Simcha!!

Simchah (joy) is a bulldozer that can break through barriers; depression, although not reckoned among the 365 negative commandments, leads to the lowest spiritual depths.

In the Chassidic way of life, "Serve G-d with joy!" is the living agenda of a chassid. Imagine two wrestlers. One may be physically stronger than the other, but it is the one with enthusiasm that will win. Similarly in the service of G-d, the "animal soul" is in constant combat with the "G-dly soul," and only with a happy disposition and Heavenly aid will a person overcome his darker nature.

In Tanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalman explains that if a person is saddened by his spiritual state and yearns for a higher plateau, then the bitterness can act as the springboard to renewed vigor in climbing the spiritual ladder. However, if the sadness turns into depression, which is translated into apathy, it stems from the scheming Evil Inclination.

Happiness may be defined as the knowledge that at all times one is doing what G-d wants.

The previous Lubavitcher Rebbe recorded in his memoirs that there once lived a Jew called, 'Reb Yisrael the happy one'. He would always be found jumping for joy, and would oft refrain, "If Reb Yisrael, who's a nobody, can give G-d pleasure by doing a mitzvah, should I not jump and dance with joy?"

His point was simple. In comparison with G-d, we are nothing. Yet G-d has communicated to us that He has pleasure when we observe His commandments. To think that a mortal human flesh and blood can bring joy to Almighty G-d is truly wondrous and certainly the cause for celebration. Reb Yisroel understood the greatness of this opportunity. He understood that we have been endowed with a unique gift- the ability to become attached and bound up with Holiness.