By Rabbi Sara Rich

This week we celebrated Rosh Chodesh Adar – the celebration of the new month of Adar. While all new months are causes for celebration, the month of Adar is uniquely designated as a month of joy. Rav Yehuda teaches in the Talmud, that “when Adar begins, we increase in joy.” The joy continues to increase past the first of the month, as we prepare for Purim and come together in the middle of the month for lively Megillah readings, feasts, and parties.

According to author Pamela Gail Johnson, joy is only one of 31 types of happiness that a person can experience. Ms. Johnson is something of an expert on happiness: in 1998 she founded the Society of Happy People, and the following year she started “Happiness Happens Day.” Her goal is to promote happiness, and to unite people in experiencing more happiness in their lives. One resource she offers is a “Happiness Counter” to help increase our awareness of the happy moments in our lives. She lists her 31 types of happiness, which include feelings such as “confident,” “love,” “spiritual,” and “helpful” and encourages us to notice and note when we feel these forms of happiness.

“Joyful” is one of the types on her list, so hopefully we will track many of these moments during this month of Adar. That said, Ms. Johnson calls joy “a high vibration type of happiness” and one that isn’t as readily attainable as other, more low-key forms of happiness, such as “contentment, amusement, or relief.”

With this framework in mind, we can look forward to Adar, in the dead of winter, as an opportunity for some much-needed jolts of “high vibration happiness.” And, since we are looking to increase our happiness this month, perhaps we can do so not just by experiencing more joy, but by being more mindful of the moments of the other 30 forms of happiness in our lives. We just might be happier than we realized!

Below is the tracker that the Society of Happy People uses to notice the happiness in their days. I encourage you to use this to add to your joy this: month, and to check out the Society of Happy People to learn more. Their website includes Happiness Coupons and a Happiness Bucket List! May your joy increase throughout this month of Adar, alongside all 31 flavors of happiness in your life.

Rabbi Sara Rich serves Temple Beth Tzedek and is a Senior Jewish Educator with the Buffalo Jewish Federation. The Buffalo Jewish Community brings her immense simcha!