The Joy of Hashem Is Your Strength

On Rosh Hashanah the people wept when they heard Ezra explain the Torah and realized how careless they had been in their service. Nechemya told them not to mourn and not to weep, for the day is holy to Hashem. He told them to go home, eat good food, drink sweet wine and send portions to those who had nothing prepared. "The joy of Hashem is your strength," he said. Even a day of sincere regret is a day for joy, and joy is what gives a person the strength to begin again.