כִּי כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּצָּחוֹן לְנַצֵּחַ דָּבָר גַּשְׁמִי, כְּגוֹן: שְׁנֵי אֲנָשִׁים הַמִּתְאַבְּקִים זֶה עִם זֶה לְהַפִּיל זֶה אֶת זֶה,
הִנֵּה, אִם הָאֶחָד הוּא בְּעַצְלוּת וּכְבֵדוּת – יְנוּצַּח בְּקַל וְיִפּוֹל גַּם אִם הוּא גִּבּוֹר יוֹתֵר מֵחֲבֵירוֹ,
כָּכָה מַמָּשׁ בְּנִצְחוֹן הַיֵּצֶר,
אִי אֶפְשָׁר לְנַצְּחוֹ בְּעַצְלוּת וּכְבֵדוּת – הַנִּמְשָׁכוֹת מֵעַצְבוּת וְטִמְטוּם הַלֵּב כָּאֶבֶן,
כִּי אִם, בִּזְרִיזוּת – הַנִּמְשֶׁכֶת מִשִּׂמְחָה וּפְתִיחַת הַלֵּב, וְטָהֳרָתוֹ מִכָּל נִדְנוּד דְּאָגָה וָעֶצֶב בָּעוֹלָם
Tanya, Chapter 26
...Just as it is with a victory over a physical opponent, for instance, two people who wrestle with each other, each striving to fell the other.
If one of them is lazy and sluggish, he will easily be defeated and will fall, even if he be stronger than the other, [since his laziness and sluggishness prevent him from revealing his strength.]
Similarly with the conquest of one’s evil nature.
It is impossible to conquer the evil nature with laziness and sluggishness, which stem from sadness and a stonelike dullness of the heart,
but rather with alacrity, which derives from joy and an open i.e., responsive heart that is unblemished by any trace of worry and sadness in the world.
The Divine Presence rests upon an individual neither from an atmosphere of sadness, nor from an atmosphere of laziness, nor from an atmosphere of laughter, nor from an atmosphere of frivolity, nor from an atmosphere of idle conversation, nor from an atmosphere of idle chatter, but rather from an atmosphere imbued with the joy of a mitzva. 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 seven days of Passover and the eight days of Sukkot along with the other holidays are all forbidden for eulogizing and fasting. And one is obligated to be joyful and of a good heart on them—he, his children, his wife, the members of his household and all who accompany him. As it is stated (Deuteronomy 16:14), "And you shall rejoice in your holiday, etc." ...included in that joy is for him, his children and the members of his household to rejoice—everyone according to what is fit for him.
... וּכְשֶׁהוּא אוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה חַיָּב לְהַאֲכִיל לַגֵּר לַיָּתוֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָה עִם שְׁאָר הָעֲנִיִּים הָאֻמְלָלִים. אֲבָל מִי שֶׁנּוֹעֵל דַּלְתוֹת חֲצֵרוֹ וְאוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה הוּא וּבָנָיו וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֵינוֹ מַאֲכִיל וּמַשְׁקֶה לַעֲנִיִּים וּלְמָרֵי נֶפֶשׁ אֵין זוֹ שִׂמְחַת מִצְוָה אֶלָּא שִׂמְחַת כְּרֵסוֹ. וְעַל אֵלּוּ נֶאֱמַר (הושע ט ד) "זִבְחֵיהֶם כְּלֶחֶם אוֹנִים לָהֶם כָּל אֹכְלָיו יִטַּמָּאוּ כִּי לַחְמָם לְנַפְשָׁם". וְשִׂמְחָה כָּזוֹ קָלוֹן הִיא לָהֶם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (מלאכי ב ג) "וְזֵרִיתִי פֶרֶשׁ עַל פְּנֵיכֶם פֶּרֶשׁ חַגֵּיכֶם":
...While eating and drinking, one must feed the stranger, the orphan, the widow, and other poor unfortunates. Anyone, however, who locks the doors of his courtyard and eats and drinks along with his wife and children, without giving anything to eat and drink to the poor and the desperate, does not observe a religious celebration but indulges in the celebration of his stomach. And about such is it stated (Hosea 9:4), "their sacrifices are like the bread of mourners, all who eat it will be contaminated; for their bread is for their own appetites." Such joy is a disgrace for them, as it is stated (Malakhi 2:3), "I will spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your festivals."
