simcha

Noun

simcha (countable and uncountable, plural simchas or simchot or simchoth)

1. (Judaism, uncountable) joy
   • 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
   • 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. (Judaism, countable) a celebration
   • 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 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