Celebrate
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel teaches, “people of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active state, an act of expressing reverence, or appreciation. To be entertained is a passive state—t is to receive pleasure afforded by an amusing act or a spectacle…”
In our tradition it is a mitzvah to celebrate—to rejoice on the Jewish festivals (Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot). The Psalms teach that we should “Worship Adonai with gladness, come before His presence in joyful song” (Psalms, 100:2). In other words, we should serve God in joy and, I would add that serving God brings joy.
When life returns to normal, let’s be sure to find ways to celebrate as an act of reverence and appreciation. It will lift us even higher.
— Rabbi David Woznica