[Avodah] Simchah and Oneg

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, February 13, 2008 5:17 pm, R Zev Sero wrote:
: There's no mitzvah of simcha on Shabbos.  There's only oneg, and it
: seems obvious that that depends entirely on ones subjective tastes,
: including transient moods....

Thanks for pointing out to me, yet again, the distinction.

Mentally, I define the two identically, which is why (I guess) I
confuse them. Simchah is related to wanting and having, because it is
possible to be "sameiach bechelqo". "Oneg" is related to wanting and
having, as the Tanya talks about the process of getting from ratzon to
taanug. (Processes, belashon rabim: ratzon and taanug exist in Nara"n,
or perhaps all the aspects of the soul, Nara"n cha"i. Unfortunately, I
forgot where it is discussed, and Google was of no help. Remedial
Chabad courses that don't clutter the discussion with m"m dominated
the search results.)


What does it say about simchah, that it has a codified non-subjective
definition, whereas oneg does not? Does it imply anything about
simchah as a midah?

I ask because I wrote about sameiach bechelqo on Aspaqlaria yesterday
<>. My suggestion was that "chelqo" isn't one's state at any point in
time, but one's trip. It's a thought that makes it easier for me to
cope with nisyonos, the pekelach everyone has in their lives.

But in light of RZS's post, I notice my notion also implies a possible
distinction to oneg, which could be about current state. And that
would mean simchah requires more indoctrination than oneg; which would
justify defining matbei'os by which to learn it.

SheTir'u baTov!
-micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "Man wants to achieve greatness overnight,
micha at aishdas.org        and he wants to sleep well that night too."
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