Daily Tanya Wednesday 21st Shevat: Chapter 26 Part 2: How to rid oneself of sadness and melancholiness regarding worldly matters:

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  1. How to rid oneself of sadness and melancholiness regarding worldly matters:
  • [After having explained the great harm that sadness can cause in one’s battle against the evil inclination and how one must always be in a state of joy during the battle, the Alter Rebbe will now explain what to do regarding depression and sadness that results from worldly matters.] The following is the advice on how one can banish and purify his heart from any sadness or worry regarding worldly matters, even if they relate to core issues such as one’s children, health, or livelihood.
  • Blessing G-d and rejoicing even in the bad: It is well known to everyone the saying of the sages that just as one is to bless G-d for good occurrences so too he should bless G-d for the bad occurrences. The Talmud explains this to mean that one should accept the suffering and bless G-d for it with the same amount of joy as he would have by those occurrences that are good in the revealed sense.

 

  1. Suffering is in truth from a much higher level of Divine interaction, than is blessing:
  • Gam Zu Letova-Finding the good even in the bad: The reason for this is because even the bad that occurs to a person is really all for a good and positive purpose and it is simply that the positive purpose is not revealed and known to the eyes of man.
  • Revealed bad derives from a higher level of holiness: The reason that this intended ultimate good becomes expressed in this world in a form of evil and suffering is because it comes from the level of the concealed world which are above the revealed words. This good which is expressed in a negative manner derives from the letters Yud Kei from the name Havaya of G-d as opposed to the revealed worlds which come from the letters Vav Kei of the Divine name. It is due to this that Scripture states that praised be the man who G-d brings suffering to, as this embraces the man with a much deeper level of good.
  • Rejoicing in suffering: It is due to the above that the sages state that those who rejoice in their suffering are referred to by Scripture as the friends of G-d and will merit in the future to have the might of the sun shine on them [which is an allegory to the revelation of G-d]. The joy that one has in his suffering shows that he cares more about his love and closeness to G-d than he does of all the matters of this world, as it states in the verse that “better is your kindness than is actual life.” Now, the closeness that one can achieve with G-d is infinitely greater when he receives an expression of G-d from the hidden worlds, which contains hidden in it the might of G-d, as it states in Scripture “Yosheiv Beseiser Elyon,” that the most supernal level rests specifically in the concealed words.

 

  1. The future reward for those who rejoice in suffering:
  • The sun will come out of its sheath in the future: Those who rejoice in their suffering merit in the future to have the sun come out in its might to shine on them. This refers to the fact that in the future times the sun will come out of its protective layer with which it is covered with in this world, and hence in the future the sun will be revealed from its concealed state.
  • Revelation of concealed worlds: Spiritually, this refers to the fact that in the future the concealed worlds will be revealed and shine with great and powerful revelation within this world.
  • Revelation is only for those who rejoiced in their suffering: Now, this powerful revelation of G-d in the future will specifically be felt by those who in this world have taken shade in G-d, by rejoicing in their suffering due to the closeness that they feel to G-d during those times. In this sense, the term shade refers to the shade of the wisdom of G-d which does not contain revealed G-dliness, and hence revealed good is not apparent from it.

About The Author

Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and twelve children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.

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