The Mindset of Happiness
Ki Savo
One of the most desired, and yet most elusive pursuits in life, is happiness.
There are trillion-dollar industries catering to our pursuit of happiness. Relative to our ancestors, we have so much abundance. And yet despite this, most people are not truly happy. We tell ourselves, if only I had this, that or the other, I would be happy. If only this part of my life were better, I would be happy. If only I was more successful, I would be happy. But no matter how much we have, it is still not enough, and we never seem to reach happiness.
Our mistake is that happiness does not come from “things” and so it cannot be pursued. Happiness come from a mindset and attitude. This mindset that froms the path to happiness lies in the final Posuk of the Mitzvah of Bikkurim.
וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכׇל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ ה‘ אֱלֹ-הֶ֖יךָ
“And you shall rejoice in all of the good that Hashem your G-d has given you.”
The Zohar refers to the Mitzvos as advice or counsel. In addition to the physical observance of the Mitzvah, embedded within each Mitzvah is a spiritual or moral lesson. Bikkurim teaches us the Middah of Histapkus - being satisfied with what we have.
Pirkei Avos teaches that the truly rich person is one who is Sameach B’chelko, happy with their lot.
Being satisfied with what one has, means that we see that whatever we have, is all that we really need. On a deeper level, being satisfied with what we have means that we feel that we actually have everything. We don’t feel like we are lacking anything or that anything is missing that would make us more complete. With this perspective, we will never feel jealous of others who seem to have more. And with this perspective, a person will be happy an content.
This attitude stands in contrast to one who is not happy with what they have, and always craves more. In the words of our sages, “One who has 100 wants 200 and one who has 200 wants 400…” Someone who is not happy with what they have, will always feel that they are lacking. They will be possessed by jealousy and they will never be able to be content or happy.
This is the message of the opening words of the verse, “you shall rejoice in all the good”. This Posuk refers to each person who would bring Bikkurim, whether they were objectively wealthy, possessing vast tracts of land, or whether they were objectively poor, owning only one small field. Each one of them should rejoice in “all the good”, seeing themselves as having all of the good in the world.
But how is the person who objectively has very little, able to truly feel like they have everything and that they lack nothing?
This is the lesson of the subsequent words, “that Hashem your G-d has given to you.”
Bitachon means to trust that Hashem looks after each of us with Hashgacha and that in His love, He provides each of us with exactly what we need. If this is so, then if we do not have more, it is because we do not need more. We can see ourselves as having “all of the good”, if we truly believe that what we have is given to us by Hashem.
Taking this idea a step further, the Posuk uses the words נתן לך describing what Hashem has given to us as a gift.
An employee who receives their paycheck will generally not run to their boss to profusely express their thanks and joy. This is because a salary is earned through our effort and work. We see ourselves as entitled to it and take it as a given.
In contrast, when a person receives a gift, no matter how small the gift may be, they will be thankful. This is because unlike a salary, a gift is not something earned through our efforts. It is not something that was “coming to us” or that we deserved. So we see the gift as a windfall, something extra that we would not have otherwise had. This is why a gift is a source of gratitude and happiness.
If this is true with any gift, how much more so if the gift is from Hashem. The Tiferes Shlomo illustrates this with a parable. If a person receives a gift from the king, even if it is something small, it becomes a prized possession, because it is from the king.
In life, no one owes us anything. Certainly Hashem does not owe us anything. With humility, we should see ourselves as deserving of nothing. If so, whatever Hashem gives to us in our lives, is like a gift - a gift from the King of kings. Should this not be a source of joy?
In the Haggadah we read the declaration of Arami Oved Avi from the Parsha of the Bikkurim.
The sages teach that the Haggadah should be recited in the manner of מתחילין בגנות ומסיימין בשבח, beginning with our disgrace and concluding with our praise. Tiferes Shlomo reads this as an allusion to the message of the Bikkurim. If we begin by seeing our גנות, that really we are undeserving, then we will forever praise Hashem for everything we have.
The message of Bikkurim is simple but powerful. The attitude of Bitachon and gratitude, is the path through which we can attain true happiness and contentment.
