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Chapter Nine: ON JOY

The quality of Joy comes to a man out of the peace and security in his heart without an evil happening clouding it. And a man who achieves his desire without a sad event to mar it will be happy always, and his face will glow and his radiance will gleam, and his body will be healthy and old age will not quickly come upon him, as it is said: "A merry heart is good (healing) medicine" (Prov. 17:22). From joy will come laughter, but it is not fitting for an intelligent man to laugh too much, for with too much laughter goes a frivolous mind, as it is said: "For as the crackling of thorns under a pot so is the laughter of the fool" (Eccl. 7:6). And it has already been said that one of the signs of a fool is that he laughs when and where laughter is not proper. And it is not fitting for one who has the obligation of correcting others to conduct himself laughingly at meetings or gatherings, for the sages have said concerning him, "He who laughs much loses the respect of others, for when he laughs, another is unable to revere him (with the reverence due his teacher i.e.) with the fear of Heaven** The concept involved here is that when one receives a teacher with reverence, it is as though he had received the Divine Presence.. Therefore, a man should reprove and strengthen himself not to laugh at the slightest pretext, nor should he acquire a teacher or companion who is given to much laughter, as it is said : "I did not sit in the assembly of them that make merry and rejoice" (Jer. 15:17). And it is written : "In all sadness there is some profit" (Prov. 14:23) (something to be learned or gained).

There are many evils in too much rejoicing and in too much laughter, as for instance one who rejoices when his companion stumbles or when some evil mischance of the tragic happenings that afflict the world comes upon him. And concerning this it is said: "When your enemy falls do not rejoice" (Ibid. 24:17). And there is a joy that is even worse than this — as when a man rejoices because his companion made errors in the Service of the Creator, may He be blessed, or rejoices at the lack of knowledge of his companion. The following parable you should easily understand: a servant who ministers to his king faithfully is pained when he sees people rebelling against his master and abusing him [and he should rebuke them to their faces and let them know the extent of their vile conduct], but when a servant is happy when he sees the service of his master being spoiled and his master's consequent shame, then he is not a faithful servant [he is a comrade to the destroyer and will have to bear his guilt]. And behold Scripture says : "The Lord desires those that revere Him" (Ps. 147:11). And he who rejoices when his companion stumbles — his desire is not like the desire of the Creator, may He be Blessed. Therefore Rabbi Nehunia ben Hakanah prayed : "And let not my fellows err in a point of law and I be happy with this" (Berakoth 28b). Therefore Rabbi Nehunia ben Hakanah prayed to be free from this fault for he saw that it was common that one rejoices in the mistake of his companion in order that he should feel triumphant over his companion and have that fame. And how many important people there are who do not take care in this connection. Therefore, every man whose will is the will of God feels great pain when the will of God is not accomplished by men. A man should pray that even his enemy should serve the Creator, Blessed be He. And he should intend in his prayers — when he comes to the Benedictions of "Thou art Gracious" and "Restore Us" and "Forgive Us" — to include all of Israel, those that love him and those that hate him. And so should it be with all his Benedictions. For how could it be true that he should pray for "the healing of his people Israel" and the other Benedictions, and not want his companion to be healed or become wiser?

And because this desire to triumph over an enemy is very common in the hearts of people and one may not sense it within himself, therefore, we write to warn those who revere the Lord to direct their hearts to God with true and complete devotion — to pour out their souls towards the presence of the Lord in prayer for all Jews — those who love him and those who hate him, and thus fulfill the commandment : "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18). "And he that has clean hands becomes stronger" (Job 17:9).

There is another kind of joy and laughter that is very evil, for example, he who laughs at one who is very careful and pious in the way he serves God, may He be Blessed, and fulfills His commandments, and in this there are four evils:

The first is that he darkens his own soul from the light of the commandments when he rejects or laughs at those who fulfill them — and he makes the Commandments ugly in his own eyes.

The second evil is that perhaps with his mocking laughter he can disuade the righteous man from his righteous deeds for the later may not be able to bear the laughter.

The third is that people who have never tried to walk in the ways of God, may He be Blessed, may not, because of this laughter, ever repent, and will walk in darkness all their days. Then it is clear that the scoffer does not only hold back his fellow from the great good that is treasured up for the righteous but thrusts him down into the lowest pit. This scoffer falls within the guilt category of those who cause others to sin.

The fourth evil is that the scoffer is like a bandit that stands at the crossroads and cuts off the legs of those who come bringing gifts to the king. Such a one is a hater and an enemy of the king and his wickedness is very great.

There is another joy whose effect is as bitter as wormwood — for instance the joy of those who pursue immorality and robbery and all other sins and rejoice when they attain their evil lusts. Concerning these it is said: "Who rejoice to do evil and delight in the forwardness of evil" (Prov. 2:14). Their guilt is great and brings them to the lowest pit.

