A Soulful Journey

There can be no real joy (Simcha) without meat."  -P esachim 109a We save and savor our best for holy days. They are special and made more special by the attention we give it.

  “There is a difference between entertainment and celebration.  Entertainment is easy.  All you have to do is relax in a chair and turn a little knob as indicated.  I do nothing and I wonder why it doesn’t add anything to my existence…. Celebrating an active state, an act of expressing reverence or appreciation.  To be entertained is a passive state; it is to receive pleasure afforded by an amusing act or spectacle.” –Abraham Joshua Heschel Judaism is all about celebration; an active, participatory life.

“All of Judaism is a celebration.  The morning is a celebration.  Perhaps a very modest celebration, but how do you begin a day?  Prayer is a celebration.  It is a song.  He who does not know how to sing cannot be a Jew.”     - Abraham Joshua Heschel

"The Lord's kindness is attracted to gayety. A joyful person is usually blessed with plenty, even though he may be impious. A sad person is usually in want, even though he be God-fearing." - Simcha Bunim of Pasischa,  "The Wisdom of Israel,"  ed. Lewis Browne