In our Parasha “Ki Tavo” we read about the joy of the man who planted trees and got to see fruits growing in his garden.  This person brings the first fruits to the temple in Jerusalem and thanks God for the abundance and goodness he has received, out of a historical awareness that it is not natural at all for him to live in the Land of Israel and enjoy its fruits.

The Torah describes the meaning of that ritual in the following words:

“And rejoice in all the good things that God your God has given you and your house – you and the Levite and the immigrant who is in your gates.”

Immediately after that ritual, we read in the Torah abuot the mitzvah of ‘Poor tithe’, which instructs us to give a tenth of the harvest to the poor, every third year.

The famous Torah commentator ‘Baal HaTurim’ points out the connection between joy and giving.  When a person gives to others, he gains a sense of satisfaction and self-worth that brings him joy.

Many – especially these days – are tempted to think that joy will return to their lives through consumption and shopping. But reality proves that this is a mistake.

Joy does not enter a person’s heart when he adds wealth to himself or purchases certain products, but rather when he gives to another person.  This is the system that God instilled in the human soul: giving creates love and joy.

Later on, the parasha deals with the punishments that will be imposed on the people of Israel if they abandon the Torah. The Torah defined that the abandoning is not just technical, but furthermore emotional abandoning.

And so, the Tora describes: “The cursings will reach you” because you did not serve your God with joy and a happy heart”.

This verse taught Jewish thinkers for generations, that a person MUST be happy when he is doing the mitzvah. The mere joy that comes from doing the mitzvah its mitzvah itself.

This is a surprising view.  When a person does a mitzvah, puts on Tefillin, does Kiddush on Shabbat, prays, *BUYS ETROG AND LULAV etc. – he is required to be happy.  This joy is a mitzvah itself and he deserves to be rewarded for it.  The joy expresses the effect of the act on the mental experience.  When a person fulfills a mitzvah, he is called to correctly evaluate his actions.

As much value we give to our actions, we are happier when we do them, since doing the mitzvah gives us a sense of high value, satisfaction, and gratitude for the right to live a correct, spiritual, moral and valuable life.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rafael Cohen