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Joy and Community Are Essential to Jewish Fulfillment — Even in the Darkest of Times
In his evocative 1964 book, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, C.S. Lewis used a series of fictional letters to a friend to explore various aspects of prayer and religious life. By using this intimate literary device, Lewis made his profound insights more accessible to a broad audience.
“Joy is the serious business of Heaven,” Lewis wrote to Malcolm, suggesting that our deepest longings point us toward something beyond the earthly. “All joy … emphasizes our pilgrim status; always reminds, beckons, awakens desire. Our best havings are wantings.”
Although Lewis didn’t quote the famous verse about joy in Ki Tavo (Deut. 28:47) — which warns of potential consequences “because you did not serve God with joy and a glad heart when you had an abundance of everything” — it is clear that, like many others who have deeply reflected on faith, Lewis understood that without joy as a constant companion, and without recognizing that joy is not an add-on but a necessity, the life God gives us is squandered and pointless.
Shawn Achor, author of the bestselling book The Happiness Advantage, is a leading expert in positive psychology. According to Achor, “Happiness is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it is the realization that we can.” Rather than seeing happiness as the result of success, Achor’s research shows that happiness and positivity are actually the fuel for it.
When we cultivate a positive outlook and engage in meaningful activities, we not only enhance our mood, but also improve our performance in nearly every aspect of life. Achor’s studies demonstrate that happier individuals tend to be more productive, creative, and resilient. This is because a positive mindset opens us up to new possibilities, allows us to think more broadly, and equips us to tackle challenges with greater energy and enthusiasm.
Achor’s findings have profound implications for how we understand the role of joy in religious life. If happiness is a precursor to success, then joy in serving God isn’t just a pleasant byproduct of religious practice; it is a critical component of spiritual fulfillment and effectiveness. When approached with joy, the performance of any religious act as directed by Jewish ritual law is not just a duty but a source of strength and spirituality.
Modern neuroscience has also increased our understanding of how joy and happiness are wired into our biology. Research on the brain’s reward system reveals that acts aligned with our values — like altruism or community service — release chemicals such as oxytocin and dopamine, enhancing our well-being.
This creates a positive cycle — because the more we engage in value-based actions, the more joy we experience, which encourages us to continue. Studies from Harvard and Berkeley confirm that individuals who regularly participate in community service report higher levels of life satisfaction, much like those who perform mitzvot with genuine intention and enthusiasm.
The scientific data aligns beautifully with the Torah’s perspective. The verse in Ki Tavo warns us that the absence of joy in serving God can lead to negative consequences, and neuroscience supports this wisdom. without the neurochemical benefits of joy and fulfillment, our spiritual practices can feel hollow, and our efforts become burdensome.
It’s not enough to merely go through the motions; deep-seated joy must drive our actions. When mitzvot are performed with joy, they engage both our minds and our bodies, transforming religious practice from mere obligation into an experience that elevates and fulfills our spiritual potential.
But how do we make this happen? How can we ensure that joy truly infuses our lives? Everyone faces moments of grief and disappointment — those are inevitable parts of the human experience. The challenge for all of us is to cultivate and nurture a default setting of joy, so that we have a natural inclination to embrace it daily. How do we do it?
Viktor Frankl, the renowned Holocaust survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, offers a profound insight. Even in the direst of circumstances, he said, we have the power to choose our attitude.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way,” Frankl wrote. For him, joy wasn’t just a fleeting feeling; it was intertwined with meaning. Finding purpose, even in hardship, can transform our experiences into something worth celebrating.
Another powerful way to cultivate joy is through gratitude, which can fundamentally shift how we see challenges in our lives. Dr. Robert Emmons, a leading researcher in positive psychology, has demonstrated via his research that gratitude helps us move our focus from what we lack to what we have, creating a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity. This shift in perspective not only increases happiness but also helps us approach life’s obstacles with a more optimistic outlook.
Gratitude, in essence, reframes challenges as opportunities for growth and learning. When we consistently focus on what’s going well in our lives, setbacks appear more temporary than permanent. This aligns with the concept of “learned optimism,” introduced by psychologist Martin Seligman, which suggests that we can train ourselves to respond to adversity with resilience and hope. By embracing gratitude and optimism, we will reinforce a sense of joy that will sustain us even in the toughest times.
Most importantly, the company we keep is critical. The people we spend time with and the environments we choose shape our emotional and spiritual state. Surrounding ourselves with positive, joyful, and supportive people helps create an atmosphere where joy becomes automatic. Community—whether it’s a synagogue, a group of friends, or a supportive family—is vital for sustaining a joyful life.
President Ronald Reagan was famous for his optimism and infectious humor, even when things looked bleak. After he was shot in 1981 during an assassination attempt, Reagan was rushed to the hospital in serious condition.
As he was being wheeled into surgery, Reagan looked up at the doctors and, with that signature twinkle in his eye, said, “I hope you’re all Republicans.” The room burst into laughter — a moment of joy even in that life-or-death situation.
When questioned about it later, Reagan said there’s no better way to help people—and yourself—than making everyone smile. Because joy isn’t just something to feel, it’s something to give. And maybe that’s the answer to all of life’s challenges: keep joy as your default setting and share it with others, even when things get tough. Everything else will follow from that.
