T24 (Tinyana) PNC - Joy Heals — The Ten Melodies and the Pulses

Always be in joy — it is a great mitzvah. All sicknesses come from a defect in simchah. There are ten kinds of melody (the ten neginos referenced in Tehillim 92:4 'alei asor'), and these ten melodies enter the body through the ten pulses (depakim) and animate them. Damage one of the ten neginos and you damage one of the ten depakim — illness follows. Even the doctors agree all sickness traces back to marah shechorah and atzvus. In the time to come Hashem will be the rosh chulah — both 'head of the dance' and 'head of the sick' (since the Shechinah hovers over the sick person's head, Tehillim 41:4). Joy and dancing literally undo sickness.

The principle: force yourself with all your strength to be joyful all day, every day. Human nature drifts toward depression because life is full of blows; everyone carries sufferings. So gladden yourself with whatever works, even with mili de-shtusa (foolish words) — clowning, silly stories. A broken heart is also very good but only at a fixed hour: assign one hour a day to break your heart and pour out your sichah before Hashem. The rest of the day must be simchah. Why? Because from a broken heart it is easy to slide into actual marah shechorah; from joy you are more likely to land in light foolishness than in despair. The fixed-hour boundary is what keeps the broken heart productive instead of corrosive.