[Avodah] Jewish Joyfulness

[Yitzchok Levine]

I have posted RSRH's essay titled Jewish Joyfulness that appears in 
Volume VIII of his Collected Writings  at 
http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/jewish_joyfulness.pdf  Note 
the sentence, "The Jew needs no intermediary between himself and his God."  YL

In this essay he writes:

The Jew knows only one cause for bitterness, one enemy of his serene 
joyfulness-it is the awareness of sin, of guilt, of having forfeited 
his life's purity. And even here, too, the incomparable majesty of 
Divine teachings comes to the rescue. Even the seasoned sinner will 
not be deprived of life's serenity forever. Judaism knows not only 
death but also redemption from sin. The seasoned sinner must 
earnestly declare his willingness to free himself from the shackles 
of sin once he has tasted the bitter cup of iniquity-and then God 
will be near to him, will meet him halfway, will help him overcome 
the antagonist within him. And God will be ready at any moment to 
take back the sinner in a warm embrace and grant him renewed 
happiness in life, cleansed of all the dreadful wrongs of his past.

The Jew needs no intermediary between himself and his God. His 
transformation and return to God occur in the seclusion of his own 
heart. Within his own heart there may be shadows of darkness, yet his 
own heart will once again radiate with the beams of daylight. Even if 
he had lost his God on his own volition, he will find his God once 
again on his own initiative, and at every moment, at every turn he 
can find  Him (Isaiah 55,6):  "Seek God for He desires to be found; 
call Him for He is so close. Let the sinner change his ways and the 
unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return to our God; and God 
will show him mercy, He never tires to forgive." God has spoken - the 
Jew hears it, and he turns back and stands upon the most glorious 
heights in unexpected joy!
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