Simcha in Mitzvos and Learning

Good morning rabbosai, hope everyone is well. The Rambam at the end of Hilchos Lulav is discussing Simchas Beis Hashoeiva. In halacha yud daled, the Rambam writes that

מצוה להרבות בשמחה זו ולא היו עושין אותה עמי הארץ וכל מי שירצה אלא גדולי חכמי ישראל וראשי הישיבות והסנהדרין והחסידים והזקנים ואנשי מעשה הם שהיו מרקדין ומספקין ומנגנין ומשמחין במקדש בימי חג הסוכות אבל כל העם האנשים והנשים כולן באין לראות ולשמוע.

Halacha tes vav as we have it printed begins

השמחה שישמח אדם בעשיית המצוה ובאהבת האל שציוה בהן עבודה גדולה היא.

So the way we have the nusach printed, the Rambam has segued from talking about Simchas Beis Hashoeiva to talking about simcha in general avodas Hashem. The Frankel Rambam already says that most of the kisvei yad and apparently this is the correct girsa in the Rambam that it should begin with a shin, shehasimcha. And the Rambam is still discussing Simchas Beis Hashoeiva:

שהשמחה שישמח אדם בעשיית המצוה ובאהבת האל שציוה בהן עבודה גדולה היא וכל המונע עצמו משמחה זו ראוי להפרע ממנו שנאמר תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלהיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב.

So the simple pshat, especially in light of the shin, is that what the Rambam means by וכל המונע עצמו משמחה זו is if one of the gedolei chachmei Yisrael or rashei yeshivos or chaveirei sanhedrin would say you know es pasht nisht, it's not in keeping with my dignity, it's not in keeping with my position and stature to be involved in such dancing, in such rezzoisung, so the Rambam is rebutting such a position, right? וכל המונע עצמו משמחה זו, he holds himself back from joining in to the Simchas Beis Hashoeiva. And lochora it certainly does mean that. But yitachein me'od that it also means something additional because the pasuk that the Rambam is quoting in parshas Ki Savo obviously is not talking exclusively about Simchas Beis Hashoeiva. It's talking about avodas Hashem in general. And yitachein, I don't know, but yitachein that even when speaking of avodas Hashem in general, the correct description is וכל המונע עצמו משמחה זו. Meaning lochora the pasuk in parshas Ki Savo is clearly an indictment if a person isn't עובד את ה' בשמחה. So why does the Rambam formulate it as וכל המונע עצמו משמחה זו? He should have said

וכל מי שאינו מרגיש שמחה זו, וכל מי שאינו משתתף בשמחה זו.

So again, partially that question is addressed by the context here because the Simchas Beis Hashoeiva is happening, the hakofos are happening and he's standing on the side. But אף על פי כן heiyos that the lashon hapasuk which is talking about simchas Hashem in general is not referring to such a context, the Rambam lochora could have easily just said וכל מי שאינו משתתף. So maybe there's also another kavana here. Maybe the Rambam is indicating to us, hear this rabbosai, the Rambam is indicating to us that a person doesn't so much have to make... An active concerted effort to feel the simcha, that will happen naturally. He just has to make sure that he's not erecting a barrier, that he's not preventing that reaction. פקודי ה' ישרים משמחי לב. Torah is mesameches. A person's learning Torah, a person's living a life of Torah, the natural reaction unless a person will... the natural reaction is one of simcha. And that's why the Rambam says that the way simcha would be absent is only if the person is מונע עצמו משמחה זו. Because a person doesn't need to trigger the simcha, a person doesn't need, "Okay, so A, I'm going to learn and B, let me figure out how I'm going to learn besimcha." No, if a person will just learn and not hold himself back, he'll experience the simcha. It's a natural byproduct. It's the natural reaction. A person is naturally, naturally drawn into the simcha. Unless, the only way the simcha's going to be absent is if I'm rachmana litzlan, the person's מונע עצמו משמחה זו. And that's what the lashon of Rambam is. It's very important to remember and to allow ourselves to experience, even when we have a seder in Shaarei Teshuva of Rabbeinu Yonah. Shaarei Teshuva of Rabbeinu Yonah is very sobering. It's not a light limmud. It's very sobering. Rabbeinu Yonah is serious. Rabbeinu Yonah is very realistic. And it induces a koved rosh. It definitely induces a koved rosh. But what one should know, that that koved rosh, as long as we won't be moneia ourselves from simcha, that koved rosh will be appropriately balanced. And it needs to be balanced, because only to have the mindset which is induced by Shaarei Teshuva is not healthy, is not the correct balance. But if we won't be moneia ourselves, if we'll just throw ourselves into a seder afterwards, it won't dispel, and it shouldn't chas veshalom dispel the koved rosh that the Shaarei Teshuva yields, but it will balance it. Because the simcha, a person doesn't have to be mishtatef besimcha. A person again, in the case of Simchas Beis Hashoeva, a person has to be mishtatef. He has to join the circle. He has to join the circle. The gedolei chachmei Yisrael, the roshei yeshivos, the Sanhedrin, the chasidim, they have to join the circle. But in its more general context, in its broader context, as the pasuk appears in Chumash, so a person... the simcha flows naturally. משל למה הדבר דומה, in the same way physically, right? A person doesn't have to try to prime himself to enjoy food. No, the Ribbono shel Olam gave us a sense of taste, he gave us a palate with taste buds, and a person doesn't have to say, "Okay, so A, I'm going to enjoy this steak." No, if he'll just eat the steak, naturally he's going to have that enjoyment. He's going to have that enjoyment. So the physical is always a metaphor, a reflection of the spiritual. And the same way that's true for lechem haguf, it's also true for the mazon haguf, it's also true for the mazon hanefesh. And that's what the lashon kol hamoneia is. The only way a person won't have the simcha is if he's מונע עצמו משמחה זו. And that's what the lashon of Rambam is. And just to the degree that we immerse ourselves in the learning and we're focused on the learning and not distracted by whatever other concerns or worries there are but we're focused on the learning. Doesn't mean you take your mask off. You can be focused on the learning with a mask on depending upon where a person is. To the degree to the degree that we're focused on the learning that we're immersed in the learning so then the simcha is there naturally and that crucial indispensable complement and balance to the koved rosh which is provided by such a limud as the Sha'arei Teshuva is provided. There's something very very fascinating here rabosai. Me'idach gisa the mishnah in the beginning of the fifth perek in Berachos says אין עומדים להתפלל אלא מתוך כובד ראש. So what's the mindset that a person has to have when he's davening? Koved rosh. But meidach gisa. So that's on lamed amud beis. The mishnah on lamed amud beis. The braisa the tosefta excuse me on

