“You Shall Rejoice”: 6 Ways to Bring More Joy Into Sukkot

During Sukkot and Simchat Torah, we have a special mitzvah: “And you shall rejoice in your festival.”

It is an enormous mitzvah, one that carries great reward and tremendous educational value. It is also an opportunity to bring more joy into our lives, not only during the holiday itself, but potentially throughout the entire year.

But the yetzer hara is no fool. It has plenty of experience convincing us to miss the moment, let opportunities slip away, and lose hope.

There is a general yetzer hara, but individual mitzvot seem to come with their own particular challenges, too. Right before learning Torah, we suddenly feel exhausted. When it is time to pray, a hundred other thoughts demand our attention. And somehow, right after eating meat, that coffee with milk suddenly looks especially tempting.

Sound familiar?

The mitzvah of rejoicing on the holiday has its own obstacles as well. So how can we make the most of these precious days and create more moments of genuine joy?

1. Stay Away From the Joy-Killers

This may not be the ideal time to pick up a book about the Holocaust or plan a visit to Yad Vashem.

Think about the things that tend to drain your joy. Is it constantly checking the news? Getting pulled into political arguments? Spending too much time around negativity?

As much as possible, give yourself permission to step away from those things during the holiday. Protecting your joy can sometimes mean being careful about what you allow into your mind.

2. Do More of What Brings You Joy

Our Sages teach about celebrating the festival with meat and wine, while Sefer Yereim also emphasizes the importance of the things that personally bring a person happiness.

That means we need to know ourselves.

What genuinely lifts your spirits? A beautiful meal? Music? A walk? Spending time with people you love? Singing in the sukkah? Playing with your children?

Joy does not always appear by accident. Sometimes we have to deliberately make space for the things that awaken it.

3. Let Your Actions Lead Your Heart

Sometimes we wait until we feel happy before acting happy. But it can work in the opposite direction, too.

What we do on the outside can influence what happens on the inside.

Sing. Dance. Laugh. Allow yourself to be a little silly.

Even if your heart is not completely there at first, joyful actions can sometimes help bring it along.

4. Make Someone Else Happy

One of the most powerful ways to experience joy is to create it for somebody else.

The Torah tells us: “And you shall rejoice in your festival—you, your son, and your daughter...” The mitzvah of holiday joy is not meant to remain an individual experience. It extends to the people around us, and halacha likewise emphasizes bringing joy to the members of one’s household.

There is something deeply fulfilling about making another person happy.

So think creatively. What would make your spouse smile? What would make the children excited? Is there someone at the table who could use a little extra attention? Could you invite someone who might otherwise be alone?

When we actively look for ways to bring joy to others, we help create a happier atmosphere for everyone, including ourselves.

5. Train Yourself to Notice the Good

Joy is not simply a mood that appears when everything is going perfectly.

Life rarely works that way.

Sometimes our expectations themselves become the obstacle. We imagine exactly how the holiday should look, how everyone should behave, how the meal should go, and how happy we should feel. When reality fails to match that picture, frustration quickly follows.

Instead, pause and notice what is good right now.

The meal may not be perfect, the children may be noisy, and something may have gone completely differently from what you planned. But there is still good to notice and appreciate.

Choosing to focus on those blessings can change the way we experience the moment.

6. Pray for Joy

And finally, ask Hashem for it.

Like so many things in life, joy begins with our effort but ultimately remains a gift.

We can create the right environment, work on our perspective, sing, dance, spend time with people we love, and deliberately notice the good. But after all our efforts, we can also simply pray:

Hashem, help me experience the joy of these days.

The mitzvah of rejoicing applies throughout the festival, including Chol HaMoed. That gives us many opportunities to work on it.

Not everything is within our control. But we can try to create an atmosphere in which we are calmer, more present, and more open to joy.

Instead of waiting for happiness to arrive on its own, we can look for it, create it, and grab the joyful moments when they appear.

And if we learn to practice that during Sukkot, then, with Hashem’s help, perhaps some of that joy will remain with us long after the holiday is over.