And there is yet another confusing joy that casts smoke over all the Commandments and causes reverence for the Lord, may He be Blessed, to be forgotten from the hearts of men, for instance — those who get themselves drunk and rejoice in the banquet houses. And after this type of joy comes sorrow, for much hurt comes from drinking feasts. And who in wisdom was as wise as Solomon, the son of David, who said: "Who cries 'Woe!' Who cries 'Alas!' Who has quarrels? Who has ravings? Who has wounds without cause? Who has red eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that constantly try mixed drinks" (Ibid. 23:29, 30). Also the prophet said: 'Woe unto them that rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink. They tarry late into the night till the wine inflames them" (Is. 5:11). And he said further: "And the harp and the psaltery, the tabret and the pipe and wine are in their feasts, but the work of the Lord they do not regard and the work of His hands they have not seen" (Ibid. : 12). And he said : "Therefore, my people are gone into captivity for want of knowledge, and their honorable men are famished and their multitude are parched with thirst" (Ibid.: 13). And he said : "Therefore, has the netherworld enlarged her desire, and opened her mouth without measure and down go their glory and their tumult and their uproar and he that rejoices, among them" (Ibid. : 14). And he said: "But these also reel through wine and stagger through strong drink, the priest and the prophet reel through strong drink; they are confused because of wine, they stagger because of strong drink, they reel in vision; they totter in judgment" (Ibid. 28:7). See how much harm comes from the wine! And it is written : "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is riotous and whoever reels thereby is not wise" (Prov. 20:1).

Behold, wine causes one to become a scoffer and a mocker and to be riotous and quarrelsome. And everyone who transgresses through it is not very wise. Our teacher, Moses Maimonides wrote : "A gathering for drinking intoxicating liquor deserves greater shame among you that when naked people gather exposing their nakedness. And drunkenness is an evil deed for it causes one to lose the intelligence which the Lord, may He be Blessed, breathed into man's nostrils." In truth, the drinking of wine is very good if one drinks like an intelligent person, as under the circumstances and in the manner of which Solomon said : "Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish and wine to the bitter in soul. Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his misery no more" (Prov. 31:6-7). And more is said about wine: "Wine which cheers God and man" (Judges 9:13). And it is written : "And wine that makes glad the heart of man" (Ps. 104:15). Also Scripture says : "For thy love is better than wine" (Ecel. 1:2), and it also is said : "And the roof of thy mouth is like the best wine" (Ibid. 7:10).

From all of these citations we can know the praise of wine when it is drunk according to the measure of the wise who drink a specified amount — so that the intelligence may be stronger than the wine and not the wine be stronger than the intelligence, and who drink at a set time, together, and not with those barren of knowledge, vain and empty. For wine adds deep wisdom, a tree of life for those that hold it. And wine adds wisdom to the intelligent person, but doubles the folly of the fool. It revives the love of a friend but stirs up the enmity of a foe. It opens the hand of the generous and hardens the heart of a miser.

And thus should be the manner of one who drinks wine. He should use the wine as a healing for his worry and thus strengthen himself in Torah to study it with joy, for when a man is plunged in grief he cannot study and even judges of courts of law, when they are grieved, cannot give a clear judgment. Grief also disturbs the concentration of the mind on one's prayer.

Also, when a man is plunged in pain or grief he has not the strength to fulfill the request of someone who is speaking to him or is asking him for a favor. And it is written : "In an acceptable time have I answered you" (Is. 49:8).

Therefore, an intelligent person should direct himself in drinking wine in this manner — that he should remember not to drink too much so as to be compelled by his condition to neglect his work and his affairs. And, moreover, he must guard himself from drinking so much that he neglects his study of the Torah and his prayers, or until he becomes too frivolous and light headed. And he should not drink to the extent that he reveals his secrets or the secrets of others. And if you will drink in this moderate measure, wine will not become loathsome to you.

Even on Holidays and Festivals, of which it is written : "And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God" (Deut. 12:18), one should not prolong his drinking more than is proper, as it is said : "Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart" (Ibid. 28:47). From this you learn that we have not been commanded to rejoice in a manner that the Creator of all is forgotten. For it is impossible to serve the Lord, may He be Blessed, out of light headedness, or laughter, or drunkenness.

In the quality of joy there is a positive command to accept all that happens to one with a conviction of God's justice, as it is said : "And you shall consider in your heart that just as a man chastises his son, so does the Lord chasten you" (Ibid. 8:5), i.e. for his own good.

And if, after a man repents, his affairs are not as good as they were at first, it is a command that he think in his heart that for his own ultimate good has his project turned bad — that before that man repented, the Holy One, Blessed be He, was paying him the reward of whatever good deeds he had done in order to drive him forth from sharing in the world to come, as it is said : "And He pays him who hates Him to his face (quickly and completely) so as to bar him" (from sharing in the world to come) (Ibid. 7:19). And just as He deals with those that hate Him, so does he mete out the punishment for the sins of those that love Him in this world, so that they will be pure and perfect in the world to come. And all this is dependent upon the quality of joy, for he (the good person) rejoices in the portion that God, may He be Blessed, has allotted to him.

Now the way in which a man should be happy with his portion and receive with joy the evil as well as the good — this way is divided into several paths :

First : A large fence is needed to hedge him securely in his trust in God.

Second : A firm faith — the will to believe.

Third : Intelligence — that understands that a blessing may come of pain.

Fourth : Self sufficiency that needs no approval but God's.

The wise man said : Every man needs a fence and support in order that his good deeds should be brought to fulfillment. And what is the fence? It is complete trust — to always trust in God, may He be Blessed, as it is said : "Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you" (Ps. 55:23).

And what is the fence of trust? What is it that causes a man to trust in God? It is the quality of Faith. From the fact that he believes in the Creator and that all his good fortune in this world and in the world to come is from Him and that there is none beside Him, he firmly sets his mind to love Him with all his heart.

