The Kabbalah of Sadness

Thank you for the interesting interview. I think the interviewer interrupted the other person all the time which I think is not very positive. I would have loved to listen more what he wanted/tried to say. But the good side of the interviewer was his burning spirit (he was very motivated) I could feel that and this I think was very positive. Reply

My doggie passed away suddenly two days ago after a minor surgery, I am deeply sad. Is that a sin? Reply

Strengthen The Positive Side To strengthen the positive side means to do charity work...services work...for others. Through positive action, you are negating evil. Reply

I found this interesting that they are wanting to be bitter instead of sad. I think that there was good point that wasn't addressed in the sense that there are different levels of sadness, different depths. Not all experiences are the same, and therefore only the deepest levels of sadness have the middle step of bitterness before healing. Sadness is not passive, it is actually very difficult to be depressed that requires much effort to strain against. Healing sadness is not action, but a spiritual experience of powerless, and those lessons that are connected to those feelings. There is no empowerment in sadness it is the natural evolution of sadness which becomes empowering. Reply

I live in Japan.
I had a major setback in my plan to convert in Israel.
I was hospitalized and unemployed for nearly 2 years. But I will transform the setback to a stepping stone. Reply

Thank You One of the most helpful things I have ever heard in my life. G-d never forgets me....He always sends a messenger to put me on the right path before long. Thank you Chabad for being the messenger quite often! Reply

OY! Wow this helped me IMMENSELY. Reply

michoel kiegel I wish the interviewer would stop asking redundant questions and let the rabbi, who is clearly more educated than the interviewer, speak. It is difficult for rabbi kaplan to finish one sentence! How annoying to watch. Reply

The Kabbalah of Sadness "The beauty of this world has made me sad, this beauty that will pass". A sunset, a baby's smile, an unexpected kindness from a stranger and a thousand million joys that flesh is heir to, can make me sad. I think it is like a reminder of HOME where all is perfect. We are strangers in this present world. We have been exiled from the Garden and our deepest selves cannot forget the beauty and the happiness which G-d created us for. Sadness is a gentle longing for home. Bitterness is quite something else and yes, fight that tooth and nail. - Blessings Reply

some comments I imagine strengthing your positive side through sin as realizing this particular action, although wrong and sinful and a blemish in your spiritual level, has the power to evoke out of you a greater degree of spiritual devotion. Although i firmly believe one should always strive to stay away from sin. theres no progression like diligence and a very strong moral center. We all want to see others act in upright ways, and anyone who justifies sins for the sake of atonement is sorta living a sabbatean/greek sorta lifestyle. And that in my opinion is abominable and a scourge to the soul of every Jew. I want to believe in the moral strength of others. In humility before G-d, in love and charity to others. In the littlest of things which inspires strength and greater piety to every individual. We should all strive in this way. Reply

what does it mean to strenthen the positive side when one is tempted to sin? as rabbi kaplan mentioned? Reply