Q&A: Serving God with Joy and Dor Daim
Serving God with Joy and Dor Daim
Question
Hello Honorable Rabbi,
Two questions:
1. I understand from several lectures and articles on the site that you do not assign much importance to emotions, especially in the realm of faith and serving God. How does that fit with the curses at the end of the book of Deuteronomy, where it says, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart…” (Deuteronomy 28:47)? Seemingly, it sounds like there is specifically an issue of serving God with joy.
2. In Yemenite Judaism there is a movement called “Dor De’ah” (Dor Daim), a “Maimonidean” movement that adheres to the rulings of the Talmud and Maimonides and fights against the influences of the Zohar and Kabbalah, which it regards as idolatry. At one time, a number of rabbis ruled (Rabbi Kanievsky, for example) that it is forbidden to count them for a prayer quorum because they are “heretics” (since they do not believe in the Zohar). What is your opinion on the matter?
Thank you very much for your response.
Avi
Answer
- That verse is very puzzling in any case. Once you explain it to me, we can discuss its implications. In any event, I wrote that emotion can serve as an indication of the essential plane (if you feel such-and-such, that testifies to your basic attitude toward the matter).
- My opinion is that this claim is nonsense. One may accept or not accept the Zohar. What does that have to do with heresy? Maybe someone who says such nonsense should not be counted for a prayer quorum.
Discussion on Answer
Whoever eats soaked matzah should not be counted for a prayer quorum.
Whoever eats lenda should not be counted for a prayer quorum.
Whoever reads HaPeles should not be counted for a prayer quorum.
All kinds of new prohibitions have come into the world.
I prefer the better-known interpretation: “Because you did not serve the Lord”—and you did that with joy and gladness of heart.
Orekhotecha Lamdeni wrote about this that if the Dor Daim are not counted, then Maimonides and Gersonides should also not be counted.
When someone does not serve God because he is under siege and stress, pressured, burdened, and sad, there is some basis for judging him favorably, and the claim against him is made in a somewhat lower tone.
But when a person is in a state of abundance and release, freedom and ease, with joy and gladness of heart from having so much,
and even so does not serve God, that is a much greater accusation.
“Because you did not serve the Lord your God.”
And what state were you in? “With joy and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of everything.”
Ah, ah—what stronger claim could there be against someone shirking the service of God?
That is one possible interpretation of the verse.
So now, where exactly is there any demand/obligation/request/suggestion in this verse to serve God joyfully?
It doesn’t even get off the ground.