אות - יט

When a person is joyful the entire day, then it is easy for him to designate an hour of the day for himself to break his heart and to converse before Hashem Yisburach all that is upon his heart, as explained by us many times. But when he has sadness, Heaven forbid, it is difficult for him to do hisbodidus [secluded personal prayer] and to express his words. And see elsewhere (below, article 74) how much a person must strengthen himself to always be joyful, and especially at the time of prayer, and that one must force himself with all one's strength to merit to joy. And he said that to merit to joy — this is difficult and burdensome for a person to merit more than all other devotions. He answered and said: It appears that it is impossible to come to joy except through matters of foolishness [shetut] — to make oneself like a fool and to do humorous and foolish things, etc., as explained elsewhere,[38] and only through this does one come to joy. When a person merits to joy, then Hashem Yisburach Himself guards and saves him from blemish of the bris.[39]