There are trillion-dollar industries catering to our pursuit of happiness. Relative to our ancestors, we have so much abundance. And yet despite this, most people are not truly happy. We tell ourselves, if only I had this, that or the other, I would be happy. If only this part of my life were better, I would be happy. If only I was more successful, I would be happy. But no matter how much we have, it is still not enough, and we never seem to reach happiness.
Our mistake is that happiness does not come from “things” and so it cannot be pursued. Happiness come from a mindset and attitude. This mindset that froms the path to happiness lies in the final Posuk of the Mitzvah of Bikkurim.
וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכׇל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ ה‘ אֱלֹ-הֶ֖יךָ
“And you shall rejoice in all of the good that Hashem your G-d has given you.”
The Zohar refers to the Mitzvos as advice or counsel. In addition to the physical observance of the Mitzvah, embedded within each Mitzvah is a spiritual or moral lesson. Bikkurim teaches us the Middah of Histapkus - being satisfied with what we have.
Pirkei Avos teaches that the truly rich person is one who is Sameach B’chelko, happy with their lot.
Being satisfied with what one has, means that we see that whatever we have, is all that we really need. On a deeper level, being satisfied with what we have means that we feel that we actually have everything. We don’t feel like we are lacking anything or that anything is missing that would make us more complete. With this perspective, we will never feel jealous of others who seem to have more. And with this perspective, a person will be happy an content.
This attitude stands in contrast to one who is not happy with what they have, and always craves more. In the words of our sages, “One who has 100 wants 200 and one who has 200 wants 400…” Someone who is not happy with what they have, will always feel that they are lacking. They will be possessed by jealousy and they will never be able to be content or happy.
This is the message of the opening words of the verse, “you shall rejoice in all the good”. This Posuk refers to each person who would bring Bikkurim, whether they were objectively wealthy, possessing vast tracts of land, or whether they were objectively poor, owning only one small field. Each one of them should rejoice in “all the good”, seeing themselves as having all of the good in the world.
But how is the person who objectively has very little, able to truly feel like they have everything and that they lack nothing?
This is the lesson of the subsequent words, “that Hashem your G-d has given to you.”
Bitachon means to trust that Hashem looks after each of us with Hashgacha and that in His love, He provides each of us with exactly what we need. If this is so, then if we do not have more, it is because we do not need more. We can see ourselves as having “all of the good”, if we truly believe that what we have is given to us by Hashem.
Taking this idea a step further, the Posuk uses the words נתן לך describing what Hashem has given to us as a gift.
An employee who receives their paycheck will generally not run to their boss to profusely express their thanks and joy. This is because a salary is earned through our effort and work. We see ourselves as entitled to it and take it as a given.
In contrast, when a person receives a gift, no matter how small the gift may be, they will be thankful. This is because unlike a salary, a gift is not something earned through our efforts. It is not something that was “coming to us” or that we deserved. So we see the gift as a windfall, something extra that we would not have otherwise had. This is why a gift is a source of gratitude and happiness.
If this is true with any gift, how much more so if the gift is from Hashem. The Tiferes Shlomo illustrates this with a parable. If a person receives a gift from the king, even if it is something small, it becomes a prized possession, because it is from the king.
In life, no one owes us anything. Certainly Hashem does not owe us anything. With humility, we should see ourselves as deserving of nothing. If so, whatever Hashem gives to us in our lives, is like a gift - a gift from the King of kings. Should this not be a source of joy?
In the Haggadah we read the declaration of Arami Oved Avi from the Parsha of the Bikkurim.
The sages teach that the Haggadah should be recited in the manner of מתחילין בגנות ומסיימין בשבח, beginning with our disgrace and concluding with our praise. Tiferes Shlomo reads this as an allusion to the message of the Bikkurim. If we begin by seeing our גנות, that really we are undeserving, then we will forever praise Hashem for everything we have.
The message of Bikkurim is simple but powerful. The attitude of Bitachon and gratitude, is the path through which we can attain true happiness and contentment.