In the month of Adar, we are called to increase in joy, as the Sages say, "When Adar enters, increase in joy." This year we have two months of Adar, and that is double joy. But the average person has difficulty translating this teaching into clear and practical channels.
What does this actually mean? How do you celebrate joy? In certain yeshivahs, students organize dances after the school day, and this is certainly a way to express joy and be filled with joy. But what exactly is an ordinary Jew supposed to do, returning home from a day of work?
To make others happy
One of the most beautiful ways to increase joy is so simple that we don't even think about it – to make someone else happy. These days we wake up in the morning and think about how to make others happy. We walk with thought and awareness of how to do something that will make the heart of another Jew happy.
Once we pay a little attention to this, we know very well what can bring joy to others. One person will be happy with a kind word and interest in their well-being. Another will be filled with joy if we help them fix something at home. A third will be happy to receive a gift of some kind. And a fourth will smile at a kind joke.
Those who work with other people don't have to try too hard. A warm smile, caring, a feeling that you really want to help the person you are addressing – and they will beam with happiness. Educational teams can warm the hearts of students by saying a word of praise, by noting a good quality they possess, by taking an interest in what is happening with them.
These are all small, simple things that can be done in the course of everyday life. A little at a time if you want to invest more. Think about your neighbors who don't have the means to make a living and make their hearts happy with something they can't afford to buy – food, a toy, some kitchenware, clothing, and so on.
Mountains of unnecessary sweets
These days, Harari's candy shopping begins for the food deliveries. We usually send them to neighbors and family members who really don't need them. After Purim, everyone is looking for a way to get rid of all the high-sugar food products they received in the food deliveries. So why do we do this?
Maimonides stated that "it is better for a person to give many gifts to the poor than to spend much on his meals and sending them to his neighbors; for there is no greater and more glorious joy than to gladden the hearts of the poor, orphans, widows, and foreigners.".
The Lubavitcher Rebbe used to send a simple and modest "Mishloach Manot" on Purim to three Jews, a priest, a Levite, and a Israelite. The "Mishloach" consisted of an ear of manna, fruit, and a bottle of drink. No more than that is needed. What is better, spending hundreds of shekels on snacks and bonbons for people who don't need them, or buying, for example, a few boxes of fine fruit and giving them to families who would be happy to receive them?
If we set this goal before our eyes – to make others happy, it is clear to us how to increase joy, and there is no doubt that we ourselves will be much happier.
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