And what is the fence of faith? What thing brings a man to complete faith? It is that he should not sway or tremble before a bad happening but receive all that happens to him with joy. And this is like the case of a servant who knows his master well, — knows that his master is generous, merciful and pays a large reward to those who do his will and carry out his bidding. And though he sometimes assigns hard work to his servants, he rewards them with great rewards, and makes them great and important. They become the men with whom he counsels, and they eat at his table and he causes them to ride in a carriage second only to his own and sets them up as administrators over his land. There is no doubt that a servant who knows this about his master, would leave any other interest he has in the world and do the will of his master with joy, even though the work is very difficult for him, when he has in mind the good which will be his because of this work. But the servant who sees that his master holds back the wages of his servants, and knows in his heart that his master is a miser, and that his troubles as a worker are much greater than his wages, such a servant can exert himself only with great sorrow.

So is this matter! He who believes with complete faith in his Creator, that He does good and shows Mercy more than any merciful one, that He is a true Judge, and that all that God does to him is for his good and in order to give him great reward for all that he bears for the sake of His great Name and for every service and ministry that he does for the sake of Heaven, — such a one will attain for himself great pleasantness in the world that is forever pleasant, as we found in the matter of Nebuchadnezzar, who, because he took four steps in honor of God, may He be blessed, merited greatness and honor (Sanhedrin 96a), and as we found in the matter of Esau, who, because he was scrupulous about honoring his father merited greatness in this world, he and his seed after him, and so there are many similar cases. There is no doubt that when a man believes all this with a perfect heart, he will certainly rejoice with all the judgments of God, may He be Blessed, for who would not rejoice when someone takes from him copper pennies and gives him in their stead a talent of gold?

He who believes in God with a perfect heart and trusts in Him with a strong trust, his trust will bring him to the point where he will never fear man or evil circumstance and he will never serve a man in order to please him and he will never place his hope in man, and he will never agree with people in a matter that is contrary to the Service of the Creator, may He be Blessed, and none of their affairs will frighten him and he will not fear their quarrels and if he rebukes them will not worry about their pride and if he finds it necessary to shame them he will not be shy before them, and he will not make their falsehood beautiful or acceptable as the Prophet said : "For the Lord God will help me, therefore, am I not confounded, therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed" (Is. 50:7).

He who trusts in God — his trust will bring him to cleanse his heart from worldly matters and to devote himself solely to matters concerning Torah and Worship. And a man ought to search out the ideas that take hold of his heart so as to trust in God completely.

His first thought should be that he should know with a clear knowledge that God has mercy upon man more than any merciful being and that He watches over him in secret and openly. And at times when he does not take such care as he should, God has mercy on him and guards him from evil happenings as it is said on this subject, "The Lord guards the simple" (Ps. 116:6).

His second thought should be that all the good which comes to him from his father, mother, his brothers and his other relatives and friends are all from the Lord, may He be Blessed, and these people are simply the messengers of God, Blessed is He.

The third thought should be that all the good that comes to him is the result of God's kindness, not that he deserves it, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not doing him good because He needs him, but it is God's voluntary and gracious gift and kindness.

The fourth thought should be that in all his matters and achievements there is a boundary and limit, and no human being can add or detract to what the Creator, may He be Exalted, has decreed. And if the Holy One, Blessed is He, has decreed his portion should be small, then man cannot increase the little or lessen the much. And what God has decreed to come later no man can advance nor, can be delay what God has decreed to come early, for all is in accordance with the decree of the Most High and His will.

The fifth thought is that he should know that the Creator, may He be Blessed, sees his heart and knows whether his trust in Him is a complete trust without guile. For a servant who ministers to a human being is able to deceive his master so that the master should believe that the servant loves him with all his heart, though in fact, he hates him, and the master will deal well with him under the conviction that his servant loves him. But all this can not be true of the Creator, may He be Blessed, for He knows the desire of the heart and the thought within it and He knows all that is above and below, his faith and his unbelief. Therefore one cannot walk before Him with attempt to deceive.

The sixth thought is that he should take it into his heart to fulfill what God has commanded him and to avoid all that He has warned him not to do. If a man desires that the Creator, may He be Exalted, should do that which he depends upon Him to do, then he must act according to the words of the Sages : "Make His will thy will in order that He shall do thy will as His will. Nullify your will before His will in order that He should nullify the will of others before your will" (Aboth 2:4). But he who trusts and depends on the Lord, may He be Exalted, and does not fulfill what He has commanded him — what a simpleton and fool is he! And of this it is said : "For what is the life of the flatterer, though he gets profit or gain, when God takes away his soul? Will God hear his cry?" (Job 27:8,9). And it says: "Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely and offer unto Baal and walk after other gods whom you have not known, and come and stand before Me in this house upon which My name is called?" (Jer. 7:9-10). And it says : "Has this house wherein My name is called become a den of robbers in your eyes?" (Ibid. : 11).

The seventh thought which leads to rejoicing is that he should know that the Creator, Blessed is He, created man for many labors and provided food for him to obtain through much exertion and work and that if all these things like food and clothes were prepared for man without any trouble at all on his part there would be a number of commandments that would not exist — for instance Charity — laws prohibiting robbery, theft, covetousness, and many similar commandments. Then too, if all were provided, man would have no need to trust in God. And for this reason, Hezekiah the King of Judea hid the Book of Healings (Berakoth 10b) in order that the sick person should trust in God, may He be Exalted, and not merely in drugs. Moreover, if a man were freed from the necessity of work and did not have to trouble himself about his sustenance, he would kick out against all restraint and pursue wrongdoing as it is written : "When Jeshurun prospered, he kicked" (Deut. 32:15). And our Sages said : "The study of the Torah is good when combined with making a living, for the exertion necessary for both activities causes one to forget all thought of sinning" (Aboth 2:2).

