Acquiring Happiness
When the wicked Haman was drawing lots to decide when to destroy the Jews he chose the seventh day of the month of Adar because that is when Moshe Rabienu died. Little did Haman realize that Moshe Rabienu was born on the same day of the month that Moshe himself died.
Moshe Rabienu the salvation of Israel was born on the day of the month that he died. Moshe’s death was when he was 120 years old the time when his days had been filled.
I believe that the lesson behind this story is that when you see something which seems terrible look a little deeper and you may find something very good.
Happiness is very important to Judaism especially during the coming Purim season. A person can not really be religious if he is unhappy. This is because many commandments involve happiness. Additionally, You should be thankful for whatever good you have in your life as it says in the Pasuk.
You should be happy with all of the good which was given to you by G-d your Lord….
Indeed grave punishments are in store for the people if they are not happy as it says in the following Pasuk:
Because you did not serve G-d your Lord in Happiness and in a good heart….
It is not generally a successful tactic to tell people, “Be happy or I’ll bash your head in.” You need not be threatened to see the superiority of happiness and satisfaction over depression. It is perfectly logical and spelled out in the Torah that happiness is preferable.
An additional fact about happiness has recently been statistically proven. To the surprise of the researchers and the entire medical world it has been proven that depression causes and worsens cancer. As a Jew we have the logical commandment to be healthy. We did not need this research to teach us that it is unhealthy. It is already written in the book of Mishle.
A person’s spirits can destroy sickness, and [with] a downtrodden soul who can handle [illness].
Now that you are convinced that it is good to be happy how can I tell you, in less than 300 words, how to be happy?
The first and most important factor leading to unhappiness is a wrong view of our worth as a person. Many people suffer from a false view of themselves. Rabbi Twerski, an eminent Pittsburgh Psychiatrist, has noted that he has seen many more people who under- value themselves than those who have visions of being greater than they really are.
A prerequisite of happiness is to realize what positive personality traits you posses. In addition to this it is a good idea to realize how great your potential is. You should say to yourself, “I am confident that I can accomplish a particular project.” I did this recently with a group of young couples and they all enjoyed it.
It is important to realize that happiness is not a state of mind which you can acquire “if only” something or another would happen. Happiness is an outlook. If you have the correct outlook you should be happy.