Chodesh Tov! When Adar begins, we increase the simcha (happiness, joy), and it begins today. How do we rejoice? Here is a short paragraph from the new book by Rebbetzin Yemima Mizrachi, "Invitation to Rejoice":
"We live in a joy-challenged society. Today, joy should be learned. It is precisely the joy, which everyone treats lightly, that requires serious consideration on our part. Joy is sometimes perceived as superficial, while the tragic, melancholic is perceived as something deep and serious. But this is not so. True joy is of great depth. It is a resolution, a decision, a choice. Women must choose to be joyful. Because, after all, women these days expect of themselves to do everything - to work, to educate, to succeed at home and outside, to host, to finish everything quickly. And I say: Cut yourself some slack on the way, a lot of it, just do not give up your joy. A messy bed can be made. A report for work can be prepared. But an unhappy woman is worse than all of these. So, it is true, you did not tell a bed-time story. You didn't finish the to-do list you had to finish. You got angry again. But you forgot to write on your to-do-list the task of smiling and enjoying. Choose your tasks properly, decide what to give up and what not to give up, but on one thing you should not give up on the way - on your joy today, now."
