Outward Bound

The Gemara famously teaches us (Taanis 29a), “Just as we diminish our simchah when the month of Av arrives, so too when Adar arrives we increase our simchah.” It’s because of this Chazal that litigants are advised to postpone court cases until Adar, a time of favorable mazel and brachah.

This Gemara begs for some clarification. We know what actions we’re meant to take to diminish our simchah in Av. Aside from the activities we normally associate with simchah, we also have restrictions on laundering, bathing, pleasure shopping, eating meat, and engaging in business beyond what is deemed necessary.

But how would the flip side manifest in Adar, when we’re instructed to increase our simchah? Should we be showering twice a day? Doing loads of laundry day and night? Eating steak for breakfast? Shopping for new cars and homes even if we don’t need them? Or to borrow from the contemporary parlance, do we simply “do simchah”? Were Chazal mandating a feeling and then leaving it up to us to figure out how to achieve it? And can feelings be mandated altogether?

We know the Torah itself commands us to perform mitzvos and avodas Hashem b’simchah, and the tochachah in parshas Ki Savo details the heavy price we pay for not doing so.