasure. According to the Mesilas Yesharim this enhancement of recognition of God equals an enhancement of our Simcha. This comes to mend what a person did when he served God with a lack of Simcha, which is the source of the קללות, as we mentioned. To counter this, one makes 100 Brachos during the day in order to ensure that his recognition of God is complete.
The Kotzker Rebbe said that if a person wants to measure where he is holding spiritually, all he has to do is see where he is holding in his level of Simcha. This is the sole litmus test required.
May we be Zoche to strengthen ourselves with this great and crucial Midah of Simcha, and through this, reach exalted levels of spirituality.