Getting to Know Your Simcha - 001_Holy Laughter of Purim

The month of Adar is a time of simcha/happiness, which the holy sefarim say is the type of simcha known as s’chok (lit. laughter). Although usually s’chok is usually to scoff or make fun of something, s’chok can also be used for holiness. What is this holy kind of laughter? Usually laughing at another is not a good middah. How can it be good?

There is a story in the Gemara (Makkos 24b) that Rebbi Akiva and his colleagues were walking on the site of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. Every one cried – except for Rebbi Akiva. R’ Akiva was laughing! He said that just as the prophecy of the destruction was fulfilled, so will the end of the prophecy be fulfilled – that the Beis Hamikdash will be rebuilt. This is the holy kind of “s’chok” – a holy kind of laughter.

Here we see what holy s’chok is. Laughter/s’chok can be identified with seeing the future in the present. This causes a reason to laugh – when one sees the future right now, he sees that there’s nothing to be sad about because it will turn out good anyway, so he just laughs.

This is the happiness of Purim and the month of Adar – that the future Redemption is already taking place in the present. Thus, we have a reason to celebrate the future Redemption even now. Purim is a taste of the future Redemption, thus Purim is to essentially experience the future Redemption even now, causing reason for happiness.

S’chok\laughter is to be so elated that one wants to express the happiness outward. This is the happiness we reach on Purim -- s’chok, happiness which we reveal outward. This answers a question: On Purim, we accepted the Torah willingly. How do we come to a new acceptance of Torah on Purim if we are drunk?

The answer is that we are so happy, so elated -- and thus we want to express it outwardly, in the form of s’chok – and we can only show this by getting drunk.

What is essentially the difference between simcha and s’chok? We find “simcha” by the joy of completion, such as “Simchas” Torah, when we finished the Torah – it is the joy upon reaching completion. The festival mainly identified with “simcha” is Sukkos, which is the completion of the Three Festivals. Simcha is the joy upon completion.

But s’chok is to be content even though things aren’t complete and perfect. We should be content with Hashem’s will, to realize that really we should want what Hashem wants. This is a special kind of Avodah: to reveal our real wants. Most of the time, we don’t know what we want. The Avodah of this month of Adar, and especially Purim, is to clarify to ourselves what we really want.

Many times we don’t get what we want and we are unhappy because of our unsatisfied wants. But Purim shows us what we truly want – to only want what Hashem wants. This way, we are content when things don’t go as planned, because we only want what Hashem wants. This is the type of simcha known as schok – it is to be content, and this is our Avodah during Adar.