Sadness
„All the traits can be elevated, because they have a root in holiness – except for sadness, which has no root at all, for might and joy are in His place. And one must elevate its cause, and since the root is elevated, it too rises. And the root of sadness is either arrogance or anger, or worry that comes from them, and the like.”From Shemonah Kevatzim VI, 130
Every trait has a root that it repairs. When a person is angry, he can use the intensities of his anger for certain things, channeling them toward the good. The same is true of arrogance, and likewise of every single trait. Everything has a good root. There is one trait that has no good root – the trait of sadness. It draws its power from other traits – from a place of arrogance or anger that leads to it. This is not, of course, about the sadness caused by tragedies, but about the sadness we adopt as a trait. When we are in this trait, we must clarify to ourselves its cause. To see the factor causing the sadness and to try to repair the matter from the root.
From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.