We all know that being happy today is a daily challenge. Between our personal daily struggles, the challenges of those we are close to, and the hardships that are happening globally, it’s easy to fall to a place of sadness. And yet we still yearn and often times work towards a feeling of true happiness and inner peace.
Rebbe Nachman has a famous Torah, (Torah 24, Likuety Maharan), which he begins with the well known phrase “It is a great Mitzvah to be happy always”. He explains in this Torah that we must be strong to move away from sadness with all our power. But how do we do this? Rebbe Nachman brings many practical advices on how we can bring happiness into our lives, even when we are feeling consumed by sadness and depressing thoughts
This is a list of three of the advices that Rebbe Nachman brings, on how to be happy:
Movement & Dance
Many times when we are feeling sad emotionally, our physical body begins to feel it too. A feeling of heaviness, and no desire to move, are often feelings associated with sadness. Rebbe Nachman is telling us that by forcing ourselves in the moment to get up from our space, and move around or dance, happiness is woken up. By our external action, our internal emotions can be altered.
“By dancing, and moving your body, inner happiness is awakened”
Read more about the awesome power of dance
2
Silliness
Rebbe Nachman explains that you must be willing to do silly things in order to pull yourself out of sadness and make yourself laugh! It is of course important to make sure these silly things do not harm anyone else.
So how do we do it?
You can make funny noises, jump around, tell a joke, play a fun game,speak in rhymes…it can be done with friends and even alone. For each person it will be different, according to what will make him laugh and move past the sad rut he is in!
“…It is not possible to be happy, unless you do silly things. To make yourself like a fool, and to do funny things to make yourself laugh…”
Read more about the depth of being silly
3
Judging others favorably
Azamra, which is Torah 282 in Likutei Maharan, is one of the most well known Torahs of Rebbe Nachman. While the first two advices given are mainly external work, This advice is almost entirely internal.
The Torah explains that we must judge every person favorably by finding the good points within him. When we do this, the bad that we saw disappears, and we can begin to truly see the good in him. Not only that, but Rebbe Nachman explains that because we judged him for good in this world, he is then judged favorably and for the good in upper worlds, and all harsh judgments are canceled for him!
“Know, that you need to judge each person favorably”
The same process is equally applicable for each one of us personally. When we are feeling bad, and have dinim (judgments) on ourselves, we must begin to look at the good points within. There is no person in the world, no matter how low they have fallen, or how much harm they have done, that doesn’t have something good within. Many times when we look at our good points, we find that even they are not complete in their goodness. Or we may even see that they are comprised of more bad parts then good. Even so we need to look at these things and pick out the good that is contained within them. It is written (Eyuv 23) that even if there are 999 angels that come to judge a person, and only one is defending him, and even that one that has come to defend him has 999 judgments against him and only one good judgment for him, he is still judged for good. This is what we must do for ourselves. To look at the good we have done even if it is covered by bad or negative things, and know that that small good is much bigger than anything else we may see. Like chaz’al says “Even a tiny light can extinguish the thickest darkness”.
When we look at these good points within and concentrate on them with all our power, we sweeten the harsh judgments, and a smile can once again begin to take shape on our face.
Read more about True Harmony- Finding the Good Points
Rebbe Nachman mentions that it is a common mistake to think to ourselves that these are beautiful advices, but for ME in my current situation, nothing can help. Rebbe Nachman shouts through his Torah that this is simply not true! It is precisely the simplicity of his advices, and the connection to Rebbe Nachman himself, that make them attainable. By connecting to him and keeping the advices, he too can work on our behalf and lift us up to a higher place. These things are not always easy to do, and it may take great strength to put all of our heart and mind into it. But one thing he guarantees is that they are applicable for every single one of us, to help us reach past the sadness that has enveloped our being, and reach a place of happiness again.
It is important to note that these three advices are only a small taste of all the wisdom brought down in each Torah. Each advice brought by Rebbe Nachman is so beautifully intricate, and can be learned in depth over a lifetime. We broke these three down into small paragraphs, in the hopes that each person can apply them in the necessary situation to reach a place of happiness.
Please note: We spent much time and effort to bring the inspirational teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov as accurately as possible in this article. If you find any mistakes in translation or have trouble understanding the article, please let us know! Feel free to comment below.We bless the viewers to be connected to Rebbe Nachman and to his teachings, and to always be happy and inspired…
YES, give me 3 tips to help spreading joy & spirituality! 🙂
Comments (3)
-
Thank you and Rebbe Nachman for this beautiful teaching!
-
Very well written, love the format and content. Who is the author of this article ?
-
Author
We’re happy to hear that you enjoyed the article! the authors are Dena & Ron Caras.
But all the content is from the wisdom of Rabbi Nachman 🙂
-
