Mourning or Joy?
We are in the Nine Days, about which Chazal say we must minimize our joy. Too much joy is always a problem. Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 561:5) teaches, "One may not fill his mouth with laughter in this world." The Yesod VeShoresh HaAvodah teaches that this is especially so during the Three Weeks.
Yet, this doesn't mean we should be sad. A Yid must always serve Hashem with happiness. The Avodas Yisrael (Masei) writes, "Although we should be sad during these days and mourn the churban Beis HaMikdash, nevertheless, we must be strong to serve Hashem with joy when we study Torah and when we daven, and particularly when we praise Hashem. We can explain this with a mashal: It is the way of a human king to possess many things that make him happy – singers, drums, dancers, flutes, and harps. When the king is happy, he doesn't need the singers and musicians. He is happy without them. However, when he is sad, he calls for his musicians to sing and play before him and make him happy. The nimshal is that the malachim in heaven sing and praise Hashem. However, at the time of the churban, there is sadness in the outer chambers. Someone who cares about Hashem must strengthen himself, enter the inner chambers without sadness, and make the honored King happy."
During the Holocaust, people were amazed to see Rebbe Pinchas of Ustila zy'a (the son-in-law of Rebbe Yissachar Dov of Belz zy'a) learning Torah with immense hasmadah. How could he put aside all the pain and devastation and delve into Torah study now? He replied, "People asked my father-in-law this same question during World War I. They couldn’t understand how he had the peace of mind to study Torah then. He explained that studying Torah is even more important during hard times. The Mishnah says, 'When a person is in pain, the Shechinah says, 'My head hurts. My arms hurt,' which means Hashem suffers together with us. We live in a time when Klal Yisrael is in distress, and Hashem is certainly suffering together with us. It’s our duty to make Hashem happy, and nothing brings more joy to Hashem than a Yid studying Torah."
But as we said, these are also days of mourning, and we are obligated to minimize our joy. So, how does a Yid do both? How can he mourn and, at the same time, be happy?
Rebbe Shmelke of Nickelsburg zy'a answers with a mashal: A king was forced to run away from his palace. He arrived at a distant land and stayed at a good friend's home. The king noticed that his host sometimes appeared happy and sometimes seemed sad and asked him about that.
The host replied, "I am happy, and I am sad. I am sad because the king had to leave his palace and come here, but I am also happy because I have the privilege of hosting the king in my home."
Reb Shmelke of Nickelsburg explains that this describes our emotions during the Nine Days and the Three Weeks. We cry bitterly and mourn because the Shechinah is in galus, but we are also happy because the Shechinah is with us.
