1A psalm for praise.
Raise a shout for the Lord, all the earth;
2worship the Lord in gladness;
come into His presence with shouts of joy.
3Acknowledge that the Lord is God;
He made us and we are His,
His people, the flock He tends.
4Enter His gates with praise,
His courts with acclamation.
Praise Him!
Bless His name!
5For the Lord is good;
His steadfast love is eternal;
His faithfulness is for all generations.
Joy or it doesn't count - Shulhan Arukh, Yoreh Deah, 240
What does it mean to give “honor”?
To serve others food and drink, to provide them with shelter and warm clothing, and to escort them in and out.
All of this should be done cheerfully. For even if one were to serve them delicacies all day, but with a scowl, they would then would be liable for punishment.
Permission to be joyous - Midrash Tanchuma, Noach 19:2
Israel shall serve Him with gladness, as it is said: Serve the Lord with gladness (Ps. 100:2). However, the nations of the world will serve Him, as is appropriate for them, with trepidation.
For example, when a son serves his father, he does so in gladness, saying to himself: If I should commit an error in my father’s presence, he will not be angry with me, for he loves me. Hence he serves him with gladness.
However, when a stranger serves a master, he does so with trepidation, saying to himself: If I should commit an error in his presence, he will become angry with me. Therefore, he serves him with trepidation.
Centering yourself in order to succeed - Talmud Shabbat 30b
As it was stated with regard to Elisha that after he became angry at the king of Israel, his prophetic spirit left him until he requested: “But now bring me a minstrel; and it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him” (II Kings 3:15). Rav Yehuda said: And, so too, one should be joyful before stating a matter of halakha. Rava said: And, so too, one should be joyful before going to sleep in order to have a good dream.
The path towards joy - Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed, Part 3, 51:5
Thus the Law distinctly states that the highest kind of worship to which we refer in this chapter, is only possible after the acquisition of the knowledge of God. For it is said, "To love the Lord your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut. 11:13), and, as we have shown several times, man's love of God is identical with His knowledge of Him.
The path towards service - Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Yesodei HaTorah 7:4
All the prophets do not prophesy whenever they desire. Instead, they must concentrate their attention [upon spiritual concepts] and seclude themselves, [waiting] in a happy, joyous mood, because prophecy cannot rest upon a person when he is sad or languid, but only when he is happy.
The importance of joy - Likutei Moharan 2:23-24
Sometimes a group of people happily dancing together take hold of someone who is standing miserable and depressed on the outside. They pull him into the dance circle despite himself, forcing him to rejoice with them.
Similarly, when a person is happy, his pain and sadness may move to the sidelines. But a higher level is to pursue the sadness itself and "pull it into the dance circle," turning it into joy.
If you truly set your mind to it, you will find that even amidst your worst troubles and suffering there is always a way you can turn all your sadness into joy. True joy is when you forcibly transform your very sadness and depression into happiness.
It is a great mitzvah to be happy always. Strengthen yourself to push aside all depression and sadness. Everyone has lots of problems and the nature of man is to be attracted to sadness. To escape these difficulties, constantly bring joy into your life—even if you have to resort to silliness.
| The connection between joy, gratitude, and apathy - Deut 28:45. 45. All [forms of] curses will befall you, pursuing you and overtaking you to destroy you because you did not obey the Lord, your God, to observe His commandments and statutes which He commanded you. |
| 46. And they will be as a sign and a wonder, upon you and your offspring, forever, |
| 47. because you did not serve the Lord, your God, with happiness and with gladness of heart, when [you had an] abundance of everything. |
| Rashi: when [you had an] abundance of everything: when you still had all good things. |
| 48. Therefore, you will serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, [when you are] in famine, thirst, destitution, and lacking everything, and he will place an iron yoke upon your neck, until he has destroyed you. |