So now we see that the Lord, may He be Exalted, has placed two types of service in the hands of man — one — his own necessary labor for a livelihood and the second — his Service of the Torah, and a man must follow the middle road between both of these services — and devote special hours to the service of the Torah and special hours to work for the needs of this world. And you must strengthen yourself to always accomplish both for the good of yourself and your posterity. And one type of service should not be considered a loss as against the other service as it is said : "Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him" (Jer. 22:15). And it says : "It is good that you should take hold of the one and from the other not withdraw your hand" (Eccl. 7:18). And he must trust in the Lord, may He be Blessed, that He will cause him to prosper in his affairs, and he ought not to trust in his work and his occupations, but consider that his work and occupation are merely means to his support from the Lord, may He be Blessed; just as when a man splits wood with an axe, even though the axe splits the wood, the power does not come from the iron blade of the axe but from the man who wields the axe and splits the wood with it.

And a man who has a job or some occupation by which he supports his family should not think, "If not for this job I would be utterly lost." But he should trust in the Creator may He be Blessed, and think that if this work were not here to occupy him, then the Creator may He be Blessed, would provide his sustenance through some other means, because all the work of his hands and his needs are in the hands of God, and God has many messengers (of good fortune), as Scripture says : "For there is no restraint of the Lord to save by many or by few" (Samuel 14:6), and it says further : "It is He who gives power to get wealth" (Deut. 8:18), and it says : "Not by might nor by power but by My spirit says the Lord of Hosts" (Zech. 4:6).

And thus the man, whose whole livelihood and the fulfillment of whose needs depend on another, should not in his heart put his trust in that man, but should root his trust in the very depth of his heart in the Creator, may He be Blessed. And it is not enough that he should say this merely in his heart, but he must verbally give praise and thanks to the Creator, may He be Blessed, for not having removed His kindness from him. He should accept willingly this fitting parable concerning this matter : It is like a hundred blind people walking in single file and each one's hand is on the shoulder of his companion, but at the head of all of them there is a man who sees, and it is he who leads them all. In that case each blind man knows, that even though he places his hand on the shoulder of his companion and his companion leads him, that this "leading" is not actually in the power of the man in front of him, but that all of the men in single file are being led by the man who sees and is leading the whole line, and that if this man is taken from them — they will all stumble and fall. This is what a man should say to his heart and consider, that the Holy One, Blessed is He, is the Leader and that we are all of us like the blind, and each one of us is helped and aided by a companion, but there is no power in the companion to aid if it were not for the First and Uppermost Leader who directs all of His paths in straight lines, and none can find fault with Him. And just as the one who is being supported by another human being should regard only the Holy One, Blessed is He, so should the one who supports another not vaunt himself that he supports another, but consider himself like the blind man who precedes another blind man and leads him only through the help of the First Leader, who is the one that sees.

And on this subject it is said : "And I will bring the blind by a way they knew not in paths that they knew not I will lead them" (Is. 42:16), and he says further : "And look (understand) you blind, that you may see!" (Ibid: 18). And he says further: "Who is blind, but My servant? or deaf, as My messenger that I send? Who is blind as he that is wholehearted and blind as the Lord's servant?" (Ibid. : 19).

Now, all of the matters in which we trust in the Holy One, Blessed be He, may be divided into eight parts: 1. The first is his body — his general health. 2. The second is his sustenance. 3. Matters concerning his wife, relations and friends. 4. The duties of the hearts and the limbs which may help or harm him. 5. The functions of his limbs insofar as they may help or harm others. 6. His reward in this world. 7. The reward stored up for the righteous in the world to come. 8. The reward in the days of the Messiah.

The first trust — in the matter of a man's body, means, that he must submit his life and self to God's great mercy and know that there is no counsel or way of conduct except with God's permission and decree. And even though all the functioning of his limbs and the measure of his days are bound up in the decree of the Creator, may He be Blessed, nevertheless, a man must move about to earn his needs and save his life and prepare the medicine he needs and he must trust in God that he will heal him, and that the doctor and the medicine to heal him also come to him from the Lord, may He be Blessed. And he should not depend on any but God to give him the needed ability and strength. But a man should not say "Since my welfare is bound up in the decree of the Creator, may He be Blessed, I will walk into any danger and drink deadly poison."

Have we not found in the case of Samuel that he asked. "How can I go? If Saul hears of it (that he is to anoint another) he will kill me" (I Sam. 16:2). And even though Samuel said this he must not be considered as of those who have little trust in God. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, responded, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord' " (thus providing Samuel with a remedy in his danger).

And concerning one who deliberately places himself in danger and says, "I trust in the Lord, may He be Blessed," about him it is said : "But the fool behaves overbearingly and is confident" (Prov. 14:16). And the Torah has warned us concerning this as it is written : "You shall not try the Lord your God" (Deut. 6:16). And he who places himself in danger and kills himself through his folly, his punishment is greater than that of a man who kills others.

