Machshava:

Kabbalah 

Collections: Rabbi Weinberger: Living The Derech Of The Ba'al Shem Tov

Description

P. 69. Simcha (joy) through the emunah (belief) that Hashem has put us exactly where we are right now. The joy of being an eved (servant of) Hashem is the hard work put into learning, not the goals of becoming a Talmid Chacham (Torah scholar), Rosh Yeshiva (Head of a Yeshiva), or Posek (Halachic Authority). If a person's goal is dveykus (bonding) with Hashem, then he will be completely connected to the tachlis (the ultimate purpose). Depression comes from expectations, rooted in yeshus (self-absorption), that are not met. In Chassidus, the emphasis is on Avodas Hashem, not about striving in learning, but just to learn to love and fear Hashem. Goals in learning are necessary for growth, but the goals are not the tachlis (purpose). We have to have some Torah that is just between "me and Hashem."