“Va’yichad Yitro (And Yitro exulted) over all the good”

The average person does not rejoice in all the types of good at once. There are very many distinctions in the matter of joy. For example, when attending a wedding, one person rejoices in the food he eats—fish, meat and the like—another rejoices in the music, and another rejoices in some other such thing. Others rejoice in the wedding itself, such as the in-laws, who do not focus on the food and drink, but are happy about the wedding itself. And there are other such distinctions.

However, no person rejoices in all the types of joy simultaneously. Even someone who rejoices in all the aforementioned things, does not rejoice in them all together but in each thing separately, one after the other. And there is even an individual who has no joy whatsoever, not from the food or drink or any of the other things. On the contrary, he feels envy and pain, because he is jealous of the match, that this one made a match with that one.

However, the perfection and magnitude of the joy is when a person merits rejoicing in all the good things at once. And this is only possible when he directs his attention above, “over all the good”—i.e., to the root from which all the good is drawn. There, at the root, everything is one, and so he rejoices in all the types of good simultaneously.

Then, the joy is very great and radiates with a very great light. This is because the intermingling of one joy with its companion increases the magnitude of their light.

And the more that the numerous types of joy intermingle, the brighter and brighter the light of the joy grows and the more and more it increases. For the light of the joy grows brighter and increases as a result of each joy shining into its companion. And the more the types of joy that intermingle, the brighter the light shines. Therefore, when the joy in all the good things are merged together, the light of the joy is then very bright on account of the shining from this one to that one, and from that one to this one.

This is the meaning of “va’YiChaD Yitro (And Yitro exulted) over all the good.” His joy was from all the good things b’YaChaD (together). And this is “over all the good.” He directed his attention up above, over all the good—i.e., to the root, where everything is one and where all the types of joy are united. He was therefore joyous over all the good things together.