The second trust is concerning a livelihood. A man should have trust in the Lord, Blessed is He, that He will provide his needs and his food sufficiently. A man should not devote excessive time pursuing after many material matters which will busy him and keep him from Torah. When he trusts in God he will find rest for his heart and peace for his soul. And he should not attempt to earn more than he needs, but let him be content with work he can do at a specific time and the rest of his time let him busy himself to acquire the world to come.

And thus said the sages : "Increase your study and lessen your business affairs." "Make the study of the Torah your principle aim and business secondary" (Sifre, V'etchanan). And this matter is the most severe in the trials of man — that the many affairs of this world should not trouble him to the point that he forgets his future. Therefore, he should trust in God that He will provide sufficiently for his needs so that he will have hours in which he is free to turn his heart to God.

The third trust is concerning his wife, his children, his relatives and his friends. If the one who places his trust in God is a stranger or sojourner without a wife, relative or friend, let him take God as a relative and friend as it is written: "This is my Beloved and this is my Friend" (Eccl. 5:16). And let him consider, "Everyone who has relatives will, after a little while, have to face God alone and no relative, son or friend will be able to help him, nor will any one of these be able to accompany him." And he should also consider when he withdraws to study Torah what burdens could be placed upon him by demanding relatives and consider this to his good, that if he were occupied with these and other worldly matters, he would be much bothered and would have no rest. And when he occupies himself with his future life and with matters of the commandments and uniting his heart with God, then his mind will doubtless be more free and concentrated, because he is alone and without relatives. And, therefore, the ascetics, who declared repeatedly the Oneness of God in their hearts, fled from their homes and relatives to the mountains in order that they might turn their hearts to God.

And if the person who trusts in God is married and has children, relatives, and loving friends, he should trust in God that He will give him the strength to give them their due and fulfill their desires, and he must trust that his mind will always be well disposed towards them. And he should teach them the paths of conduct set forth in the Torah, and the proper Service of the Creator, and all this not because he anticipates that he will receive some gain from them for this, or that they will honor him for showing them the right path, nor that he will be able to lord it over them, but he will do these things only because he wants to fulfill the command of the Creator, Blessed be He. And he must think that he is a messenger from God to teach his relatives and friends, and not take credit for himself nor permit his heart to grow lofty over them. And if he needs the help of his relatives and they fill his needs, he must think of them as the messengers of God, Blessed be He, to fill his need, and not put his trust in them at all. And if he asks them for something and they refuse him, let him not assume that they are sinning, but let him consider that there are many messengers of God who will fill his need.

The fourth thought concerning the entrusting of the heart in the care of God occurs where a man concentrates his heart through fasting, prayer and all the rest of the conmmandments and is thus restrained from sin. It is necessary that he go forward with all his might to fulfill the commandments, and he must pray with a faithful heart and pure thought and with firm intent to glorify His Great Name. And in doing this we are obligated to trust Him and to plead with Him to help us and to teach us the straight paths as David, peace upon him, said : "Guide me in thy truth and teach me" (Ps. 25:5). And he said : "Make me tread in the paths of thy commandments" (Ibid. 119:35), and again, "I have chosen the way of faithfulness" (Ibid. : 30). And all this is proof that he chose the Service of God and prayed for two things; first, to strengthen his heart in his concentration on God so that he might separate from his heart the trouble and concern over this world. And the second thing for which he prayed was to strengthen his body and limbs so that he might be strong in his good deeds. And this is what he meant when he prayed that God should prosper him in his body and in the concentration of his heart to God.

The fifth trust is the trust of his limbs which he uses to do good to others : — for example, Charity, and by teaching wisdom to pupils and commanding them concerning the good, and to separate themselves far from evil, and to bring the wicked back to God in repentance, and to bear their shame and abuse at the time that he warns them concerning the true Service of God and awes them with descriptions of punishment and reward. And he must strive with all his might to do these things, and he must trust in God that He will help him and make possible his desire to draw near with this Service to God alone and not to acquire fame or honor among the people who benefit from his deeds, nor to expect any reward from them, and not to lord it over them. And he must be careful, as much as is possible, to do these good deeds in secret, and if he cannot keep his good deeds secret, then he must remember that all the gain and the loss that is involved does not come from God's creatures, but is the province of the Creator, may He be Blessed. And in all of this he must place his trust in the Lord, may He be Blessed. And when God, may He be Exalted, causes an opportunity for a good deed to come his way, he must consider in his heart that this is a favor from the Creator, may He be Exalted, who has dealt kindly with himin permitting him this opportunity to serve, and he should not rejoice when men praise him.

The sixth trust concerns a man's hope in this world — that he should trust God not to feed him in this world with a portion that is more proper for the coming world. And he should trust Him that He will guard him from the misfortunes of this world and from its illnesses, and from the plague and the sword and from famine and from the rest of the evils that come rushing forth upon the world.

And when he does trust in God, let him not do so because he feels reward is coming to him on account of his good deeds, but he should do all of his deeds for the sake of God, may He be Exalted, who has raised him and carried him in this world and dealt well with him. He must realize that there is not a moment in all the days of his life that the goodness of the Creator is not upon him. And he must consider that, if his good deeds were doubled and multiplied many times over, it would not be one ten-thousandth of what he ought to do because of God's goodness, may He be Blessed, that hovers over him every moment. And after he has thought all this, let him trust in the kindnesses of the Lord, Blessed be He, who is the One who extends kindness and who is more merciful than all the deeds of mercy of man. For God, in His mercy, gives food even to the swarming creatures, from the mighty wild ox to the eggs of lice (Shabbath 107b). And just as God has mercy on these creatures, not because of their good deeds, so will He have mercy on him.

