Can you identify an "equation" for simcha throughout these 7 instances of the word simcha that appears in parshat Re'eh?
What do these instances have in common? How do they differ?
- an elevated celebration with the people in the room
(ז)
א. וַאֲכַלְתֶּם־שָׁ֗ם
ב. לִפְנֵי֙ ה' אֱלֹֽקֵיכֶ֔ם
ג. וּשְׂמַחְתֶּ֗ם בְּכֹל֙ מִשְׁלַ֣ח יֶדְכֶ֔ם
ד. אַתֶּ֖ם וּבָתֵּיכֶ֑ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר בֵּֽרַכְךָ֖ ה' אֱלֹקֶֽיךָ׃
(7)
a. Together with your households,
b. you shall feast there
c. before the LORD your God,
d. happy (u'smachtem) in all the undertakings in which the LORD your God has blessed you.
Can you identify the same pattern in all the following verses?
The following verses refer to the celebration of the pilgrimage holidays.
What do they add to the equation which the above verses don't have
What is the significance of the addtion of the orphan and widow? Why is that a necessary ingredient of the simcha?
(יז) שִׁבְעַת יְמֵי הַפֶּסַח וּשְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי הֶחָג עִם שְׁאָר יָמִים טוֹבִים ... וְחַיָּב אָדָם לִהְיוֹת בָּהֶן שָׂמֵחַ וְטוֹב לֵב הוּא וּבָנָיו וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וּבְנֵי בֵּיתוֹ וְכָל הַנִּלְוִים עָלָיו .... כָּל אֶחָד כָּרָאוּי לוֹ:
(יח) וּכְשֶׁהוּא אוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה חַיָּב לְהַאֲכִיל לַגֵּר לַיָּתוֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָה עִם שְׁאָר הָעֲנִיִּים הָאֻמְלָלִים. אֲבָל מִי שֶׁנּוֹעֵל דַּלְתוֹת חֲצֵרוֹ וְאוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה הוּא וּבָנָיו וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֵינוֹ מַאֲכִיל וּמַשְׁקֶה לַעֲנִיִּים וּלְמָרֵי נֶפֶשׁ אֵין זוֹ שִׂמְחַת מִצְוָה אֶלָּא שִׂמְחַת כְּרֵסוֹ. וְעַל אֵלּוּ נֶאֱמַר (הושע ט ד) "זִבְחֵיהֶם כְּלֶחֶם אוֹנִים לָהֶם כָּל אֹכְלָיו יִטַּמָּאוּ כִּי לַחְמָם לְנַפְשָׁם". וְשִׂמְחָה כָּזוֹ קָלוֹן הִיא לָהֶם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (מלאכי ב ג) "וְזֵרִיתִי פֶרֶשׁ עַל פְּנֵיכֶם פֶּרֶשׁ חַגֵּיכֶם":
(17) The seven days of Passover and the eight days of Sukkot ... one is obligated to be joyful and of a good heart on them—he, his children, his wife, the members of his household and all who accompany him. ... everyone according to what is fit for him.
(18) The children, for example, should be given parched grain, nuts, and sweetmeats; the womenfolk should be presented with pretty clothes and trinkets according to one's means; the menfolk should eat meat and drink wine, for there is no real rejoicing without the use of meat and wine. .
While eating and drinking, one must feed the stranger, the orphan, the widow, and other poor unfortunates. Anyone, however, who locks the doors of his courtyard and eats and drinks along with his wife and children, without giving anything to eat and drink to the poor and the desperate, does not observe a religious celebration but indulges in the celebration of his stomach. And about such is it stated (Hosea 9:4), "their sacrifices are like the bread of mourners, all who eat it will be contaminated; for their bread is for their own appetites." Such joy is a disgrace for them, as it is stated (Malakhi 2:3), "I will spread dung on your faces, the dung of your festivals."
add maimonides about gemachs
A man once wrote to the Lubavitcher Rebbe: “I am depressed. I am lonely. I feel that life is meaningless. I try to pray, but the words do not come. I keep mitzvot but find no peace of mind. I need the Rebbe’s help.” The Rebbe sent a brilliant reply without writing a single word. He simply circled the first word of every sentence and sent the letter back. The word in each case was “I.”
To Heal A Fractured World, Rabbi Sacks, page 5
The ethical life is a form of celebration. Doing good is not painful, a matter of our duty and a chastising conscience. The key term here is simcha, usually translated as ‘joy’. What it really means is the happiness we share, or better still, the happiness we make by sharing.
Rabbi Sacks, Collective Joy 5779
...share your happiness with others, and, in the midst of that collective, national celebration, serve God. Blessings are not measured by how much we own or earn or spend or possess but by how much we share. Simcha is the mark of a sacred society. It is a place of collective joy.
what's the siggnificanc of simcha being something we make?
What is the difference between simcha and happiness, joy...
When do we experience this kind of simcha in our lives?
- Shabbat?
- meal of a mitzvah?
- for this reason, there's a mitzvah to share words of Torah when two are sitting together. The schina dwells (so we are before Hashem) and with others.
The following verses follows the curses and offers an explanation as to why they came about.
Typically, it's understood to mean, since you didn't serve God with joy and happiness.
Based on the above, we can understand it to mean:
- you didn't serve God with others. There was a lacking of unity
- you didn't serve God by incorporating the most vulnerable- stranger, orphan, widow etc...