SIMCHA ON YOM TOV

The mitzvah of simcha on Yom Tov is not mentioned on Pesach at all, on Shavuos it is mentioned once and on Succos it is mentioned twice.

In respect of Shavuos the Torah tells us at the end of the sedra ראה, chapter ט''ז, posek י''א.
ושמחת לפני ה' אלקיך אתה ובנך ובתך ועבדך ואמתך והלוי אשר בשעריך והגר והיתום והאלמנה אשר בקרבך במקום אשר יבחר ה' אלקיך לשכן שמו שם

And you shall rejoice before Hashem, your G-d, you and your son, your daughter, your servant, your maid servant, the Levite who lives in your gates, the proselyte, the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place which Hashem will choose to make his name dwell there.

From the wording of the פסוק it appears that this mitzvah of simcha does not just apply to the males but to everybody in the Bnei Yisroel.

Further on, where Succos is mentioned, the Torah says that on each of the שלש רגלים, the high festivals, the males should come to Jerusalem in the very same place, במקום אשר יבחר.

Here, however, it appears that in the case of Shavuos the Torah is telling us that everybody should join in the simcha and that it should be at the place of the Shechina, namely the בית המקדש, the Temple. Why should it be that just in the case of Shavuos, everybody should be enjoined to come to Jerusalem and the Temple and join the simcha?

Perhaps this could be understood with a fact mentioned by Reb Chaim Vital, the chief pupil of the Arizal, Rabbi Yitzchok Luria and the person who wrote down his deep and mystical teachings.

He stated that the Arizal told him that he had reached his very high levels, מדרגות, because he performed mitzvos and learned Torah b’simcha, joyfully.

One can, perhaps, understand why this was by comparing it in some small way to the fact that the Queen of England has garden parties and many people attend and consider it a privilege. She is shown due reverence and people are in awe of her on these occasions.

If, however, a person shows genuine happiness at being invited and states this to the Queen herself, it would be very possible and even likely that the Queen’s reaction would be to invite that person into her personal apartment for a private audience.

That person would be privy to secrets not afforded to other people.

The Torah was given on Shavuos, Hashem, Himself, בכבודו ובעצמו, proclaimed the ten commandments to all of the Bnei Yisroel, male, female, children etc. Every year, when Shavuos comes round again, a הארה, a certain illumination of that happening returns and we are all given the chance to have a very strong spiritual uplift akin to that which the Bnei Yisroel experienced at מתן תורה.

The holiest place in the world where the Shechina resided was the Bais Hamikdosh and, therefore, I would suggest that all people, men, women, children etc. were enjoined to visit the Bais Hamikdosh on Shavuos with simcha. By doing that, they were enabled to have a special uplift which otherwise they could not have aspired to.

In some small way, nowadays, by us all attending the בתי מקדש מעט, the small Shuls and places of learning on Shavuos and accepting, once again, the Torah, b’simcha, we can also aspire to a special spiritual uplift but, understandably in a lesser form.

I understand that in certain kehillas, including Lubavitch, to this day, it is the custom that all members of each family, young and old come to Shul on Shavuos to hear the עשרת הדיברות.

Perhaps the above idea is the מקור, the source of this minhag.