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The Torah,
The Jewish Bible,
Is packed with guidelines for living a life of goodness,
Of justice,
Of righteousness.
And one can get caught up in all of the rules,
The laws,
The expectations,
To the point of feeling them as a heavy burden,
That can turn one sour and serious in the presence of the Creator of all,
Of the King of Kings.
But there is this one beautiful line in the Bible that tells us that there will come a day when all will be lost,
And it will come not because we didn't keep the law to the most precise measure possible,
But because you didn't serve God with joy,
That at the end,
We serve all of creation,
And the Creator who made it all possible,
With Simcha,
With joy.
But what's unique about our people is we have so many different words for joy,
So many different kinds of way of taking pleasure and of rejoicing in creation.
So there are so many different ways we can serve our Creator,
And in so doing,
We bring the vision of the Torah and of the nation of Israel back to life.
So I invite you in this meditation to relish in each of these flavors of joy as expressed in the Sheva Brachot,
In the seven blessings that we bestow upon a bride and a groom.
We bless them,
And I bless you now,
With a life so rich in all of these flavors of joy that through it,
They are able to build an everlasting home,
A place where the divine can dwell,
And I bless that you,
In your own life and in your heart,
May be so filled with joy that you build an ever more intimate relationship with God.
Blessing you with the joy and the light of Jerusalem.
I invite you to close your eyes and place those precious hands of yours over your beautiful heart and breathe in,
And as you do so,
I invite you to bring a smile onto your lips,
A crinkle at the edge of your eyes,
And an expansion in your heart for no reason at all.
Simply to begin tasting the joy and the beauty of your existence as you fill your belly and your chest with a breath of life,
And perhaps somewhere in your body,
You're holding tension that isn't so joyful.
I invite you to take a deep breath and let out that tension with an audible sigh,
And again,
Breathing in,
And one last time,
I invite you to shake your whole body out as you sigh,
Breathing in,
Already inviting a playful energy to overcome you.
In with a smile,
Out with a smile,
And as you breathe,
You can invite every muscle in your body to soften and relax into that smile,
You can invite your arms to grow heavier and heavier with every breath you take,
And your chest to expand into a deeper breath,
And to let it out still with that smile.
And I invite you now to think of a time you were filled with simcha,
With just a general happiness gathered in a community of happy people.
Where are you in this memory?
Allow yourself to gain more clarity on who is there with you.
If you can,
Turn up the volume on colors and textures in the scene,
See if you can recall the sounds,
The smells,
Perhaps the tastes,
And allow yourself to relive that simcha as though it's happening right now.
And breathe it in with that smile on your face,
And turn up the volume on that feeling of simcha,
On the pleasure,
The joy of that moment.
And with your next inhale,
I invite you to soak that moment right into the depths of your heart,
So your heart can expand even more,
So your breath can expand even more.
And now,
I invite you to recall a memory when you were filled with sesson,
A rejoicing that bubbles over and can't help but spread onto those around you.
And relive that moment as if it's happening right now.
And allow your body to re-experience it as if it were happening right here.
Can you notice the details of this moment?
And turn up the volume on any colors or textures in the scene around you.
Who is there with you?
What sounds can you recall?
What smells or tastes?
What does it feel like in your body to be reliving the sesson?
And can you turn up the volume on the pleasure and the joy alive in you right now?
And take in this memory and soak it in right to the center of your heart,
So that your heart can expand even more,
So that your chest can expand even more.
And I invite you now to recall a memory when you were filled with gila,
With a joy so exultant you can't help but tremble with happiness.
And allow yourself to relive this moment as if it were happening right now,
Right here in this body.
Fill yourself with that gila as you see the details coming to life around you.
The colors,
The textures,
The faces of those around you.
The sounds,
Perhaps smells or tastes.
And because you can always choose to feel more,
Turn up the volume on that feeling of gila,
Of the overwhelming giddiness.
And invite it to expand the smile on your face even more.
And now capture this memory and soak it in to the core of your heart,
So that your heart expands even more,
And so that your breath expands even more.
And I invite you now to recall a time you were filled with rina,
A joy so celebratory you couldn't help but burst out in song.
And relive that memory as if it were happening right now,
And experience it in your body as if you were reliving it right here.
Can you hear your voice,
And perhaps the voices of others rejoicing around you?
Can you see the colors,
And the textures,
And the faces of the scene that you're in?
How does this rina come alive in your body?
Can you soak it in even more with your breath,
And feel it tickling your vocal cords,
And expanding your smile even more?
And because you can always choose to increase the quality of your emotions,
I invite you to turn up the volume on that feeling of rina.
And feel your breath expanding as you do,
And your heart delighting in this unique flavor of joy.
And now with this next breath,
I invite you to capture this memory of rina,
And bring it into the center of your heart,
So that your heart can expand in even greater joy,
And your breath can expand to take in even more life.
And I invite you now to recall a memory when you were filled with ditsa,
Playful,
Exuberant delight,
The delight of a child just so excited to be alive and to play in the sandbox the creator has laid out for us.
And embody this experience as if it were happening right here.
Where are you?
Can you turn up the volume on the colors and textures in the scene?
Hear the sounds,
Perhaps notice smells or tastes,
And allow yourself to feel even more ditsa as you choose to turn up the volume on that playful delight,
As it brings an even greater smile to your face,
And even a smile to your heart,
And a smile to your belly,
And a smile to the toes of your feet,
Being tickled by the sandbox of life,
To capture this memory,
And let it soak all the way into the center of your heart,
Where it can meet and dance and rejoice and play and sing with the memories of simcha and sason and gila and rina,
And all of the many other flavors of joy to which you have access,
Tickled with the playfulness and exalted in pure unadulterated joy.
This precious one is your birthright,
It is for this feeling,
And for this gift of light that you were created.
For it is in the state of simcha that you are able to be a prophet of Israel,
A channel of divine light for the entire world.
Simcha v'sason v'gila v'rina v'ditsa v'chedva v'achva v'ahava v'shalom v'ikar.
May you be blessed with them all,
And may you bless the world with them all.
And when you are ready,
I invite you to come back into your body by wiggling your fingers and wiggling your toes,
And batting your eyes open,
Ready to bless the world with your smile and your gaze.
