Rabbi Mendel Bluming, a rabbi in Maryland, is approached regularly with the quest of how to find happiness in life.
In reality it is a central Jewish question because the verse in Psalms 100 teaches that one MUST serve G-d (fulfil their mission in this world) with joy! But how is that to be expected when life is often filled with pain, loss and setbacks?! And that’s exactly why it’s a mitzvah. Happiness is not a reaction that someone had to a blissful life but rather an action, a commitment to living joyfully irrespective of life’s circumstances. But how? The following is some food for thought: Rather than looking at happiness as being a product of our circumstances, see happiness as the driving force behind our circumstances. Joy has the strength to break down barriers. A happy and positive way of looking at things can bring about happy and positive results. Not that happy people never feel pain. But happy people don't let suffering define their world. And that gives them the strength to see through tough experiences and come out the other end. We can't control everything that happens to us or to those around us. There may be real reasons to be sad, and sadness is an understandable and sometimes appropriate reaction. Never the less happiness is an action, not a reaction. There will always be reasons to be sad. Or we can focus on staying happy. This does not mean turning a blind eye to the suffering and pain in the world. The Zohar teaches that we can feel pain on one side of the heart while at the same time feel joy on the other. I can cry and laugh simultaneously. I can feel pain, my own or that of others, and as well as being full of hope and joy. Not easy, it is a lifetime calling. Menachem Mendel Bluming and Rabbi Moss
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AuthorRabbi Mendel Bluming also dedicated six years to serving on the board of directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, where he received the Matthew H. Simon Rabbinical Award for exceptional communal leadership. Archives
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