Cytowanie Komentarza do Psalmów 100:2

“Take a census” [4:22]. King Solomon said. “Justice done is a joy to the righteous, to evildoers, ruination” [Proverbs, 21:15]. The verse teaches us that it is woeful to the evildoer to do justice and right. However, for the righteous it is a great joy to do justice and fulfill commandments, and that no robbery and theft should occur in his city. However, the evildoer fears justice, that he should not be punished for his evil. King Solomon lets me know that the person is obligated to rejoice and be joyful at fulfilling every commandment. He should rejoice wholeheartedly when he fulfills a commandment. The Holy One gives him a reward for the joy that he has in connection to the commandment, just like He was at the event Himself, as the verse says, “worship the Lord in gladness” [Psalms, 100:2]. Worship God with joy and therefore, those who sang in the Temple had to have a good voice. In the wilderness, they also had to sing with good voices and beautiful instruments in the Tabernacle, at the sacrifices, expecting that the joy should be on the people who were present at the sacrifices. Therefore, the verse says about the sacrifices, “subject to duties of service” [4:47]. Our sages write. What kind of work is the work that serves others in their work? The explanation is that the Levites had to serve to bring joy that they should do the other work with joy. That is, offering the sacrifices with joy.¹Bahya, Naso, Introduction.

(1) BEFORE ADONAI YOUR GOD, AND YOU SHALL FEAST. "Worship Adonai in gladness" (Ps. 100:2) as is appropriate for anyone who serves out of love.

Solomon, by implication, exhorts us to be joyful when performing G’d’s commandments and when seeing others perform them. This is why he speaks about עשות משפט, “the dispensing of justice,” in the infinitive. He does not speak about particular people dispensing justice but refers to the phenomenon which when observed inspires great joy.
Naturally, the joy which accompanies the performance of a commandment by an individual Jew is in a class by itself. Seeing that performance of the commandments is called עבודת ה', “serving the Lord,” we can understand what is written in Deut. 28,16 תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלוקיך בשמחה, “on account of the fact that you did not perform the commandments of the Lord your G’d with joy, etc.” When David writes in Psalms 100,2 עבדו את ה' בשמחה, “serve the Lord with joy,” he does not refer to the offering of sacrificial animals but to the performance of each and every commandment which it is our duty to perform. Joy is the ingredient which makes service of the Lord something perfect. This concept helps us understand the unusual phrase in Numbers 4,46 לעבוד עבודת עבודה. Concerning this expression our sages in Erchin 11 ask what kind of service this is that the Torah speaks of there. The answer given in the Talmud is that the Torah speaks of offering songs and hymns. The Levites are commanded to offer songs and encourage expressions of joy to accompany the sacrificial offerings. All of this was to ensure that joy is the prevailing sentiment accompanying service of the Lord.
It is well known that the age of thirty is the age at which man is at the zenith of his physical power (Avot end of chapter 5). Beginning with the age of fifty our physical strength begins to decline. This is the reason that the years during which the Levites perform active service are between the ages of 30-50. How would he be able to offer song to G’d at a time when he feels that his physical strength is already beginning to ebb? This is also why we have been taught in Chulin 24 that although Levites who are afflicted with certain physical blemishes are not disqualified from performing their service, they are disqualified as soon as they are over fifty years of age. This is why the Torah writes in 8,25: “from fifty years of age he shall withdraw from the legion of work and no longer work.” This is also why the census of the Levites included the ones between the ages of 30-50 only.