What the Rav said:
Rav Natan says that our work is just to be happy.
Just simple happiness.
Because a person is always sad and depressed. His studies aren’t going well, his praying is not going well. Nothing is going well for him.
Rabbi Nachman revealed to us that because we find ourselves in such a low place, our work is just to be simply happy.
We’re a type of soul who comes to make a kiddush Hashem (a sanctification of G-d’s name) . Those souls that fall into all the blemishes in the world and go through what they go through and, still, all day long they sing and dance and are happy.
But, don’t think that a person should be happy with his situation, with the blemishes. Rather, he is happy because he believes that the power of happiness will give him the understanding to get him out of all the blemishes in the world.
The whole purpose is to get out of these blemishes.
My thoughts:
Here, the Rav clears up what could otherwise appear to be a contradiction in how we serve Hashem.
We know that it is not good to sin, or to cause blemishes.
However, we’re also told that we should be happy all the time.
Does that mean that we’re happy with our sinning, with our blemishes?
The answer is no. We’re not happy with our blemishes. We’re happy despite our blemishes.
Our happiness is not intended to mask our sins, to whitewash them or to pretend they don’t exist. Rather, our happiness is in order to give us the means to stop sinning and get us out of our continued blemishes.
Rabbenu explains that happiness gives us mochin (brains).
Happiness is the light in the darkness which enlightens our brain - to show us the way out. It also shows us the obstacles we need to avoid on our way out.