Jewish Holiday, Self Care & Wellness
Joy, Positivity, and Gratitude
Biblical Quotes on Joy and Happiness:
- Worship God in gladness; come into God’s presence with shouts of joy. (Psalms 100:2)
- If there is anxiety in a person’s mind let them quash it, And turn it into joy with a good word. (Proverbs 12:25)
- More than all that you guard, guard your mind, For it is the source of life. (Proverbs 4:23)
- May God bless and keep you. May God deal kindly and graciously with you. May God bestow favor upon you and grant you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
- You shall enjoy the fruit of your labors; you shall be happy, and you shall prosper. (Psalm 128:2)
Rabbinic Quotes on Finding and Sharing Joy in Life:
- Know, too! A person must cross a very, very narrow bridge. The main rule is: Do not be frightened at all! (Likutei Moharan, Part 2, 48.3)
- Shammai used to say: make your [study of the] Torah a fixed practice; speak little but do much; and receive all humans with a pleasant countenance. (Pirkei Avot 1:15)
- He used to say: do not despise any person, and do not discriminate against anything, for there is no human that doesn’t have their hour, and there is no thing that has not its place. (Pirkei Avot 4:3)
- If you give your fellow person all the best gifts in the world with a grumpy face, Scripture regards it as if you had give the person nothing. But when you receive a fellow human with a cheerful face, you are credited as though you had given the person all the best gifts in the world. (Avot de Rabbi Natan 13, 29a)
- Rabbi Mathia ben Harash said: Upon meeting people, be the first to extend greetings. (Pirkei Avot 4:16)
- Rabban Gamliel used to say: ‘Act in secret as you act in public.’ (Avot de Rabbi Natan 32, 36a)
- …Who is rich? One who rejoices in their lot, as it is said: “You shall enjoy the fruit of your labors, you shall be happy and you shall prosper” (Psalms 128:2)
- You shall be happy in this world, and you shall prosper in the world to come. (Pirkei Avot 4:1)
- When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation, and I could indeed have changed the world. (Rabbi Yisrael Salanter)
- Modeh Ani L’fanecha… I am grateful before You, living and eternal King, for returning my soul to me with compassion. You are faithful beyond measure. (Morning liturgy)
Other Quotes on Choosing a life of Joy and Happiness:
- The door to happiness opens outwards (Soren Kierkegaard)
- You never know what is enough, unless you know what is more than enough. (William Blake)
- Happiness in this world, when it comes, comes incidentally. Make it the object of pursuit, and it leads us on a wild-goose chase, and is never attained. Follow some other object, and possibly we may find that we have caught enough happiness without dreaming of it. (Nathanial Hawthorne)
- The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. (Joseph Addison)