Simchah, joy, plays a significant – almost critical role – in our avodas Hashem, service to the Almighty. Without simchah, we are unable to sustain a meaningful and enduring relationship. The ultimate goal of a Jew is to bond with Hashem. Without joy, this is impossible, since the Shechina cannot rest in a place of atzvus – loosely translated as sadness, but as the Baal HaTanya defines it, a total absence of feeling. A sad person has feelings. A person in atzvus is mute, without emotion. This is why simchah and sadness can coexist, such as on Tishah B’Av. They are both emotions which are realized at different stages. While we might view simchah as an added quality in avodas Hashem, it is actually much more. Avodas Hashem without simchah is lacking something integral. It is diminished and not inclusive or whole. It becomes a drag – something one must do – rather than something he wants to do and enjoys doing.
Two unrelated exegeses underscore the conclusive benefits of simchah. It is related that the daughter of Horav Shmuel, zl, m’Kominka, was childless for many years. She had prayed fervently to Hashem to be blessed with a child – to no avail. Once, when her father was out of town, Horav Rafael, zl, m’Barshad, visited the town of Kominka. The young woman asked to see the tzaddik, righteous person. After pouring out her heart to him, she petitioned his blessing for a child. Rav Rafael listened to the woman and replied, “A segulah, special remedy, for having children is simchah.” When Rav Shmuel returned home, his daughter related to him what Rav Rafael had said. He immediately replied that this idea may be derived from the three parts of Tanach – Torah, Neviim and Kesuvim.
The Torah tells us Va’yitzchak Sarah, “And Sarah laughed.” This may be interpreted as the catalyst for her blessing of having a child. Since she expressed herself joyfully, it served as a segulah for her. In the Navi Yeshayah 54:1, the Navi says, Rani akarah lo yaladah, “Sing out, O’ barren one who has not given birth.” If the woman is barren, a solution to her problem would be rani, to “sing out” with joy, and Hashem will listen. Last, we find in Kesuvim, Tehillim 113:9, Moshivi akeres ha’bayis – eim ha’banim s’meichah, “He transforms the barren wife into a glad mother of children.” How is the barren woman transformed? By being glad, she will become a mother of children.
Rav Shmuel’s daughter was herself a very erudite woman, quite well-versed in Torah. She asked her father, “If this is the case, why did Hashem question Sarah’s laughter? Why was He bothered by her reaction? She was only expressing joy as a form of segulah for her predicament.” Her father replied, “A segulah is applicable under such circumstances as when a tzaddik issues a blessing. The segulah will support his blessing. When Hashem Himself renders the blessing, one does not need any other assurances. His blessing needs no support.”
The second exegesis focuses on Avraham Avinu’s advocacy on behalf of the “righteous” of Sodom. He asked Hashem if there were only fifty minus five, or forty-five righteous individuals in Sodom, would Hashem annul His decree? Hashem replied in the affirmative. The Imrei Chaim, zl, m’Vishnitz, renders this pasuk homiletically. The word chamishah, five, has the same Hebrew letters as simchah. Avraham asked Hashem, “If there are fifty righteous people in Sodom, but they are lacking in simchah/chamishah, will You still destroy the city?” Hashem replied, “I am not mivater, yielding, concerning the attribute of simchah. Even if there are (only) forty tzaddikim (not fifty), but they are b’simchah – if joy is a part of their outlook and demeanor – I will repeal the decree.”