סלולה אורת ישרים ההולכים דרך צדקה שהוא קיום העולם אשרי משכיל אל דל ובפרט ביום משתה ושמתה ויו"ט, כמבואר בזוהר (ח"ב פח, ב) וז"ל, תא חזי דכולהו שאר זמנין וחגין בעי בר נש למחדי ולמחדי למסכני ואי הוא חדי בלחודואי ולא יהיב למסכני עונשיה סגי כו', עלי' כתיב וזריתי פרש על פניכם פרש חגיכם, ואי איהו בשבתא חדי אע"ג דלא יהיב לאחרא לא יהיב ליה עונשא כשאר זמנין וחגין דכתיב פרש חגיכם ולא פרש שבתכם, וכתיב חדשיכם ומועדיכם שנאה נפשי ואלו שבת לא קאמר, ובגין כך כתיב ביני ובין בני ישראל עכ"ל ובטעם הדבר דבחגין צריך יותר למחדי למסכני מבשבת גם להבין מה דכתיב חדשיכם ומועדיכם שנאה נפשי מה ענין חדשים לכאן ובזוהר לא הזכירו שצריך למחדי בחדשים גם מ"ש הה"ד ביני ובין בני ישראל נ"ל דמקראי קודש אינון אושפיזין עילאין קדישין וצריך למחדי לאושפיזי, וזו היא שמחתם לשמח נפש העניים האומללים הם יקחו חלקם והנה להשגת תכלית הענין אמשול לך משל, למלך שלטון שנתארח לבית כפרי אחד אשר תחת ממשלתו ויכירהו, ולא שת לבו אליו לכבדו כראוי ויחר אף המלך בו, וישא עיניו והנה איש בא אליו והוא ציר שלוח מכפרי אחר לאמר אם על המלך טוב יבא אל המשתה אשר אעשה לו, ויבא המלך אל בית האיש ההוא והנה גם זה האיש לא שת לבו אל המלך ולא כבודו גם הוא, אדין מלכא בנס וקצף סגי ברגז וחמא, אמר הדמין יתעבד וביתיה נולי ישתוי, כי יותר רעה מעשה זה האיש מהראשון, כי אל הראשון מעצמו בא אליו המלך וזה שלח אחריו, גם על השליח קצף כי הוא היה הסבה לבושתו והנה בשבת דקביעי וקיימי ומעצמם באו האושפיזין לאו עונשיה סגי אבל בחגים ומועדים שהם ע"י ישראל כמאמרם ז"ל אלה מועדי ד' אשר תקראו אותם אל תקרא אותם אלא אתם, ואם אז אינו תכבד האושפיזין עונשיה סגי, לזה אמר חדשיכם ומועדיכם שנאה נפשי, כיון דהזמנים נקראים ע"י החדשים, וגם על השליח כועס שהם החדשים, לזה אמר הה"ד אות היא ביני ובין בני ישראל, משום דשבת קביעא וקיימא ואמרינן מקדש השבת וישראל והזמנים דשבת הוא אות בינו ובין בני ישראל וחגים בין ב"י ובינו, ומשום דשבת קביעא וקיימא וזמנים ע"י ישראל נקראים והבן וגם כיון שצריך להראות פני אלהים בחגים וזמנין שנאמר יראה כל זכורך, ע"כ צריך שיהיה עכ"פ בזמנים הללו בצלם ודמות עתירי ומסכני כחדא ולא יהיה ח"ו כבהמה.
‘Happy is the one who reflects upon the destitute,’ and especially on the day of a joyful party and a holiday, as it is elucidated in the Zohar 2: 88b. And these are its words:
Come see that on all the other times and festivals, a man must rejoice and make the poor rejoice. And if he rejoices alone and does not give to the poor, his punishment is great, etc. About him it is written (Mal. 2:3), “And I will strew refuse upon your faces, the refuse of your festivals.” But if he rejoices on Shabbat – even though he does not give to the other – He does not give him a punishment like the other times and festivals, as it is written, “the refuse of your festivals,” and not “the refuse of your Shabbats.” And it is [also] written (Isaiah 1:14), “Your new moons and your holidays My soul does hate,” but Shabbat is not mentioned. And for this reason, it is written (Exod. 31:17), “Between Me and between the Children of Israel.”
[However we need to understand] the reason that on festivals one needs to make the poor rejoice more then on Shabbat; and also what is the relevance of new moons here, such that it is written, “Your new moons and holidays My soul does hate,” whereas in the Zohar it is not mentioned that one needs to rejoice on Rosh Chodesh...
It appears to me that the holy days are supernal guests, and one needs to make the guests rejoice. And this is their joy – to have the miserable poor rejoice. From this they take their portion.
In order to grasp the point of the matter, I will tell you a parable about a king who visited a villager under his rulership. And [the villager] recognized him, but did not put his attention to honoring him properly. And [so] the king got angry with him. But when [the king] raised his eyes, a messenger came to him sent by another villager. [The message was], “If it would be good for the king, let him come to a party that I will make for him.” And [so] he came to the house of that man. But behold that man also did not pay attention to the king, and he also did not honor him. Then ‘the king broke out into a great anger.’ He said ‘with rage and fury,’ “[He] ‘shall be [torn by his] limbs and his home shall be a dumping ground,’” as the act of this one was worse than the first man.
[That is] because the king came to the first on his own, whereas this one sent for him. And the king also got angry at the messenger, as he was the [immediate] cause of his embarrassment.
And behold, on Shabbat which is ‘fixed and standing’ and the [supernal] guests come on their own, He does not punish [those that do not share with the poor] much. But [this is not the case] on festivals and holidays which are [set] by Israel, like the statement of [the Sages], may their memory be blessed, “‘Which you shall proclaim them (otam)’ (Lev. 23:2) – [do not] read [‘them,’ but rather], ‘you (atem)’” (Rosh Hashanah 24a). And if one does not honor the guests then, his punishment is great. For this reason, it stated, “Your new moons and holidays My soul does hate” – since the [holidays] are [established by way] of the new moons, and He gets angry with the messenger as well. ...And [it is] also because one needs to appear before the Lord on festivals and [holidays] – as it is stated (Deut. 16:16), “all your males shall appear” – [hence] at least at these times, he should be in the image and the likeness, the rich and the poor, together. And [he should then] not, God forbid, be like a beast.