That is the authentic Christian note, a sign of those who are on the way of salvation. Joy is characteristic of Christian pilgrimage. It is the second in Paul’s list of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22–23). It is the first of Jesus’ signs in the Gospel of John (turning water into wine). It was said of the Hasid Levi-Yitzhak of Berditchev: “His smiles were fraught with greater meaning than his sermons.”3 The same thing can be said of much of the Bible: its smiles carry more meaning than its sermons.
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