Likutei `Etzot -- Happiness
(Collected Advices of Rebbi Nachman Z"TzUKL)
Literal translation from Hebrew by Nissim Kaufmann Sh"Y, last
changed
11/10/05
Happiness 1
Through
seeing the face of the Tzaddik one attains happiness and
quickness (Likutei Moharan 4).
Happiness 2
One must do
the mitzvot in such great joy that one does not want any
reward of the Coming World for it,
rather that
the Holy One, blessed be He, should summon him another
mitzvah in reward for that mitzvah,
for he
enjoyed from the mitzvah itself.
And through
this one can know what is decreed upon the world,
and if it is
before the decree is passed or after the decree is
passed,
and upon just
whom is passed the judgement, God forbid, and knows
how to pray for the world,
for after a
decree the Tzaddikim must clothe their prayers in
stories,
and all this
they merit through doing mitzvot in great joy from the
mitzvah itself (Likutei Moharan 5).
Happiness 3
The way to
attain this joy is by praying in force and in great fear
and in love etc.
As it says in
the prayer (Likutei Moharan 5).
Happiness 4
By dancing
and hand-clapping are made sweetening of harsh judgements
(Likutei Moharan 10).
Happiness 29
"And one must
strengthen himself
that he
should come to happiness by whatsoever possible,
and to try
and to ask to find in himself some good points
in order to
come to happiness,
as explained
about the verse "Azam’ra l’Elohai Be`odi" -
I will sing
praise to my God while I have my being
(Ps. 104:33 -
and see Hitchazqut/Self-Strengthening:26).
And in any
case he should be happy in this -
that he
merited to be of the seed of Israel, that He did not make
him a gentile.
and this
happiness is certainly a wonderful happiness without measure
and in it is
no confusion since it is a work of the Lord,
Blessed-be-He, Himself (and see another place than this).
And let him
be regular to say in his mouth and in his heart in great
happiness,
"Blessed is
our God who created us for his glory and made us
different from those who err" etc.
And in this
he shall be able to make happy all his days in
whatsoever happens to him.
Also
sometimes they need to make the self happy by means of words of
nonsense and words of jest.
And because
of the multitude of troubles of the man,
that each one
suffers in body and soul and money.
Therefore
usually they are not able to make the self happy
except by
means of words of nonsense, to make the self like one who
is drunk
in order to
come to happiness, which all the life of the body and
the soul depends on this.
Also above is
made from this a great unification through "joking of
his mind (B’Dicha Da`ateih)" - that is, happiness.
Happiness 30
"It is a big
mitzvah to be in happiness always,
and necessary
to strengthen oneself much with all the forces
to make far
the sadness and the black bile
to be only
happy always,
and it is
healing for all kinds of sicknesses.
Because all
kinds of sicknesses come from sadness and black bile,
and one must
make himself happy by all kinds of advices,and usually through words of
nonsense specifically, as mentioned
above."