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
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Iranian Media Claims Obtaining ‘Sensitive’ Israeli Intelligence Materials
FILE PHOTO: The atomic symbol and the Iranian flag are seen in this illustration, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – Iranian and Iran-affiliated media claimed on Saturday that the Islamic Republic had obtained a trove of “strategic and sensitive” Israeli intelligence materials related to Israel’s nuclear facilities and defense plans.
“Iran’s intelligence apparatus has obtained a vast quantity of strategic and sensitive information and documents belonging to the Zionist regime,” Iran’s state broadcaster said, referring to Israel in the manner accepted in those Muslim or Arab states that don’t recognize its legitimacy. The statement was also relayed by the Lebanese site Al-Mayadeen, affiliated with the Iran-backed jihadists of Hezbollah.
The reports did not include any details on the documents or how Iran had obtained them.
The intelligence reportedly included “thousands of documents related to that regime’s nuclear plans and facilities,” it added.
According to the reports, “the data haul was extracted during a covert operation and included a vast volume of materials including documents, images, and videos.”
The report comes amid high tensions over Iran’s nuclear program, over which it is in talks with the US administration of President Donald Trump.
Iranian-Israeli tensions reached an all-time high since the October 7 massacre and the subsequent Gaza war, including Iranian rocket fire on Israel and Israeli aerial raids in Iran that devastated much of the regime’s air defenses.
Israel, which regards the prospect of the antisemitic mullah regime obtaining a nuclear weapon as an existential threat, has indicated it could resort to a military strike against Iran’s installations should talks fail to curb uranium enrichment.
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Israel Retrieves Body of Thai Hostage from Gaza
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz looks on, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
The Israeli military has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage who had been held in Gaza since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday.
Nattapong Pinta’s body was held by a Palestinian terrorist group called the Mujahedeen Brigades, and was recovered from the area of Rafah in southern Gaza, Katz said. His family in Thailand has been notified.
Pinta, an agricultural worker, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small Israeli community near the Gaza border where a quarter of the population was killed or taken hostage during the Hamas attack that triggered the devastating war in Gaza.
Israel’s military said Pinta had been abducted alive and killed by his captors, who had also killed and taken to Gaza the bodies of two more Israeli-American hostages that were retrieved earlier this week.
There was no immediate comment from the Mujahedeen Brigades, who have previously denied killing their captives, or from Hamas. The Israeli military said the Brigades were still holding the body of another foreign national. Only 20 of the 55 remaining hostages are believed to still be alive.
The Mujahedeen Brigades also held and killed Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, according to Israeli authorities. Their bodies were returned during a two-month ceasefire, which collapsed in March after the two sides could not agree on terms for extending it to a second phase.
Israel has since expanded its offensive across the Gaza Strip as US, Qatari and Egyptian-led efforts to secure another ceasefire have faltered.
US-BACKED AID GROUP HALTS DISTRIBUTIONS
The United Nations has warned that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling.
Aid distribution was halted on Friday after the US-and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said overcrowding had made it unsafe to continue operations. It was unclear whether aid had resumed on Saturday.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral. It says it has provided around 9 million meals so far.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that 350 trucks of humanitarian aid belonging to U.N. and other international relief groups were transferred this week via the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.
The war erupted after Hamas-led terrorists took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in the October 7, 2023 attack, Israel’s single deadliest day.
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US Mulls Giving Millions to Controversial Gaza Aid Foundation, Sources Say
Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
The State Department is weighing giving $500 million to the new foundation providing aid to war-shattered Gaza, according to two knowledgeable sources and two former US officials, a move that would involve the US more deeply in a controversial aid effort that has been beset by violence and chaos.
The sources and former US officials, all of whom requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that money for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) would come from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which is being folded into the US State Department.
The plan has met resistance from some US officials concerned with the deadly shootings of Palestinians near aid distribution sites and the competence of the GHF, the two sources said.
The GHF, which has been fiercely criticized by humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations, for an alleged lack of neutrality, began distributing aid last week amid warnings that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli aid blockade, which was lifted on May 19 when limited deliveries were allowed to resume.
The foundation has seen senior personnel quit and had to pause handouts twice this week after crowds overwhelmed its distribution hubs.
The State Department and GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters has been unable to establish who is currently funding the GHF operations, which began in Gaza last week. The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution at so-called secure distribution sites.
On Thursday, Reuters reported that a Chicago-based private equity firm, McNally Capital, has an “economic interest” in the for-profit US contractor overseeing the logistics and security of GHF’s aid distribution hubs in the enclave.
While US President Donald Trump’s administration and Israel say they don’t finance the GHF operation, both have been pressing the United Nations and international aid groups to work with it.
The US and Israel argue that aid distributed by a long-established U.N. aid network was diverted to Hamas. Hamas has denied that.
USAID has been all but dismantled. Some 80 percent of its programs have been canceled and its staff face termination as part of President Donald Trump’s drive to align US foreign policy with his “America First” agenda.
One source with knowledge of the matter and one former senior official said the proposal to give the $500 million to GHF has been championed by acting deputy USAID Administrator Ken Jackson, who has helped oversee the agency’s dismemberment.
The source said that Israel requested the funds to underwrite GHF’s operations for 180 days.
The Israeli government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The two sources said that some US officials have concerns with the plan because of the overcrowding that has affected the aid distribution hubs run by GHF’s contractor, and violence nearby.
Those officials also want well-established non-governmental organizations experienced in running aid operations in Gaza and elsewhere to be involved in the operation if the State Department approves the funds for GHF, a position that Israel likely will oppose, the sources said.
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