507. What Is Joy?
It is known that joy is not an entity but an offshoot and a result of something. If one has some pleasure, that pleasure yields excitement that is called “joy.” Accordingly, we understand that one who has no pleasure in his life is unable to have joy because he lacks the cause and the reason that will engender this offshoot called “joy.”
We see that little children are always happy. The reason is that because of the smallness of their minds, they can enjoy anything. They do not evaluate or calculate, and find delight and pleasure in every little thing, which gives them a reason to be happy.
But when a person grows up he becomes limited in receiving pleasure according to the measure of his maturity, since his maturity prevents him from being excited over everything. Naturally, he cannot enjoy just anything.
This is the meaning of “Adding knowledge, adding pain,” for one who is knowledgeable is spoiled and not every food you give him can delight him. This is so on purpose, so that man will see that of all the pleasures in this world, nothing gives him pleasure or can delight him in a way that he can be happy with it, since these pleasures are suitable only for those with small minds.
Therefore, this gives a person the ability to emerge from the lusts of this world and begin to derive pleasure only from things that are more important than corporeality, so he can derive delight and pleasure from spiritual things and enjoy only this, and only such pleasures will bring him joy.
Hence, when he looks at someone whose pleasure is nothing more than enjoying eating and drinking and respect and so forth, he sees him as a little boy who enjoys playing with toys.
It follows that one who sees he has no joy the way other people have, it is because he is at a higher degree. Therefore, he should know that the Creator is giving him a chance to begin to engage in Torah and work, and this will bring him the real joy called “the joy of Mitzva [commandment].”