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The Talmud says, “When (the month of) Adar comes in, we increase our Simcha (joy).” Not a bad deal, especially this year, when Adar is twice as long, due to this year being a Jewish leap year. We get an extra month to act happy for no other reason other than the fact that Purim is approaching. The whole world is about to go to war. Hampton Roads has been emptied out in anticipation of another attempt to rid the world of a modern-day Haman. There are differences in the two sagas, to be sure. With all of this going on, there is still an imperative to be happy at this time of year.
The truth is that if we could manage to be happier altogether, our lot as Jews would improve drastically. The famous Chasidic Rebbe, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov used to say, “People think they are sad because of their troubles when in fact the only reason they have troubles is because they are sad!” Quite a statement. Another famous non-Chasidic rabbi, the illustrious Rabbi Moshe Feinstein would say that the downfall in observance of many Jewish families in America was the phrase, “S’iz shver tzu zain a Yid”, Yiddish for “It’s hard to be a Jew.” The background of this particular expression was the difficult time Jews had keeping Shabbos in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when a six-day workweek, Monday through Saturday, was the norm. Many Jews could not overcome the temptation to work on Shabbos. A valiant minority did overcome the temptation. However, they did so bitterly and painfully, telling their children “It’s hard to be a Jew.” It doesn’t take much to convince children that they should not live a life of sadness. Rabbi Feinstein contended that it was this short and bitter phrase that did it in for the children of those who sacrificed so much.
I cannot and will not judge the personal circumstances that make it so difficult to take Shabbos and Jewish Holidays off to celebrate and relive the most important times in world and Jewish history with one’s family. Many could counterclaim that I took the easy road by taking a job with a Jewish organization, where those issues will not tempt me. But I can claim that if each and every one of us injects our Jewish experiences with greater simcha, we can and will strengthen our spouses, children, siblings, parents and communities to take their Jewishness more seriously and happily. And then Shabbos and the upcoming days of Passover will not be thought of as days to sacrifice extra income, but as days to cherish and look forward to.
Deena and I hope to see you in shul,
Rabbi Raffy Davidovich