Mi Yodeya is a question and answer site for those who base their lives on Jewish law and tradition and anyone interested in learning more. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
In the opening paragraph of the Shalosh Regalim Amidah's middle section the phrasing is:
... מועדים לשמחה, חגים וזמנים לששון
This M.Y. answer explains the difference in meaning between שמחה and ששון, generally. Why is a מועד associated with שמחה and חגים וזמנים associated with ששון?
As noted in my answer here, all of the sources quoted understand that Sasson is a more intense happiness than Simcha. For this reason, Simcha comes first, and only then do we achieve Sasson. This is noted in the same Chabad article brought there:
ולכן מצד עצם מהות השמחה "ששון" נעלה יותר מ"שמחה" ("מועדים לשמחה", ורק לאחר מכן - "חגים וזמנים לששון"). כי שמחה פנימית היא למעלה משמחה חיצונית.
