We all know that in the early part of the 20th century many observant immigrants had a hard time earning a livelihood because of shemiras Shabbos. Even among those who managed to stand strong against the temptation to be mechallel Shabbos many would constantly complain “oi s’iz shver tzu zain a Yid” (it’s difficult to be a Jew).
When second-generation immigrants ended up going off the derech Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”zl attributed it to their parents’ constant discontentment and kvetching about being a Yid.
The Ribbono shel Olam wants us to be happy – not just sometimes but always. More specifically we have a commandment to be happy on Yom Tov and especially on Succos a time when the Torah states no less than three times that we should be happy.
In today’s times this seems easier said than done. That’s because – like the immigrants – people today tend to mistranslate the word simchah. Yes simchah means happiness but what type of happiness? The immigrants who complained about Shabbos observance equated happiness with material success and not having material things was a reason to be unhappy.The conclusion that being Jewish is a burden was only a natural outgrowth of that line of thinking. And that conclusion was transferred to the children through osmosis.
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