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Thought for the Day: Enjoying Life

When asked why HaShem created people, you get the strangest answers; all wrong.  The top two are: "To serve Him" and "To do Torah and mitzvos."  Puh-leeze.  First of all, HaShem doesn't need any servants.  After all, if there is a dirty dish in the sink, He must have created it, so I guess He wants it there.  Generally speaking its best not mess with  something complicated if you don't know what you are doing.  The whole of creation is pretty complicated, so my advice is to leave running it to the experts... er, Expert, in this case.  As far as Torah and mitzvos; those were created for you, not the other way around.

So why did HaShem create you?  To have fun; lots and lots of fun.  That's not my opinion, that's the second sentence in the first chapter of M'silas Yesharim:
Our Sages of blessed memory have taught us that man was created for no purpose other than rejoicing in HaShem and deriving pleasure from the splendor of His Presence; for this is true joy and the greatest pleasure that can be found.
Note that "rejoicing in HaShem and deriving pleasure from the splendor of His Presence" is the purpose because "this is the true joy and greatest pleasure that can be found."  That's awesome!  So... um... well... I'm waiting.

The problem is that, while HaShem really, really wants us to have more fun than a barrel of monkeys, we can't do that until we are healthy.  We are unhealthy because we made a mistake.  We all participated both in the mistake of Adam haRishon and then again at the cheit ha'eigel.  Those mistakes have brought and deadly disease into our being that prevents us from experiencing true joy.  It is curable, but it takes time and the one must undergo the prescribed treatment.  Knowing it is curable is a huge comfort; but the course of treatment must be completed.

What's the treatment?  Torah and mitzvos.  What's the best way to make the treatment as efficient as possible?  Have fun doing them.  (See M'silas Yesharim, the divisions of Saintliness/Chassidus).  The more fun you have, the more love for G-d you will generate, and the bigger Tzaddik/Chasid you will be, and the more fun you will have.

My chavrusa in M'silas Yesharim and I just saw that this morning, on the eve of the holiday know as "z'man simchaseinu"/the season of our joy.  What a coincidence -- and on the eve of the holiday that also celebrates hashgacha pratis!  Almost like Someone is running this show...
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