Turning Curses to Blessing - Joy - Ki Tabo

 חַת אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹא־עָבַ֙דְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּשִׂמְחָ֖ה וּבְט֣וּב לֵבָ֑ב מֵרֹ֖ב כֹּֽל׃  Because you would not serve your God יהוה in joy and gladness over the abundance of everything, https://www.sefaria.org/Deuteronomy.28.47    עִבְד֣וּ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה בְּשִׂמְחָ֑ה בֹּ֥אוּ לְ֝פָנָ֗יו בִּרְנָנָֽה׃  worshipthe LORD in gladness;come into His presence with shouts of joy.  https://www.sefaria.org/Psalms.100.2    RabbeynuBachya: The Torah accuses people who do serve G’d not to have done so joyfully.A person is obligated not merely to carry out G’d’s instructions but to do sogladly, in a happy frame of mind. Joy when performing any of G’d’s commandmentsis considered as fulfillment of a commandment by itself, meriting additionalreward.     Thisis why one may be punished for failing to perform the commandments with ajoyful heart. This is why the Torah requires that its commandments be performedwith full intent and joyfully.     Oursages in Midrash Ruth Rabbah 5,6 comment concerning this that if Reuven hadbeen aware that G’d would write in the Torah concerning his attempts to saveJoseph’s life from the hands of his other brothers (Genesis 37,21) that hewould receive a reward not only for his deed but for the good intentionsaccompanying same, he would have carried Joseph on his shoulders and broughthim back to his (their) father.     TheTorah also makes a point of underlining the joy in Aaron’s heart when he sawhis brother Moses again after so many years. Had he known that his feelingswould be commented upon favorably (Exodus 4,14), he would have gone out to meethis brother accompanied by an orchestra of many different musicalinstruments.     HadBoaz known that his offering Ruth food and drink in abundance would be recordedfor eternity as a good deed of his, he would have fed her the choicest parts ofa fatted calf, instead of merely bread and vinegar (Ruth 2,14).  https://www.sefaria.org/Rabbeinu_Bahya,_Devarim_28.47.1    ….writesfurther     Naturally,the joy which accompanies the performance of a commandment by an individual Jewis in a class by itself. Seeing that performance of the commandments iscalled עבודת ה',“serving the Lord,” we can understand what is written in Deut. 28,16 תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלוקיך בשמחה,“on account of the fact that you did not perform the commandments of the Lordyour G’d with joy, etc.”     WhenDavid writes in Psalms 100,2 עבדו את ה' בשמחה,“serve the Lord with joy,” he does not refer to the offering of sacrificialanimals but to the performance of each and every commandment which it is ourduty to perform.     Joyis the ingredient which makes service of the Lord something perfect. Thisconcept helps us understand the unusual phrase in Numbers 4,46 לעבוד עבודת עבודה.Concerning this expression our sages in Erchin 11 ask what kind of service thisis that the Torah speaks of there. The answer given in the Talmud is that theTorah speaks of offering songs and hymns.     TheLevites are commanded to offer songs and encourage expressions of joy toaccompany the sacrificial offerings. All of this was to ensure that joy is theprevailing sentiment accompanying service of the Lord.     Arizal: joyincreases one’s desire and love of adhering to HaShem-יהו״ה,blessed is He, ….. For, a person who serves HaShem-יהו״ה,blessed is He, with melancholy, is likened to a servant who serves his masterwith a sullen and annoyed face.  https://www.sefaria.org/Sha'arei_Kedusha,_Part_2_4.30    Mesillas Yesharim -….And our sages said: 'the Divine presence rests on a person only through his rejoicing in a mitzva' (Shabbat 30b).    RabbiSamson Raphael Hirsch points out that theHebrew word same'ach (=happy), is closely related to the word tzome'ach (=growing). This is because human happiness is contingent on spiritual growth. Ifwe fail to feel the joy of mitzvos, it is because we are unaware that mitzvosmake us grow.    RabbiManis Friedman (chassidish answer) is that the charge 'serve Hashemb'simcha' is not a charge to be happy when serving Hashem. It's a result.If you truly serve Hashem, meaning you are serving Him, you finally get toescape yourself for a while!     Servingourselves, making our lives about us (even if it means 'my spiritualgrowth'!) is what makes us depressed. If we realise that we are fulfillingHashem's essential Ratzon, it's about Him not us, and at the same time doingthe vitally important work of bringing His plan to completion, fulfilling yourvery purpose, then automatically you will be b'simcha.  Soread it 'if you serve Hashem, you'll be b'simcha'      TheTorah is not telling us that we didn’t serve Hashem. It is telling us that wedidn’t serve Him with joy. Is this by itself such a severe transgression thatis should bring about all those terrible punishments described in the Torah?        TheRebbe Reb Bunim of Parshischa explained this with a famous parable: A teachertaught the Alef-Bais to his little student, and pointed to each letter: “Whatis this?” “An Alef,” said the boy. “What’s under the Alef?” asked the teacher.“A kometz,” said the boy. The teacher continued with the other letters, untilhe reached the Hey.        “What’sthis?” he asked. “A Hey,” said the boy. “What’s underneath the Hey?”        Tothe teacher’s surprise, the boy refused to answer. “I won’t say!” he declared,looking a little scared. After the teacher threatened to punish him, the boyfinally stammered, “Underneath the ‘hay’ is the stolen goat…” The teacherfinally understood why the boy didn’t want to answer. His father had warned himnot to tell anyone what he hid underneath the bale of hay in their barn!        “Thesame could be said about us,” Reb Bunim would conclude. “Tachas - what liesunderneath our apathetic service of Hashem? Why are we not serving Hashem withjoy? The answer to this question explains why the Jewish people deserved theterrible tochacha.” When a person performs the mitzvos properly and values theTorah, he serves Hashem with true inner joy. His life has a totally differentmeaning, and he is deserving of the Torah’s blessings.    Itwas chol hamoed Sukkos, when writing is prohibited except under pressingcircumstances. Despite his busy schedule, the Chofetz Chaim penned a carefulletter to the rosh yeshiva of Lomza, Rav Eliezer Shulevits, and sent it toLomza posthaste.  Thecontents of the letter were surprising. In the missive was contained only a fewterse lines: Regarding the individual you consulted me about, whether he shouldbe offered the position of mashgiach in your yeshiva, I had originally told youthat he was a suitable candidate. However, I am withdrawing my advice and askthat you don’t offer him the position.  (Rav)Yisroel Meir Hakohein Kagan  Therosh yeshiva of Lomza was very surprised. He had gone to consult with theChofetz Chaim before the Yomim Noraim and asked his opinion about the very samecandidate. On that occasion, the Chofetz Chaim had waxed enthusiastic about theyoung scholar, praising him as a lamdan, a yorei shomayim, and a ba’al middos.What had changed in the interim? And why was this such an important messagethat it had to be delivered on chol hamoed?  Fortunately,the candidate had not yet been hired, and Rav Leizer did not have to deal withretracting his offer. Still, at the first opportunity, he traveled to Radin toask the Chofetz Chaim about the letter.  TheChofetz Chaim, who guarded every word that emerged from his lips, explained:  “Whenyou had asked me if the candidate was an appropriate choice, I had a highopinion of him and felt he would be a role model for the bochurim. However, inthe interim he came to see me, and began to krechtz about his life, hisdifficult financial challenges, etc. When I saw how full of bitterness andnegativity he was, I quickly wrote a letter retracting my position. After all,a person who only sees the darkness and constantly focuses on the challenges inhis life, to the exclusion of the many blessings, such a person cannot be in aposition of leadership, especially for young, impressionable bochurim.”