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    23 Jul PINCHAS: THE JOY OF THE YOMIM TOVIM

    Posted at 18:02h in by
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    The Chinuch
    (Mitzvah 488)
    explains the
    mitzvah of being
    happy on yom tov.
    He writes, “The
    Torah states
    (Devarim 16:14)
    V e ’ s a m a c h t a
    Be’chagecha,’ You
    shall rejoice in
    your festivals.’
    Chazal (Chagigah 8.) say, ‘Be
    happy in various ways,’ with eating
    meat, drinking wine, donning new
    clothes, giving fruits and sweets to
    the children… Chazal (Pesachim
    109.) says, ‘One must be happy on
    yom tov, together with his wife
    and children and family
    members… How do you make
    them happy? Men with that which
    is fitting for them – with wine.

    Women with what is fitting for
    them – beautiful clothes. The Torah
    [also] obligates us to bring into our
    homes the poor, gerim, and the
    [socially] weak [so they can also
    rejoice with us on the yom tov]. [It
    is a natural need for] people to be
    happy at times. This isn’t less
    important than our need for food,
    rest, and sleep. Hashem wanted to
    grant to us, His sheep [the ability
    to turn this natural need into a
    mitzvah], so he commanded us to
    be happy for His name… Hashem
    established several times
    throughout the year as yomim
    tovim to remember the miracles
    and the kindness that Hashem
    performed for us, and at these
    times, Hashem commanded us to
    be happy. This is a great cure – to
    be happy for Hashem’s name. This
    protects us from straying too far

    from the correct path.
    Someone who thinks about
    these matters, without trying
    to disprove it, will see the
    logic of my words.”
    Last week it states (22:28)
    “Hashem opened the donkey’s
    mouth, and it said to Bilaam,
    ‘What did I do to you that you
    struck me these three times?’”
    Rashi writes “The donkey
    was hinting to Bilaam, ‘You
    are trying to uproot a nation
    that celebrates three yomim tovim
    a year!’”
    The Jewish nation performs many
    mitzvos. The donkey could have
    said, “How dare you try to uproot a
    nation who puts on tefillin and
    keeps Shabbos,” or something like
    that. What is unique about the
    regalim, the yomim tovim, that the

    donkey told Bilaam that he would
    fail in hurting the nation that
    celebrates the three yomim tovim?
    The Kotzker zt’l explains that it
    referred to the immense joy that
    the Jewish nation has on the yomim
    tovim. This is an exceptional merit
    for the Jewish nation, a pleasure
    that the goyim can’t comprehend.