Can a person stay truly happy all the time? While life has its difficult moments, we can maintain an inner happiness despite the fact that we cry outwardly sometimes. The secret lies in coming out of Egypt -- every day.

Hashem calls us avadai - "my servants who I have taken out of the land of Egypt -- I am Hashem your G-d".

Egypt is the saddest county on earth because it has all of its needs taken care of always. It has the Nile River, which provides water for all the people all the time. They don't have to pray for rain - the Nile is always there to irrigate their fields. This is a sad state of affairs because it makes Egypt a place of impurity. Why?

The Egyptian does not have to rely on G-d - only the Nile. He does not have to pray - he relies only on himself. When a person thinks that he or she "has it all" and need not rely on G-d this is spiritual impurity. Such a person says:

"Kochi V'otzem Yadi Asa Li es hachayil hazch" - my strength and the power of my hands allowed me to do this" - I am a "self made man". This is conceit and haughtiness, an attitude exemplified by Pharoh who said:

"Li Haye' or V' an Asisini -- I am the Nile and I created it." He considered himself to be G-d - he believed he did not have to rely on a higher power for anything. This distancing oneself from G-d is the source of all impurity.

Twice a day in the Shema, mornings and evenings, we remind ourselves to come out of our "self sufficiency " mode as we say :

Asher Hotzeisichem Me'eretz Mizrayim." -- who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

The word Mitzrayim is made up of two words "metzar yom" -- "narrow straits". To think that you are in total control and are self sufficient is "mitzrayim" -- Egyptian thinking. It puts you in a "narrow" frame of mind. Every day we can "come out " of Egypt - by reminding ourselves - in humility - that we must rely on and pray to G-d, who has given us the privilege of being in this world. And this thought, morning and evening, will give us an inner happiness simply for the gift of life. Even if things get tough, we can maintain an "inner state" of joy at just being alive.

This can lead us to real happiness -- an inner sense of contentment that stays with us even when things are outwardly challenging. When things are difficult, we don't rely on ourselves - we rely on Hashem and this gives us the strength to keep going. It also gives us an inner calm and contentment that carries us through life's ups and downs.