How much more must a person be happy about the many commandments from which a person may derive personal benefit and enjoyment at the same time as he receives heavenly reward for them. Examples of this include when one blesses Hashem for our pleasures and His kindnesses, and when one prays for and requests one’s personal needs etc., as these are themselves considered having performed a good deed and they give great pleasure to the Creator and he will receive reward for them. Can there be another thing as sweet as this? Similarly, one who eats and drinks on Shabbos or the festivals etc., has fulfilled a commandment, gives pleasure to his Creator and will receive a reward for this. Even when we are discussing actions which are not in themselves good deeds such as eating, drinking, sleeping and doing business, if one does them for the sake of heaven they will be considered as good deeds and he will receive reward. For this Klal Yisrael should rejoice with tremendous together with his Creator; how fortunate are we, how good is our lot and how pleasant is our portion!
Chazal said that even though the reward for a good deed is not given in this world, the reward for the happiness which a person feels when performing the good deed will be received in this world. The greatest reward that a person can receive for being happy is that through the happiness he merits to achieve high levels of wisdom and perfection, as the Ar”I Zal revealed when discussing his own secret. He said that the only reason that he merited to reach such astonishingly high levels of wisdom and Ruach Hakodesh (ability to understand and see things with divine assistance) was because he used to rejoice with tremendous happiness when delving into the Torah and performing each one of the commandments to the extent that he was happier each time than one who had found a vast treasure. It follows that the reward for performing one commandment is that one performs another one.
