At our wedding ceremony Jenny and I vowed four vows, one of which was: "when you are present, I vow to be as joyful as I can be about your presence." We anticipated that joy would not always be automatic and easily accessible. We recognized for us the critical importance of maintaining joy to the marriage, and promised that we would work at it. Further, we saw joy not only as a fruition of our path, but as a critical ingredient to the path, one that would keep us open, connected and motivated.
We have been presenting the notion that for us joy is a virtue, that being joyful not only benefits ourselves but others, that it is something that needs continual work and support, and that it is, indeed, our obligation to work at it. Since we started this practice, we have been noticing how common this approach is. For example, I was surprised to see recently in a popular jobhunting manual the suggestion that deep joy was itself a mission or calling, an overarching purpose and orientation.
In the portion of the Torah that Jews read last week in the synagogue, there is the command to enjoy the bounty of the harvest, and to enjoy sharing it with others. As harvest time and Thanksgiving holidays approach, it is intriguing to consider putting our attention not only on an appreciation and sharing of all that we have, but on honoring it by really enjoying it.
A beautiful analysis of the Torah portion can be found on a friend's blog at http://parshathoughtsmore.blogspot.com/2011/09/parashat-ki-tavo-on-joy-and-arrival.html
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