This was a very exciting week for us… two of our four chickens began laying their first eggs. We adopted our girls (two Cinnamon Queens + two Easter Eggers) when they were one day old chicks back in early April, and have been looking forward to this moment ever since. And it’s finally here. And yes, it has been an incredible source of joy and wonder for the children. Lots of excitement as we’ve been screaming “SALLY LAID AN EGG!” and “THERE’S ANOTHER EGG IN THE NESTING BOX!” all week long. Speaking of happiness and joy….
Ki Tavo is filled with a multitude of curses and blessings for either walking with God, or choosing wickedness. It’s pretty simple, are you going to chose a life of obedience or disobedience? And while this deserves a deep dive from someone way more qualified than myself, what I actually want to focus on is what stuck out to me the most reading Ki Tavo: HAPPINESS 😃
Rejoice, Delight, Be Grateful
All throughout scripture, we’ve read lines here and there about taking delight in what God has given us, rejoicing, expressing thanks, and ultimately, being happy. Which seems, at first, like an odd thing to command from us. How can we control our emotions, force happiness if the feeling isn’t there? Especially if our external circumstances aren’t the best, at the current moment?
I believe what God is showing us, all throughout the Torah, is that we have to work for joy and gratitude, but it isn’t that hard. Although, you can argue that happiness is a discipline. One that does require work, every single day. The discipline of happiness demands the rejection of victimhood (that’s a big one!), having an overall positive outlook (glass half full), letting go of entitlement (can you?), and recognizing your blessings (gratitude journal).
There’s a famous four part teaching in Pirkei Avot, here is the part related to happiness: Who is rich? The one who is happy with his lot. This demonstrates that true wealth is appreciating what you have. It’s really that simple.
I also find it so interesting that in the last twenty years or so, we as a society have become so focused and consumed on our own happiness, and yet, how so many of us, just aren’t happy. Our obsession with optimizing happiness has not made us happier, so naturally, we’ve published dozens of books on exactly that topic, here are a few notable ones from the last two decades: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert, The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt, The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky, The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris, The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, The Happiness Industry by Wiliam Davies, and I could keep going…. Over the last twenty years, we’ve produced an astonishing number of books about happiness. We’ve written books about how to find it, manufacture it, measure it, optimize it, study it, and stop chasing it.
What strikes me is that the Torah’s answer to happiness is quite different from our modern day thinking. A few verses in Ki Tavo that emphasizes my point:
- And you shall enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger in your midst, all the bounty that the Lord your God has bestowed upon you and your household (26:11)
- And you shall sacrifice there offerings of well-being and eat them, rejoicing before the Lord your God (27:7)
- Because you would not serve the Lord your God in joy and gladness over abundance of everything (28:47)
Happiness = Moral & Religious Obligations
It’s clear to me that gratitude and happiness are moral and religious obligations. And with that, I believe the why reason God commands happiness over and over is because happy people tend to act more decently. Period, full stop. But let’s flesh this out further…. Happy people contribute to their family. Happy people contribute to their communities. Happy people contribute to their workplace. Happy people seek to foster a decent society. Other people would rather associate with a happy person than an unhappy person. Finally, and quite importantly, a happy person reflects well of that persons religion, which is essentially, a positive reflection of God.
With Joy You Will Go Out
My absolute favorite podcast is Gedale Fenster’s podcast, shows are released daily, and the best description of his podcast – like listening to motivational talks from an Orthodox Jewish Tony Robbins, with a heavy emphasis on Rabbi Nachmans teachings. One phrase that keeps playing in my head and my heart when I read Ki Tavo is a line that Gedale says constantly, and it’s straight from Rabbi Nachman: with joy you will go out. If you know, you know. Are any of my readers familiar with Gedale Fenster? If not, here is the link to his podcast, you can thank me later. His teachings have changed my perspective, my outlook, and my life. I’ve been a daily listener for more than two years now.