Rabbi's Message

Rabbi’s Message:

                                         HAPPINESS IS WHERE YOU FIND IT

There was once a man who came into a minister's office. It was easy to see that he was unhappy and frustrated. He blurted out that he wasn't relating well to his wife and children. "The world is a terrible place," he continued. "The only thing that seems exciting to me would be a big trip to Hawaii. That's my great dream." This man is very typical of many people in our society today. They are constantly looking far beyond themselves for happiness when, in fact, that happiness is very close by, in very basic things.

In the annual Torah reading cycle which will conclude shortly, we come upon a most beautiful Scriptural passage.  In Deuteronomy, relating Moses' final words to his people before his death, he captures this important truth:" What is fulfilling is not too far off. It is not in heaven that you should say: 'Who will go up for me to heaven and bring it to me?' .. . Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say: 'Who shall go over the sea for me and bring it?'... But it is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart." (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)

And, what exactly are these basic sources of happiness that are so close to us? If we would only just open our eyes and see them, instead of frantically looking far beyond to elusive wealth or trips or things? The first and foremost is time spent with family. How can you compare traveling to some far-off exotic place - a very momentary pleasure if it ever happens at all - with regularly and lovingly shared meals and evenings with a spouse, or holding a child in your arms? In this connection, it is good to remember that the greatest happiness in the life of Jacob, who had done so much, was when he saw his son, Joseph, whom he presumed to be dead.

The other basic wellspring of joy - so close, but to which we can be blind - is our particular faith group. This is applicable to the young and old alike. For example, I once heard an excruciatingly heartrending talk from a father whose son had reached afar for happiness and had been taken in by a cult. Sadly, his warm family home church was right in front of him, but he couldn't see it. Why do so many reach for happiness in cultic phenomena, get-rich-quick schemes, self-help literature, when the basic source of the faith group is, in the words of Deuteronomy, "very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart?"

There is a beautiful line in the Talmud, our sacred Jewish commentary that states, "Better a morsel where contentment is than abundance without joy." Our true sources of contentment - family and faith group - are right in front of us, not in trips to Hawaii, as one man thought, or in cultic journeys, or in any other far-off searches. Moses - our teacher and moral beacon - taught us that great and enduring truth. Let us take this small bit of wisdom to heart and incorporate its message into our own lives.