Three paths to happiness

RABBI DR BENJI LEVY

We have just experienced Purim in all its jubilance, but how do we hold onto the happiness? If you went to Amazon right now and typed in “happiness + books” you would get roughly 80,000 results. That’s a lot of secrets, so what if we just start with three?

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks highlighted the following paths to happiness: inner peace, covenantal community and sacrificing for a cause.

1. Inner peace. True happiness comes from finding peace and serenity from within yourself. I learnt this from Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku who called himself the happiest man on earth. When asked how he could be so happy after surviving Auschwitz, he told me that his secret to being happy was his capacity to find peace. He was able to let go of negativity and open himself up to the beauty of the world and find the inner peace that led to happiness.

2. Covenantal community. Every Friday night I close my eyes and smile when I sing this verse in the Lecha Dodi prayer, “your God shall rejoice over you, as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.”

At that moment I think about the most important covenantal partnership of my life, my marriage to my wife Renana, a partnership that has enabled us to build a Jewish family and covenantal community. Being a part of a partnership and community built around a shared covenant of faith and identity gives one a sense of belonging and peace that leads to happiness. Think of the last time you felt part of a community or spent time with those close to you. Did you not feel true joy?

3. Sacrificing for a cause. How can we derive joy from sacrifice? Think about the last time you sacrificed something for a cause you believed in? Didn’t you feel a deep sense of fulfilment, joy and happiness? Abraham’s life was riddled with hardships. Despite that, we’re told that he lived a wholesome life and ultimately found true joy. More recently, the earliest Zionist pioneers sacrificed to turn what was uninhabitable land under onerous conditions into the future of the Jewish State, resulting in the ultimate joy in seeing the State of Israel born and growing. Now, as we hold on to the happiness from Purim, we can forget about all the “secrets” and access one of these 3 pathways that are revealed to us all.

How many common words of five or more letters can you spell using the letters in the hive? Every answer must use the centre letter at least once. Letters may be reused in a word. At least one word will use all seven letters and have a direct Jewish connection.

Proper names and hyphenated words are not allowed. Score one point for each answer and three points for a Jewish word that uses all seven letters.

Rating: 6 = Good; 8 = Excellent; 10 = Genius

Yoni Glatt has published more than 1,000 crossword puzzles worldwide, from the LA Times and Boston Globe to The Jerusalem Post. He has also published two Jewish puzzle books: "Kosher Crosswords" and the sequel "More Kosher Crosswords and Word Games".