Back
Joy
The Benefits of JoyJoy leads a person to act energetically and it opens his heart, whereas sadness brings on heaviness and laziness. When people struggle, the energetic person will nearly always emerge victorious over the lazy but strong person. Similarly, we can triumph in our struggle against the evil inclination only with the energy that flows from true joy.
It is necessary to state a fundamental principle: Just as in victory over something physical, such as when two people struggle to knock each other down, and one of the combatants fights with laziness and sluggishness, it is easy to defeat him and he will fall, even if he is stronger than his opponent, so too, in achieving victory over the [evil] inclination. It cannot be defeated with the laziness and sluggishness that stem from sadness that seals his heart like a stone. Rather, [victory is achieved] only through alacrity, which stems from the joy of an open heart, purified of any nagging worry or sadness.
Joy brings out a person’s hidden strengths, and thereby allows him to overcome ordinary limitations. While experiencing joy, a person can rise above his weaknesses and limitations.
We see that, in general, the nature of joy is to break barriers, any barrier or limitation on the soul…. When a person is in a state of great joy, such as at his child’s wedding, abilities that are generally concealed and buried become manifest. For instance, consider someone who is naturally shy and sensitive and is embarrassed to stand in front of people or to speak in public, especially in the presence of people greater than he. When he experiences joy, he becomes like one who is naturally strong and confident. He is able to speak before people who are greater and better than he. He will not be embarrassed at all and will not feel lowly or downtrodden, and he will act like someone who is naturally self-confident…. This is because joy brings out one’s latent, inner strengths to the point that it breaks the barriers of his normal limitations.