As the new year approaches, I resolve to focus on joy. This has been my kavannah every year since September 11th.
It isn’t easy for me. I’m good at worrying. I’m good at crossing things off my to-do list. Hey, I am the daughter of Holocaust survivors. Don’t talk to me about joy; it’s not part of my culture. We Jews have filled libraries with the historical litany of our losses, our pain, our despair. Besides, you get to a certain age as an individual or as a
people, and joy becomes a tall order.
And yet, the challenge sticks like a burr on my jacket. In yoga, my teacher asks if we’d like to bring an “intention” to the class. An intention is the same thing as a kavannah. It’s a goal, a focus for the day’s practice.
When she makes this invitation, joy comes to mind. I place an intentional smile on my face and try to make joy my kavannah, both on and off the mat.
Joy is not the same as fun. Fun is a product – something to consume. “Did you have fun?” is such a different question from, “Did you experience joy?”
Nachman of Bratslav, who struggled with depression for much of his life, equated joy with holiness. He did not say that holiness, or doing mitzvot, or being a good Jew would give you joy. He said that joy itself is the throne of holiness…That joy is kadosh.
What a concept.
Anita Diamant is an author and the founding president of Mayyim Hayyim, a community mikveh in Massachusetts. www.mayyimhayyim.org
