My dear friends and brothers, beloved anshei shlomeinu, each one should be blessed with His good name.
In response to the questions I have been asked, at a time when we find ourselves in a period of uncertainty due to the viral illness that continues to spread throughout the world—Hashem should keep us and save us from all illness and affliction, and may all grief cease from the homes of all of klal Yisrael—many wish to know what Hashem requires from us. We will therefore respond with a few lines quoted from sefarim and sofrim:
It is known from the words of Chazal (see Pesachim 117a) that the Shechinah does not rest other than via the simchah of a mitzvah. Accordingly, every single person has the obligation to increase in the service of Hashem with joy, and even more so, to distance himself from depression, Rachamana litzlan, as happens with all illnesses, may Hashem have mercy upon us. Rather, we should fulfill the words of the pasuk (Tehillim 100:2-3), “Ivdu es Hashem b’simchah” (“Serve Hashem with joy”), for then we will merit “De’u ki Hashem Hu Elokim, Hu asanu v’lo anachnu” (“Know that Hashem is G-d; He made us, and to Him we belong”). We will also merit the sweetening of the judgments and be saved from all trouble, distress, affliction and illness, with Hashem’s help. And as is explained at length in the name of the holy Baal Shem Tov, zy”a, as soon as a person who is going through a time of trouble recognizes that “achein Atah Keil mistateir” (“indeed, You are the G-d Who conceals Himself”), it is no longer a concealment and nispardu “kol po’alei aven” (“all of the evildoers are scattered”).
It is known from the words of Chazal (see Pesachim 117a) that the Shechinah does not rest other than via the simchah of a mitzvah. Accordingly, every single person has the obligation to increase in the service of Hashem with joy, and even more so, to distance himself from depression, Rachamana litzlan, as happens with all illnesses, may Hashem have mercy upon us. Rather, we should fulfill the words of the pasuk (Tehillim 100:2-3), “Ivdu es Hashem b’simchah” (“Serve Hashem with joy”), for then we will merit “De’u ki Hashem Hu Elokim, Hu asanu v’lo anachnu” (“Know that Hashem is G-d; He made us, and to Him we belong”). We will also merit the sweetening of the judgments and be saved from all trouble, distress, affliction and illness, with Hashem’s help. And as is explained at length in the name of the holy Baal Shem Tov, zy”a, as soon as a person who is going through a time of trouble recognizes that “achein Atah Keil mistateir” (“indeed, You are the G-d Who conceals Himself”), it is no longer a concealment and nispardu “kol po’alei aven” (“all of the evildoers are scattered”).
In the holy sefer Noam Elimelech (Parshas Va’eira s.v. “O Yomar”) it is written: “The rule is that when one wants to subdue the klipah the person must be happy, because then there can be no melancholy or sorrow. For when this one rises, the other one falls.”
Similarly, the holy Rebbe of Barditchev, zy”a, wrote in his sefer Kedushas Levi (Parshas Vayeitzei s.v. “Vayar V’hinei B’eir”): “It is known that Hashem always desires to bestow goodness upon His nation of Yisrael, but k’vayachol the sitra achara inhibits the flow of abundance. However, when the Yidden awaken themselves with simchah, it pushes away the chitzonim from being able to withhold the abundance. Then Hashem, with His great mercy and kindness, bestows an abundance of brachah on His nation Yisrael.”
Similarly, the holy Rebbe of Barditchev, zy”a, wrote in his sefer Kedushas Levi (Parshas Vayeitzei s.v. “Vayar V’hinei B’eir”): “It is known that Hashem always desires to bestow goodness upon His nation of Yisrael, but k’vayachol the sitra achara inhibits the flow of abundance. However, when the Yidden awaken themselves with simchah, it pushes away the chitzonim from being able to withhold the abundance. Then Hashem, with His great mercy and kindness, bestows an abundance of brachah on His nation Yisrael.”
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