Daily Tanya Tuesday 20th Shevat: Chapter 26 Part 1: The need for joy and alacrity in serving G-d and the negation of sadness and depression

Chapter 26: The need for joy and alacrity in serving G-d and the negation of sadness and depression

1. A great rule for the Beinoni-Have zeal and self-confidence against the evil inclination:

• Laziness in battle leads to one’s downfall: The following great rule must be mentioned regarding the Beinoni. Just as when facing an opponent in this physical world, such as when two people are involved in a wrestling match with each person aiming to take down the other, the key to success is zeal, alacrity, and self-determination, and if one of the opponents is lazy and sluggish then he will easily be overcome even if he is physically stronger than his opponent, the same applies spiritually in our battle against the evil inclination, to the same extent.
• To overcome the evil inclination you need to have joy and alacrity: It is not possible for one to overcome his evil inclination with laziness and sluggishness which derive from depression, sadness, and lack of emotion in the heart in which the heart is like a stone. Rather, the key to success against the evil inclination is alacrity which derives from joy. When a person is in a joyous state his heart is open with purity and free of any worry and depression and sadness.

2. Using sadness and depression as a counterattack against the evil inclination:

• Understanding the verse which states that sadness is advantageous in service of G-d: The verse states that there will be positive outcome from every state of sadness [which seems to imply that sadness is a positive ingredient in one’s battle against his evil inclination, in contradiction of that which was stated above].
• No immediate advantage from sadness: However, in truth from here we can imply that the depression itself contains no [immediate] advantage and it is just that positivity can eventually derive from it in the future. [Hence, in a current battle against the evil inclination it can only be overcome with zeal and alacrity as stated above, however, this does not mean that sadness has no place in service of G-d and that no advantage can be gleaned from it, as we will now explain.]

3. The joy in service of G-d that can result from the sadness:

• True joy comes after sadness: What then is the positive outcome that can come out of sadness and depression? A true joy in connection to G-d. This true joy can come after a true depression is experienced for the past sins that a person has committed. This depression is to be aroused at specific times and occasions.
• Breaking the side of evil through being brokenhearted due to one’s sins: When one contemplates his sins at specific times he comes to a state of bitterness of soul and brokenness of heart. This causes the spirit of impurity and Sitra Achra to then be broken and the iron division that was created due to sin between man and his father in heaven falls down.
• The teaching of the Zohar: This concept is stated in the Zohar. On the verse “a broken spirit is a broken heart” the Zohar states that this means that through having a broken heart one breaks the spirit of the forces of evil. Through doing so one then merits the fulfillment of the beginning of the verse which states “let me hear joy and jubilance, return to me joy of your salvation and a pleasant spirit.”
• The joy in G-d that comes after Tikkun Chatzos: It is due to the above reason that the Arizal instituted for this psalm of Lamnatzeiach Mizmor Ledavid to be said after the recital of Tikkun Chatzos, prior to commencing with the accustomed study of Torah. This Psalm was instituted to be said in order so one study Torah with a true joy in connection with G-d, which comes as a result, and as the aftermath, of the broken heartedness and sadness. This joy is of greater quality [than a regular joy] similar to the raised quality of light when it shines during a time of darkness, as the Zohar states on the verse that wisdom has an advantage over foolishness like the advantage of light over darkness.
• The need for joy in service of G-d: It is well known the commentary of the Arizal on the verse “due to that you have not served G-d with joy,” that serving G-d with joy is an essential ingredient in one’s service of G-d, to the point that if one serves G-d without joy then he can be fit for punishment, as stated in the above verse. [Hence, we once again prove our initial statement with which we began the chapter that it is not possible to serve G-d and battle the evil inclination in a state of sadness and rather one must have happiness and alacrity.]