The seventh trust is that he should confide in the King of Kings, who rules over all, Blessed be He, that He will bring, in his days, a great salvation for Israel and will establish Jerusalem and build the Temple in his days. And the intent of his trust in this salvation should not be that he may live in great security as is bound to be the case in those days, nor to eat the good fruit and to drink the finest wine, but his intent should be that he should live in those days in order to serve the Creator, may He be Blessed. For in those days God will remove the evil desire from the heart of His people and all — young and old — will know the Lord and there will be nothing to distress them — not plague nor famine nor war nor troublesome tasks, but all people will be free, and all will attain a great concept in the knowledge of the Creator, may He be Blessed. And in those days knowledge will increase as it is written : "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Is. 11:9).

The eighth trust concerns the world to come that contains pleasures without end and beyond limits. And no one is able to tell the beauty of the world, and no eye can see the radiance of the glory of the righteous. And there, there is no eating and drinking. Now if this is so what kind of pleasure is to be found there? Therefore, it is necessary for you to understand and to know, that just as the bird does not know the pleasure of the fish that swims in the sea for their natures are opposite, since the bird will die in the water, and the fish will die on dry land, so anyone of this world where the soul and the body are mingled, cannot know the pleasure of the soul. For we know only the pleasure of the body, but as to a pleasure of the loftiest kind and most sublime — we cannot conceive of, nor can we know aught of it, except after much thought. And this is because we are in the physical world. Therefore, we can recognize only pleasures that disappear and cease, but the pleasures of the soul are infinite and without interruption. And there is no connection whatsoever between those pleasures and these, nor any sharing or resemblance whatever. And he who will merit that high degree of pleasure after his death, will not love these worldly pleasures anymore than a king will love to take off his glorious garments and play in the streets with children. And if, at times, a king should be young in years and the desire to participate in the follies of little children should be strong upon him so that he plays with the children and puts aside the splendor of his kingly state, then, this is because he does not have the knowledge to distinguish between the two paths, just as we often prefer the pleasure of this world over the pleasure of the world to come because of our lack of knowledge, and little ability to recognize what the spiritual world and its pleasures must be like.

Yet even in this world you can know something of what the pleasures of the soul are without the pleasure of eating and drinking. For example : men who triumph over their enemies, or the joy of being honored when people honor a man, or the joy a person feels at seeing beautiful things, or the joy a man feels when he sees his dear son whom he has not seen for a long time, or the joy he feels at hearing good news. In all these there is great pleasure without the joy of eating and drinking. And if this is so in the physical world, and we see that souls can be pleased with this, then you should be able to understand the pleasure of souls when you ascend to the highest heavens and rejoice in the radiance of the highest plane, and in the radiance, of the Shekhinah.

And there can be no account of this Divine pleasure nor any description of it, and we cannot compare it to any pleasure in this world, but as the Prophet said who wondered and marvelled at the preciousness of the world to come : "Oh how abundant is Thy goodness which Thou hast stored up for them that revere Thee!" (Ps. 31:20). And concerning the world to come, which is the desired end of man, he must place his trust in the Lord — his trust that the Lord will cause him to reach the upper world and will not cast him away from His presence.

And he cannot have such trust without good deeds. Only after he has occupied himself with these, with all his ability, can he ascend the steps of piety that are fitting for such a matter. And, of course, provided he removes the love of this world from his heart and puts in its place love of the Creator, Blessed is He, and commits himself to the Sanctification of the Name of God, may He be Blessed.

And if he does so, and trusts in the Creator, may He be Blessed, that He will deal kindly with him as He has dealt kindly with all the Prophets and pious ones, happy is he and happy is his portion ! And concerning him who trusts in the Lord, may He be Blessed, this is a very good quality, and a man needs much repair and adjustment before he comes to the very essence of trust.

And he who trusts in God is invited to receive God's kindness, as it is written : "He that trusts in the Lord, loving kindness surrounds him" (Ps. 32:10). And this may be because one who trusts in the Lord must necessarily make several holes in his defenses, openings which are not good for him in this world. He must rebuke the many, even though he be afraid of them lest they injure him in body and substance. He must despair and abandon all hope in his relatives and loving friends so as not to participate with them where they do not follow the good road, and he must not flatter them. Also, he must abandon many affairs in this world in order to cleanse his heart from the follies of the world and occupy himself with Torah. And this requires great trust. Therefore, Scripture has said : "Loving kindness surrounds him."

Trust is impossible without faith, as it is written : "And they that know Thy Name will put their trust in Thee" (Ps. 9:11). For those who know His Great Name and recognize His greatness and power, and believe in Him with all their heart — only they can truly trust in Him, for trust and faith are partners; if there is no faith, there is no trust. And faith is the very beginning of the Torah, as it is written : "I am the Lord, your God; you shall have no other gods" (Exod. 20:2-3). And if a man does not believe of what good is his Torah? And where a man believes from the depths of his heart that the Creator will fulfill all that is written in the Torah, sending troubles to the sinner and paying a good reward to those who fulfill the precepts of the Torah, then he will carefully guard the Torah. For if all the thieves and robbers knew with certainty that they would be slain because of their thefts and robberies and would be unable to escape this fate, they would restrain themselves from wrong doing. But all of the thieves and robbers are sure that they will always be saved from this tragic end, and, therefore, they do what their heart desires. And, also, in the case of the sinner, if he believed with certainty that he would be punished greatly, he would not sin.

