Joy Is Not A Condition. It’s A Decision.

My 9 year old reminds me frequently the perks of being Jewish — all the holidays that we celebrate. There’s the weekly Shabbos. Then the fun-filled Purim followed by many week-long holidays from Pesach to Chanukah, not to mention the high holidays in between. My favourite falls during the 8 days of Sukkos where Jews are commanded to dwell in tents in remembrance of G-D’s providence (not to mention the impermanence of existence).

Ever heard of Simchas Beis HaShoeva?

The Gemara says:

“Mi shelo ra’ah simchas Beis HaShoeva, lo ra’ah simcha miyamav” —
If you haven’t witnessed the joy of the Water-Drawing Celebration,
you’ve never seen true joy in your life.

But wait — how could drawing water equal unparalleled joy?

During the 410 years of the First Temple and the 420 years of the Second, people came from all over — from Israel, Syria, Babylonia, Egypt — to celebrate this festival.

Men, women, children — from the simplest peasants to the greatest Torah scholars — everyone came. Because there had never been, and will never be, a celebration like it.

Jerusalem was radiant. Giant candelabras rose 150 feet high, lighting up the entire city. After the first day of Yom Tov, bleachers were built so that women could see from up high.

The Kohanim and Levi’im played music — flutes, harps, cymbals — with song and dance that went on from night till morning.

The Talmud tells us that Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, the head of the Sanhedrin, juggled eight flaming torches — and not one touched the other.

Can you imagine that kind of joy?

And in the morning, something unusual happened.
Normally, the Kohen Gadol poured wine on the altar.
But during this festival, he poured water — drawn from the spring of Shiloach.

So what’s the secret of this water?
Why does water represent the deepest joy?

When Hashem created the world, He divided the waters —
the higher waters above, and the lower waters below.

And the lower waters cried out:
“Why are we so far below?
Why are we distant from holiness, while our other half is up high in the heavens?”

Hashem comforted the lower waters:
“Your time will come — on Simchas Beis HaShoeva.
Then you will be elevated and honored,
and you will discover your true purpose.”

And with that, Hashem revealed to us the secret of joy.

Just like the water from below — we too must rise up.
We must lift ourselves from heaviness, from despair, from the illusion of “below.”
Happiness isn’t something that happens to us — it’s something we choose.

Joy is a decision, not a condition.

Moment by moment, we can choose to lift ourselves,
because G-d placed that power in our very DNA —
to defy gravity, to rise, to shine.

Let me tell you a story Rabbi Yossi Bensoussan once shared.

When he was a young yeshiva student, he had an older study partner named Nasan — the “energizer” of the yeshiva.
Always upbeat. Always first to arrive, always smiling, always singing.

And it drove young Yossi crazy.
He thought, “What’s this guy so happy about? He must have it easy. If he lived my life, he wouldn’t be smiling so much.”

Then one day he found out that every single night,
Nasan was sitting in the hospital beside his little girl —
a child so sick that doctors didn’t know how long she would live.

Yossi decided to visit, expecting to find a broken man.
But when he walked into the room, he froze.

There was Nasan — dancing and singing for his daughter,
his little girl clapping her hands, tubes and all.

When she fell asleep, Yossi finally asked,
“What is wrong with you? How can you dance at a time like this?”

And Nasan answered simply:
“If I cry — who does that help?
What would that teach her?
That it’s all over? Never. Not under my clock.
I want her to see hope. To see life. To see joy.”

That’s the power of Simcha.

As Rabbi Yossi said,
A person who is truly b’simcha — who lives in joy — cannot be touched.
Nothing can bring him down.
Because he holds the secret to life.

Joy is not a condition. It’s a decision.

And the Rebbe taught us something extraordinary:
He said, We’ve tried everything to bring Moshiach — everything.
But there’s one thing we haven’t yet tried enough:
Pure, unfiltered joy.

So the Rebbe challenged us:

“Try it — and you’ll see.”

Because when we choose joy — we bring Heaven down to Earth.