I heard a radio interview with the author of a book called Joyful Anyway, and jotted down this comment that she made:

“Give people an opportunity to share in your delight, and it will bring you joy.”

Drawing on her cancer diagnosis, Kate Bowler wrote that having joy in your life does not depend on life getting easier. Life can be awful on many levels, and you can still experience joy.

As a fellow cancer survivor, I can attest that she is correct.

But the point of living, says my Jewish tradition, is not joy. At least, not simply.

The point of living is engagement with community. It is service to community. It is elevating your life beyond the pursuit of personal happiness. It is striving to become your highest, best self.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote:

“In Judaism, faith is not acceptance but protest, against the world that is, in the name of the world that is not yet but ought to be. The Bible’s … aim is not to transport the believer to a private heaven. Instead, its impassioned, sustained desire is to bring heaven down to earth.”

In every life there should always be ample room for joy and love and laughter. Yet those things alone are not enough. Those are essential elements of a happy life, but they are not, by themselves, the measure of a fulfilling life.

Judaism demands more of us. And not just me, a rabbi. The tradition expects every one of us to do the hard work of making the world a better place.

Indeed, perhaps engaging in the work of repairing the world is itself a source of joy.

Small steps are acceptable. Encouraged. After all, I am just one person with limited means.

But imagine if thousands upon thousands of people took a small step every single day.

Where might that take us?

The Jewish Open Tent is considering taking a group of women age 65+ to Israel in September, 2027. Interested? Email Rabbi Jennifer Singer at: info@jewishopentent.com