Therefore, all of the Torah is completely enclosed in faith, as it is written, "But the righteous shall live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4). And concerning Abraham, it is said : "And he believed in the Lord and He counted it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6). And concerning all other good qualities such (a reward) is not written in Scripture.

And concerning Moses, it is written : "In all my house he is faithful" (Num. 12:7). And it is said in the Midrash : "Great is faith before the Holy One, Blessed is He, for because of the merit of the faith that our fathers believed there dwelt upon them the Holy Spirit and they uttered song as it is said : 'And they believed in the Lord and in Moses His servent. Then Moses and the Children of Israel sang' " (Exod. 14:31, 15:1, Exodus Rabbah 22-23).

And they were redeemed because of their faith, as it is written: "And the people believed" (Exod. 4:31). The Sages said of this verse, "Each one who takes upon himself one commandment with faith is worthy that the Holy Spirit shall dwell upon him." And the exiles are brought back through the merit of faith as it is said : "Look forth from the summit of Amanah (Faith)" (Eccl. 4:8). And it says further : "And I shall betroth thee to me with faith" (Hosea 2:22).

And now let us return to the matter of Joy. For he who believes with a complete heart and trusts in the help of the Rock (God) will always be happy and bear everything — just as a sick person eats bitter medicines in order to be healed. And he who bears problems willingly is free from the worry of the world. The one who bears all things willingly is satisfied with the little he has, for he says, "Whatever the Creator has decreed for me is enough for me."

And now look and see how Joy includes everything! For every man who worries about the material things of this world has no rest and is always planning how to make money, and he is never satisfied with what God has apportioned to him. Therefore, the one who rejoices in his portion is rich even though he be poor, for he rejoices in the Lord who is his portion and inheritance. And so it is written : "I have said, 'My portion is the Lord' " (Ps. 119:57). And so he says : "Let the heart of them that seek the Lord rejoice!" (Ibid. 105:3).

And it is this quality that dwells in the souls of the righteous who derive complete pleasure in the matter of their Service to God and great joy in their separation from worldly wealth, as it is said : "Be glad with your faith in the Lord and rejoice you righteous, and shout for joy all you that are righteous in heart!" (Ibid. 32:11). And thus he says : "Light is sown for the righteous and joy for the upright in heart!" (Ibid. 97:11).

Therefore, should a man place all his joy in the study and fulfilling of the Torah, and when he does the commandments he should rejoice in his heart that he has merited to be a servant of the Highest King before whom all the dwellers of the Heavens bow. And thus said David : "I rejoice at your word, as one who finds great spoil" (Ibid. 119:162). And everyone who fulfills the Commandments with joy has a thousand times the reward of one to whom the Commandments are a burden. Abraham and David would occupy themselves all day with Torah and in glorifying and praising the Holy One Blessed be He with songs and praises, raising their voices in joy.

And then he prospers in all his ways and in clarity of perception and the Holy One Blessed be He sends a spirit of Holiness within him and his heart rejoices and is filled with love of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and his soul is united with joy and reveals secrets and new intepretations from above, and all this because he reveres God, Blessed is He and is upright. And reason enters him. And this is what Solomon said : "My soul failed me when he spoke" (Eccl. 5:16). "Yea my body will rejoice when my lips speak right things" (Prov. 23:16). And thus said David : "Bless the Lord, O my soul" (Ps. 104:1). Because the soul which comes from above and strives upward knowing its own secret loves her Creator and eagerly assimilates His Commands, and when this soul reaches the veil (partition) and the degree which is suitable to it then she causes him (the owner) to rejoice with her hidden charms and brings him delight in her hidden chambers and at every moment his love longs for his soul and remembers it in the night as he lies upon his couch. Then God, Blessed is He, sends into her the longing for joy and the heart burns passionately from the great desire of love as it is said "I will rejoice in the Lord, my soul will be joyful in my God" (Is. 61:10). And happy is the soul that merits and experiences such joy.

The Divine Presence does not rest upon any one unless there is joy (Shabbath 30b). And all of the prophets did not prophesy at such times as they desired, but they would prepare their minds and sit joyous and glad of heart and then prophesy, for Prophecy does not dwell where idleness or sadness is found, but only where joy is. Therefore, the pupils of the Prophets would place before them lyre, drum and harp and sought by their means the gift of Prophecy, as it is written "And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him" (II Kings 3:15).

The beauty of the soul is that she adorns herself with the beauty of the joy in that she rejoices in God and causes to gleam the light of her reverence, and the light of her majesty, and the light of her love for her Creator, an exalted and intense love that crowns itself with the crown of the beauty of clean and pure thoughts, and she sighs with the greatness of her joy and her exultation at her nearness to her Beloved, her Most High Beloved, and she binds herself to Him with the bond of love and she seeks and aspires the ascent of light — the light of life. And as she lifts herself and grows and enfolds in the Holy Knowledge of her Creator and as she cleaves with her faith to her Creator, may He be Blessed, then does she spread abroad with the renewal of joy and broadens her happiness. In that moment does the Holiness of the Holy of Holies become sanctified and then she desires and obtains grace before the King of all Kings, and in that moment she becomes more precious and more beautiful and clothes herself in great glory — in the great might of her glory. And then the Most High acquires her to cause her light to shine, to cause her to enter in chambers of splendor and to bind her in the bond of life. And the Merciful One makes her one of his joyous servants.

