In honor of the month of Adar—when we increase our joy—and the holy days of Purim that are fast approaching, we present to you a collection of teachings from The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, about the immense greatness of joy, drawn from his shiurim and his letters >>> What is the main battle in the world? >>> What can a person merit through joy? >>> And more segulos that are brought about through joy

• Rabbi Nosson of Breslov says that a person’s main avodah is the battle against sadness. For this, one needs real self-sacrifice—never to allow sadness to take control.
• A person says: “It’s hard for me to be happy.” What—only for you it’s hard to be happy? It’s hard for everyone to be happy! Joy comes only with self-sacrifice; a person reaches joy only through self-sacrifice.
• It is an act of the Satan that you should not be in joy—that you should not dance and not rejoice. Because there are endless reasons to be sad. But a person must know: there are all kinds of kelipos upon him, and only joy is what will shatter the kelipos. This purifies from the impurity of death.
• Everyone goes through insults and humiliations. The intensity of the upheavals each person goes through—in body and soul—with such great and powerful pressure, makes it human nature to be sad. This is the nature: not to be in joy.
• Sadness grows so strong that one needs literal self-sacrifice against it—like a person going to sanctify Hashem’s Name.
• Rebbe Nachman of Breslov says in his sefer Sefer HaMiddos (Joy, Part 2, 1): “One who is always happy—through this he succeeds.” This is the idea of Yosef HaTzaddik. The Midrash says he was a gever kapuz, and the commentary Matanos Kehunah explains: “A man who leaps, exults, is happy, and of good heart—skipping over mountains.” He dances inside the prison. For thirteen years he does not stop dancing. Hashem is with him. He sees only Hashem.
• “I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up.” He sees only the “Anochi Hashem”—he does not see Egypt, he does not see Pharaoh, he does not see anything; he sees only Hashem. Even though he is alone, and they already drove him out of the house, sold him to Arabs, and now he is in prison on a blood libel—after all this he still leaps, exults, and rejoices, because he is with Hashem. And then Yosef HaTzaddik merits to be among the Seven Shepherds. Precisely after everything they did to him: “And Yosef was a successful man.”
• Through constant joy, a person merits to be included within Hashem, and to carry out His will. (Tefillah Le’Ani, prayers recorded by The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a)
• If a person would know the greatness of the root of his neshamah, he would soar in the air from sheer joy. (Tefillah Le’Ani)
• One who does not fall from rejoicing and being happy in Hashem through all his descents, merits tremendous ascents and Godly perceptions—like one of the great members of the elite who ascend. (Tefillah Le’Ani)
• “The main thing is joy. And all awakenings are only [meant] to serve Hashem with greater intensity and greater strength—Heaven forbid not to fall from anything, but only to rise and rise ever more, with tremendous joy, with tremendous holiness, without end and without limit.” (Alei Siach, a sefer containing letters of encouragement written by The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a over many decades)
• “…And the main thing is to know that everything must be done with tremendous joy, without end and without limit. Then you will see salvations, miracles, and wonders, without end and without limit—as it is written: ‘To Him Who alone performs great wonders, for His kindness is forever.’” (Alei Siach)
• “Now we only need to strengthen ourselves with all our might in Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and rejoice with him. Because the main thing is only joy in the Rebbe; besides this, everything is imagination. All worries are imagination. From all the problems there will only be gladness and joy. And in every person it is going and being fulfilled that all his days of mourning are turned into gladness and joy. A person’s obligation is only to rejoice and rejoice and rejoice… without limit—just as Rabbi Nosson of Breslov writes to his son, that ‘you will regret every time you were not in joy.’” (Alei Siach)
• “Because life passes, and a person asks himself: Why wasn’t I in joy earlier? For everything passes, and everything is only imagination. And the main obligation is to know this in advance—and only to dance and dance, as Rebbe Nachman of Breslov writes: one who is always happy wins.” (Alei Siach)
• “The main thing is to be like the Tam (as told by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in Sippurei Ma’asiyos)—to rejoice in one’s portion even if it is a shoe with three corners, and to rejoice in Hashem with enthusiasm. For Hashem will not abandon you, and you will rise higher and higher in the levels of Torah. You will see tremendous success in everything your hands do, and you have nothing to worry about.” (Alei Siach)
• “The main thing is to guard constant joy. Even Hisbodedus must be in a way that brings tremendous joy, since the entire foundation of Rebbe Nachman is joy. And there is a tremendous obligation to rejoice in every mitzvah and every mitzvah, and in every good point. And the more we merit to rejoice, the more we merit to receive every good thing and to rise higher and higher in Torah and yirah. For complete trust—the felt awareness that Hashem is with us unceasingly—means that we must not allow any thought of sadness to enter us; not to be poor in understanding, but only happy with tremendous, infinite joy.” (Alei Siach)
• “And the main thing is never to forget to strengthen oneself each time with extra joy, and to believe with complete Emunah that everything that passes over me is for my benefit; not to grieve too much over anything, but only to strengthen oneself in the joy of Hashem all day—then we will see Hashem’s salvations wherever we turn.” (Alei Siach)
• “We must be so careful of sadness, as we are careful of the greatest enemy, and not allow sadness to come near us in any way.” (Alei Siach)
• “And the main thing is to know that every time a person needs a salvation, they test him from Above. And the essence of the test is that they bring him some situation and want to see whether he will truly strengthen himself with real joy. And when he truly strengthens himself, that is a sign that he truly wanted to do the will of Hashem, blessed be He. Because when a person strengthens himself with joy, it is a sign—as I heard from R’ Betzalel Friedman—that he is truly seeking, at every moment, to do the will of Hashem, blessed be He. Therefore, what does it matter to him where he is, and what is being done with him? For at every moment I must bring pleasure to my Creator and Acquirer. If so, at this moment I must bring Him pleasure by strengthening myself with extra, infinite joy, and by actually feeling Hashem’s kindness that He has done with me, and that He does with me at every single moment.” (Alei Siach)