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One of the great pleasures of Jewish learning is the study of the Hebrew language and its ability to help us connect to core values, practice, intention and each other.  If you’ve never taken an adult class with Rabbi Jamie exploring the deeper meaning and transformative power of Hebrew, you really must!  It’s magical. Your children get to have that opportunity in our religious school program and so we (the teachers) get the bonus pleasure & blessing of enhancing our learning as we prepare to share. 

My summer offering for family learning is to consider the many ways we can grow our souls with a bit of study and exploration of the Hebrew word “simcha”, definitions for which include joy, contentment, gladness, rejoicing & pleasure. So important is simcha in Judaism that it is the first chapter in Arthur Green’s book “Judaism’s 10 Best Ideas; A Brief Guide for Seekers”.  There is something throbbing, breathing, beating at a much deeper level when considering simcha through a uniquely Jewish lens.

Rabbi Asher Resnick describes the mitzvah of Ohev et haMakom (the commandment to love God) in Talmud (the primary source of Jewish law), calls on us to “...make a blessing on the difficult and painful just like one makes a blessing on the good. And, that both must be said equally with ‘simcha’.”  In the immortal words of Stewie from Family Guy "Say WHAAAT?”.  Wait, it gets better, and I mean that sincerely.  Rav Binyamin Zimmerman elaborates that not only are we obligated to seek joy personally, there are clear and specific requirements in which we are obligated to bring joy to others even at the expense of other mitzvot!  

A sense of peoplehood in which interactions with community are mandated is a defining Jewish characteristic.  Seeking simcha is hard work and pure pleasure.  This past year has reminded us all how truly complex and difficult, and important this practice is.  We’ve seen how the experience builds and strengthens loving community, honoring tradition & family, evolving ritual observance and guidance on the visionary and sometimes arduous road to making the world a better place.  

It is a mitzvah to feel joy and with joy we perform mitzvot and through joy the mitzvot are fulfilled.  CBE Religious School rocks it!
Be Glad and Rejoice in it