למד אלף עמוד אלף: אין עומדים להתפלל לא מתוך עצבות לא מתוך עצלות לא מתוך שחוק לא מתוך שיחה ולא מתוך קלות ראש לא מתוך דברים בטלים אלא מתוך שמחה של מצוה.

So which is it? Is it koved rosh or is it simcha shel mitzvah? So obviously the answer is it's both because the more that the koved rosh is intensified the more the simcha should be intensified. A seder begins with Rabbeinu Yonah so then what we need to just immerse ourselves in the learning and the complement the balance will be there b'ezras Hashem. Okay אם ירצה השם בלי נדר we'll resume at approximately 12:45. Have a very good productive morning rabosai everyone should be well be safe im yirtzeh Hashem. Thank you Rebbe. Thank you Rebbe. Thank you Rebbe. Thank you Rebbe. Rebbe can I ask you a question this is Shai? Yeah yeah please. I was wondering what are some practical examples that Rebbe has in mind for what people either do or think that is mone'ah themselves from having some simcha? There's a whole array of things since I'm just responding off the cuff I'm not mentioning them necessarily in the appropriate order or am I being comprehensive in the list. You know sometimes while I'm learning I can sort of be I don't know I can be looking over my shoulder looking to the side and discouraged by where my chaver sitting at the next table is holding. You know I'm breaking my teeth on making a leining in the Gemara and Rashi and he's flying or at least it appears to me that he's flying. I don't know what he's really doing but that's what it appears to me. Sometimes it's not a question of and so I introduce an element of atzvos into my learning which serves as a barrier. Sometimes it's not that I'm comparing myself to anyone else but just I'm sort of I'm comparing myself to where I want to be lav davka that there's a kin'as soferim that I'm comparing myself to my chaver at the next table but just I'm perhaps realistic perhaps too harshly demanding either way but I want to be somewhere beyond where I am which in its in the right context is healthy a person shouldn't be complacent but in the wrong context so then instead... Sometimes when when a person is learning, he's he's only half there. Sort of half his mind is is in the learning and the other half is worrying about whatever. There's lots of things to worry about in life. There's no shortage of things that one can find or that suggest themselves without looking for a person to worry about. If if a person, sometimes when a person, again I'm just mentioning a few, not not implying that any and certainly not all of them are necessarily relevant to to the Oilam in front of us. But sometimes if a person, let's say if you're dealing with a less, someone who's not let's say spiritually mature, maybe they're intellectually mature but not yet spiritually mature, emotionally mature, and they don't really want to be there. You know, for whatever, there's some Hischayvus which forces them them to be there, but they don't really want to be there. So that also can, that mindset serves as a Meniyah, as a barrier. So those are some examples of how a person without realizing it is being Mone'ah himself from the Simcha. Alright, thank you Rabbi. Okay, see you later Im Yirtze Hashem. Alright, in terms of I think the second to last category you mentioned, like having other things on the mind and not being able to focus. I guess part of it is just like actually just trying to be there. Maybe a practical Eitzah that the Rabbi has? I don't think a person needs to work so much on, it's usually counterproductive, if not always counterproductive to tell oneself not to think. I'm not going to think about, you know, so by definition that's counterproductive. I'm not thinking about X, I'm not thinking about Y, but when I'm telling myself not to think about it, I'm thinking about it. So the Eitzah just is to as much as possible focus on this line in the Gemara. Ay, I find myself thinking about something else? Okay, fine, so I'm not going to try to push that aside, I'm just going to try to focus on the Gemara. Keep focusing on the Gemara. Keep keep focusing on the Gemara. The more I do that, so then naturally I'm not going to be thinking about two things. So the, you'll excuse the quote, but you know, the best defense is a good offense is true in this context. Okay, thank you Rabbi. Kol Tuv. Have a good day. You too.