Z ’ man Simchatenu ( The Time of our Joy ) in a Time that is Not
Rabbi Beth Naditch
There are times when it seems like rejoicing is out of reach . At times when we are personally full of worry , grief , fear , or sadness , the mandate to enter into a communal period of simcha and to engage with it is , at best , foreign . This past year , this year filled with frozenness and captivity and hatred and destruction , felt like it lasted a full century . As I write this , rounding the corner to the first commemoration of the events of last October 7 th , simcha not only feels inaccessible , but barely visible on the horizon . How do we engage with Z ’ man simchatenu this year , when every fiber of our souls is crying out that joy is not the primary emotion at this oneyear mark of a changed Jewish world ?
Maimonides offers some assistance by acknowledging that even during Sukkot , there are inevitably people in the community who are marei nefesh , bitter of spirit . 23 It is through his act of witness noticing those who are struggling that Rambam offers us an alternative understanding of simcha . Simcha is not revelry , or even happiness . The simcha required on Sukkot is actually simcha shel mitzvah , and is connected to reaching out one to another .
From his own personal experience , Rambam , who lost a beloved brother in a shipwreck , knew that living permanently under a cloud of despair is not ultimately beneficial . He explains that on
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Maimonides Mishneh Torah , Hilchot Yom Tov 6:17-18
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