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Sefer Shemos
Parashas Tetzaveh
Shemos: Chapter 30, verse 1
And Aaron shall burn on it incense of
spices; every morning when he prepares the lamps he shall burn it.
MIDRASH TANCHUMA (Parshas
Tizave 16)
But the incense is not brought because
of any sin or transgression or guilt; rather it comes for joy.
Another Midrash
(ibid 14) brings the letters of the Hebrew word for incense as an
abbreviation:
Rav Altosky (Midrash Tanchuma number 38)
combined the ideas of these two Midrashim to
explain the building blocks of joy, which when absent lead to sadness.
1. When a person is removed from
HOLINESS and is sunken in materialism, he is never satisfied with what he
has and therefore is sad. Only when he involves himself in spirituality can
he overcome his sadness and become happy and satisfied with his life.
2. When a person does his Mitzvos with his own personal benefit in mind, he is
constantly at war with himself trying to decide whether he is doing enough
for his ego. On the other hand, when he succeeds in doing them with a PURE
heart and only for the service of his creator, he cancels his ego and
clears his mind in a way that promotes joy.
3. When a person worries that he has
lost his connection with G-d, he feels alone which can lead to being unable
to overcome his loneliness. He should realize that the things that happen
to him are actually supervised by G-d for the purpose of taking care of all
his personal needs. Knowing that G-d is COMPASSIONATE gives one a feeling
of having a close friend who takes care of him, and this leads to joy.
4. A person who loses HOPE no longer
tries to return to his previous status and whatever he does from now on becomes
just a waste of time. G-d allows us to return to Him in repentance. The
idea that the door is always open for one who desires to return to G-d can
fill a person with confidence and joy.
The daily offering of the incense in the
Temple was a constant
reminder that service to G-d helps us rise up from all of our personal
problems.
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