There is another good in joy as in the case of two men of whom it was said that they would have a share in the world to come because they were happy men and whenever they saw a sad man they would cheer him up, and whenever they saw two men quarreling with each other they would tell them humorous stories until they brought peace between the quarreling men. And this is true in discussions of the law, the Sages would begin with humorous words to open the mind to study with joy. Of course, this does not mean vulgar humor or nonsensical jesting, but rather words concerning the precepts of the Torah which cause the heart to rejoice as it is written: "The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart" (Ps. 19:9). And all this pertains to the joy of fulfilling the commandments.

And thus if a man has any kind of troubles he must rejoice even so. And thus said the Sages : "Beloved are troubles" (Berakoth 5b). And the Sages said also : "He who rejoices in his pain brings salvation to the world" (Ta'anith 8a). And a man should accustom his mouth to say : "This too is for good" (Ta'anith 21a), or "All that the merciful God has done He has done for good" (Berachot 60b). For there are many apparent evils whose end is good, and thus did our Rabbis teach and interpret this portion of Scripture, "I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord; for thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me" (Is. 12:1). They explained it with a parable of two men who walked, intending to board a boat. One of them had a thorn stuck into his foot so that he could not board the boat and when his companion boarded the boat the man bruised by the thorn began to curse his "evil fortune". After a time he heard that the boat had sunk and all the people in it had died. Then did he begin to praise the Creator, may He be Blessed, for he realized that the incident with the thorn had saved his life (Niddah 31a). Therefore, should a man rejoice with troubles and with other injuries that may befall him, for he does not know what good will be derived from them in the future. And thus did Nahum the man of Gamzu conduct himself (Ta'anith 21a).

It is also good to cause bridegroom and bride to rejoice, as it is said, "The voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride" (Jer. 7:34), but one must be very careful not to amuse them with vulgar speech or jests for this type of rejoicing brings Divine Wrath. Nor should men and women mingle in the precept of causing bridegroom and bride to rejoice, for this is too frivlous. And even in mourning and during the Eulogy, the Sages said : "Let the men sit by themselves and the women by themselves! All the more is this true in rejoicings and we have learned 'Only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God' (Micah 6:8), and "walking modestly" means — the funeral procession and bringing the bride under the Wedding Canopy" (Sukkah 49b).

It is also necessary to rejoice on Sabbaths, Festivals and on Purim because all of them are a memorial to our exodus from Egypt and of the miracles which He has done wonderously with His chosen ones. Therefore, shall one rejoice in his heart when he remembers the kindnesses of God and the great extent of his goodness with those who do His will. And for this reason do we prepare tasty foods and precious garments and we drink wine, in order to cause the heart to rejoice. And one must be careful not to rejoice with such joy for frivolous reasons but should rejoice with such rejoicing because of his love for God, may He be Blessed, and delight with this delight of love for the Rock, and he should rejoice and be glad in the joy of the Lord of all, who commanded him to have pleasure in that day and to rejoice. And in these Sabbath and Festival days he should be mindful of the pleasantries of the world to come which is the pleasure of all pleasures. And it is proper for a man at such times when he is enjoying pleasures that he should be mindful of the greater pleasures and desire them, as it is written "Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord" (Is. 58:14).

He should also rejoice when he sees the rejoicing of the wicked and the pleasures of transgressors and he should think thusly "If those who transgress God's Will can rejoice thus, then how much more will those who do His Will rejoice" (Nedarim 50b). And concerning this David says, "You have placed a joy in my heart greater than their joy in their plentiful corn and wine" (Ps. 4:8). For example, a king invited guests and when they reached the courtyard of the king they saw the dogs eating ducks and chickens and they said : "If dogs are treated thus, then how much better will be our portion" (Shohar Tob, Midrash on Ps. 4:11).

And one should not rejoice in the good or profitable things that happen to him, and in no matter but in that which brings him closer to the Service of God.

A man should not rejoice in that which is good for him but brings an accident or loss to others. For example, a man who has much produce should not rejoice if there is a famine and consequent high prices for his food, for merely on account of his gain he should not rejoice at the loss of others. Nor should a person rejoice at the death of any man even though he gains an inheritance or other benefits through that death. The end of the matter is that one should not rejoice in the loss or downfall of any man though he gain profit from it, and on this subject it is said: "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18). And a person should accustom his heart to be joyous when good things happen to others and he should especially rejoice when he sees men following God's commands in order to do the will of the Creator, may He be Blessed!

And a man should not rejoice to the point of hilarity for now all joy should be mixed with sobriety, for when our "Holy Rabbi" (Rabbi Judah the Prince) used to laugh thus, troubles came to the world (Berakoth 31a). And similarly "Rabbi Jeremiah would bring Rabbi Zera to the point of laughter, but Rabbi Zera did not laugh" (Niddah 23a).

And when should a person rejoice greatly and laugh? When the Divine Presence returns to Zion, for this is a great joy, as it is written "Then will our mouths be filled with laughter and our tongues with song; then will they say among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things with these' " (Ps. 126:2).