As we move through to the eleventh day of Adar-the season of "Mishenichnas Adar Marbin BeSimcha" (Mishnah Taanis 26b -we first need to understand what Simcha Tamid (Constant Joy) actually means. We often make the mistake of thinking "constant joy" is some impossible emotional high where you have to be "up" every single second of the day. But the Torah teaches us that Simcha Tamid isn’t about an emotional peak; it’s about Keviyut-having a fixed consistency. It’s a mental baseline that defines who you are, even in the quiet moments in between.
Doing this work requires us to flip the way we usually think. Most people think, "First I'll solve my problems and stop worrying, and then I'll be happy." The Torah teaches the exact opposite-the "V'nahafoch Hu." Joy is the actual tool you use to get out of the mess, as we see in the verse in Yeshayahu (55:12): "Ki BeSimcha Teitzeiu" (For with joy you shall go out). This tells us that specifically through joy, a person gets the strength to break out of their limitations and win the inner battle against feeling down.
Joy acts like a proactive medicine for the mind. Happiness and worry simply cannot live in the same heart at the exact same moment. Just like a little bit of light naturally pushes away a lot of darkness, choosing to be active in your joy naturally crowds out the clouds of worry.
The secret to making this last is found in the Lechem HaPanim (the Showbread) in the Mishkan. The Torah commands in Shemos (25:30): "וְנָתַתָּ עַל־הַשֻּׁלְחָן לֶחֶם פָּנִים לְפָנַי תָּמִיד" (And you shall set the Showbread on the table before Me continually). In the Gemara (Menachos 99b), Rabbi Yosi teaches a huge principle: even if the old bread was taken off in the morning and the new bread wasn't put on until the evening, it is still legally defined as "continual."
On this, Rabbi Ami explains that this is the model for our lives-if a person learns even one chapter in the morning and one chapter at night, it’s considered "as if he is learning continually," fulfilling the command in Yehoshua (1:8) that the Torah should never depart from your mouth.
The **Shoel U’Meishiv (Rav Yosef Shaul Nathanson, the 19th-century Chief Rabbi of Lemberg)** explains that "constancy" is achieved through "consistency." This routine defines who you are for the whole twenty-four hours of the day. Even when you aren't actively holding a book, you are still a "Torah person" because of your habits.
This is beautifully illustrated by a story about the holy Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (the legendary "defense attorney" for the Jewish people and student of the Maggid of Mezeritch). He once met a man who was complaining that he had no money and couldn't be happy. The Rebbe told him: "You are waiting for the money to show up so you can dance, but the Heavens are waiting for you to dance so they can send the money! Ki BeSimcha Teitzeiu-it’s specifically through the joy that you’ll get out of your troubles." Once that man chose to dance despite his worries, he made joy his baseline and opened the door for his own salvation.
The takeaway for us is simple but powerful: if you make it a point to start your day with one happy thought and end your day with one happy thought, you have defined your entire day as a "happy day." When you choose to be happy first, the worry takes care of itself.
"Mitzvah Gedolah Lehiyot BeSimcha Tamid" (It is a great spiritual duty to be in a state of joy always.) - Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (Likutei Moharan II:24)
Rabbi Weisz, who is originally from the UK, is a member of the Council of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate.
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