Simcha is a foundation of the Torah. We are exhorted by the Psalmist to “serve the L-rd with simcha" (Tehillim 100:2).
The Torah states that curse of exile from the Land of Israel was decreed upon us because we “didn’t serve the L-rd with joy and gladness of heart" (Devarim 28:47-48).
Many things can bring about a feeling of gladness. For instance, the joy of getting married elevates the bride and groom to a level of indescribable happiness. Nevertheless, while still under the wedding canopy our Sages remind us that there is a joy even greater than this which we must never forget: “… if I don’t set Yerushalayim above my highest joy" (Tehillim 137). In contrast, the exile is viewed as a place of deep sadness: “By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. Upon the willows we hung up our harps; when our captors demanded of us songs, our tormentors asked of us mirth, ‘Sing for us some of the songs of Zion.’ How shall we sing the L-rd’s song in a foreign land?" (Ibid).
This theme is repeated in the Psalm we recite on Shabbat before Grace after meals (Birchat HaMazone). “When the L-rd brought the exiles back to Zion we were like those who dream. Our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with ringing song." The exile is pictured as a place of tears and sadness in contrast to the joy of returning home to Eretz Yisrael (Tehillim 126).
Every time we eat a meal in the Diaspora, no matter how tasty the food may be, and no matter how much superficial gladness the bagels and steaks may cause us, our Sages make a special point of reminding us that the Diaspora is a curse and that a Jew’s only true inner joy can be found in Eretz Yisrael.
The holy and revered Torah giant, the Ohr HaChaim, states this precisely at the beginning of the Torah portion Ki Tavo: "And when והיה you come to the Land that Hashem your God gives you to inherit and possess...." The Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh explains: "The wording 'And when' והיה is an expression of simcha to teach you that there is no simcha except in the settlement of the Land of Israel, as the Psalm says, 'Then our mouths shall be filled with joy...."'
Similarly, we find in the Midrash Tehillim on Psalm 102: “There is no joy like the joy of dwelling in Zion."
The Talmud informs us that the greatest Sages would kiss the borders of the Land of Israel and ecstatically roll in its dust (Ketubot 112A). They loved the Holy Land so deeply they joyfully embraced its soil.
Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Rabbi Ovadi of Bartenura wrote: “The air of the Land makes one wise, and the soul rejoices."
In his Commentary on the Torah, the Ramban states: “The primary fulfillment of all the commandments is in the Land of God" (on Devarim 11:18) He teaches that the commandments reach their full spiritual expression only in Eretz Yisrael. Living in the Land is not merely geographic - it is the environment in which Jewish life reaches its intended perfection. Living there places a Jew directly under God’s providence, creating a joyous spiritual closeness to the Creator.
There are many esoteric reasons why the joy of the Land of Israel is the joy of Divine Closeness. Here, I will mention a simpler, down-to-earth, explanation. A former Israel Chief Rabbi, the Gaon, HaRav Mordechai Eliyahu, zts"l, stated that the first Torah commandment a boy performs (in Israel) at the conclusion of his bar mitzvah is the mitzvah “Yishuv haAretz" - settling the Land of Israel. Just by being in Israel a Jew fulfills the mitzvah. Every second of his or her life is a mitzvah. Even while asleep, a Jew in the Land of Israel is keeping a mitzvah - the commandment which the Sages consider equal in weight to all the other commandments in the Torah.
How many millions and millions of mitzvot a Jew in Israel performs in his or her lifetime just by dwelling in the Land! Can there be a joy greater than this?
-If a non-observant Jew buys milk in a grocery store in Tel Aviv he is participating in the mitzvah of settling the Land and building its national economy.
-If a youth carries the bundles of an old woman he is performing the mitzvah of kindness AND settling the Land.
-If a housewife hangs up laundry in Judea she is involved in the exalted commandment of settling and defending the Land.
-If a Jew buys or rents a home he is a builder of the Land.
-If he serves in the army he is safeguarding Jews, defending the Land and keeping it under Jewish sovereignty - the zenith of the Torah’s injunction.
Can there be a greater happiness in fulfilling the will of Hashem in a dozen different ways with every action and with every breath?
Second by second, minute after minute, day after day, week after week, month after month, one’s entire existence turns into a mitzvah. Can there be a greater joy than this?
