The Amount of Sadness is up To Us

All 13 of the children of the Chidushei Harim zy”a died during his lifetime. While he was sitting shiva for one of his sons, he did not appear sad or anguished. He spoke pleasantly with those who visited him, as if he had not just experienced a terrible tragedy. His Rebbitzen was very troubled by this and said, “Why are you acting as if a chicken just died?”

He answered, “What happened was a Heavenly decree. But the amount of anguish we have to feel as a result of this tragedy is up to us.”