Joy
Simcha
שמחה
“It is a great mitzvah to be happy always.” Simcha is a commandment of the heart and a strategy against despair.
A great mitzvah
Rebbe Nachman did not deny suffering. He insisted that joy is a spiritual obligation because despair closes the gates. Clapping, singing, finding one good point, and forcing a smile were not tricks to him; they were tools of repair.