292 - Simcha (Part-5)

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We've discussed many times that when a person lives with sincere emunah and bitachon, that automatically leads to a life of joy, happiness, calm, and serenity, because I know that I'm not in control of the circumstances that will transpire through my life, and therefore I'm able to let go, relax, enjoy, and live calmly, because I know that Hashem, the all-powerful Master of the universe, is running every single detail and occurrence that will transpire in my life. We know from numerous Torah sources that the more we grow in our emunah and bitachon, the more we will feel calm and happy knowing that we're in Hashem's hands. 

We have many mitzvos that Hashem has given us. Hashem commanded us to keep Shabbos, to keep kosher, to shake a lulav, to eat matzah, to light Chanukah candles. We have many mitzvos. The question is, why is there no commandment to be happy? If being happy is such a fundamental principle in Judaism, to the point that the Torah outlines that although we may have performed all the mitzvos perfectly, if we don't do so with joy and happiness, there are numerous awful curses that could befall us. So it's clear that happiness and joy is something very fundamental for our service to Hashem. If having happiness and joy is such a fundamental principle to Torah and being a Jew, why do we not have an explicit commandment in the Torah, commanding us, you are obligated to be happy? 

And in the same way, we could ask if the sole reason that we exist in this world is to have and grow in our emunah in Hashem, as taught by the Torah commentaries. Some Torah commentaries understand that the obligation to have emunah is actually the first of the Ten Commandments. So important is it to have emunah that it starts right at the beginning, the first of the Ten Commandments. However, other commentaries understand that there is no mitzvah in the Torah to have emunah. The first commandment is referring to something else. Now let's not make a mistake. According to everybody, even those who learn and understand that to have emunah is not a commandment in the Torah, they nevertheless agree that the only reason we exist in this world and the purpose and reason for all of the mitzvos and anything we do in our service to Hashem is for the sake of our emunah and bitachon. 

Why then, according to many commentaries, is there no mitzvah in the Torah to have emunah? And the answer is, as the commentaries explain, emunah is such a fundamental cornerstone and foundation of Judaism to the point that the whole Torah, in a sense, can't apply unless it is built on top of the foundation of emunah. So it's not that emunah is not important enough to be a mitzvah, it's exactly the opposite. It's because emunah is so important, it can't even be a mitzvah because nothing can apply if we don't have emunah. 

So again, why is there no explicit commandment obligating us to serve Hashem with happiness? And why is there no explicit commandment, according to many Torah commentaries, to have emunah in Hashem? And the answer is, not because it's less important to work on becoming happy, joyful, and live a life of emunah, but exactly the opposite. Because emunah and simcha are the foundations to the whole Torah, and in a sense, the entire Torah is stated thereafter, taking for granted that obviously emunah and simcha and the like are the foundations of Judaism and are of even higher priority than the entire Torah. So because having emunah and simcha are so important and a foundation to the entire Torah, that is why there is no outright command to practice them. The foundation to being a Jew is living a life of simcha and emunah.