simcha

What it means

1. Judaismuncountablejoy

   Each and every one of these blessings is a reason to be full of simcha.

   2001, Moshe Goldberger, 100 Brachos: Counting Your Blessings 100 Times a Day, The Judaica Press, Inc., →ISBN, page 58

   1 more example

   The return to a meaningful and vibrant Judaism, he felt, must contain an ingredient too long denied it. This ingredient was simcha (joy), and it became the cornerstone of the Hasidic movement.

   2017, Velvel Pasternak, Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections, page 223

2. Judaismcountablea celebration

   In 1956, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, forbade any Bat Mitzvah celebration in a synagogue even at night, but allowed a simḥah at home; it's not a Seudat Mitzvah, just a birthday party.

   2024, David Golinkin, “The Origin and History of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah Ceremony”, in Responsa in a Moment, volume 4, page 48

   1 more example

   After the wedding, I received a letter from the bride and her family with profuse thanks for enabling them and the Jewish community of Sheboygan to witness and participate in a "wonderful, traditional simcha"

   2017, Velvel Pasternak, Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections, page 41

In a sentence

Each and every one of these blessings is a reason to be full of simcha.

2001, Moshe Goldberger, 100 Brachos: Counting Your Blessings 100 Times a Day, The Judaica Press, Inc., →ISBN, page 58

Where it comes from

1. Hebrewשִׂמְחָה
2. Yiddishשׂמחה
3. Englishsimcha

From Yiddish שׂמחה (simkhe), from Hebrew שִׂמְחָה (simkhá, literally “happiness”).