Issue 39 | Parshat Tetzaveh | The Power of Joy

Description

THE POWER OF JOY: CONNECTION
Unblocking Obstructions

We are all aware of the ill effects that sadness has on us. But do we know the full extent of its impact on our lives? How does it affect our health, our choices and our coping mechanisms? How many of our life decisions are compromised due to lack of joy? What other consequences – conscious or unconscious – does a despondent life have?

This of course leads us to the converse question: How does joy affect our lives? How important is it to our health and well-being? How would our lives be different if we were full of joy and happiness?

We all have impediments in life that don’t allow us to reach our goals and fulfill our dreams. What would you give for a proven method to eliminate obstructions and unclog the blocks in our lives?

We have now entered the month of Adar, when we increase in joy. Apropos, we bring you an insight from the Baal Shem Tov, in which he illuminates for us a cryptic Talmudic story about two jesters, and in the process teaches us a revolutionary new approach to joy: How joy unblocks impediments, allowing us to access our deepest resources and enabling us to connect to our spiritual source. How joy connects you, while sadness disconnects you, from your greatest potential and the power of bringing joy to other people.

We live in a very sad world. The Baal Shem Tov teaches us how we all have the obligation to cheer up sad people we meet, helping free and release their spirit locked within.