Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Chasidut for Shabbat 60:6

איני והאמר רב גידל אמר רב כל תלמיד חכם שיושב לפני רבו ואין שפתותיו נוטפות מר תכוינה שנאמר (שיר השירים ה, יג) שפתותיו שושנים נוטפות מור עובר אל תקרי מור עובר אלא מר עובר אל תקרי שושנים אלא ששונים לא קשיא הא ברבה והא בתלמיד ואיבעית אימא הא והא ברבה ולא קשיא הא מקמי דלפתח הא לבתר דפתח כי הא דרבה מקמי דפתח להו לרבנן אמר מילתא דבדיחותא ובדחי רבנן לסוף יתיב באימתא ופתח בשמעתא

It is written, Then I commended joy;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. VIII, 15. ');"><sup>15</sup></span> but it is written, and of joy [I said] What doeth it?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. II, 2. ');"><sup>16</sup></span> There is no difficulty: 'anger is better than laughter': the anger which the Holy One, blessed be He, displays to the righteous in this world is better than the laughter which the Holy One, blessed be He, laughs with the wicked in this world.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The latter is an idiom for prosperity and well being: the sufferings inflicted upon the righteous are preferable to the prosperity conferred upon the wicked. ');"><sup>17</sup></span>

Chovat HaTalmidim

For example, the Gemara (Shabbat 30b) says, "Rabbah, before he began teaching to the sages, would say something humorous and the sages would be cheered. Ultimately, he sat in trepidation and began teaching the topic." To here are the words of the Gemara. He said something humorous so they would be happy, since the Divine Presence only resides amidst joy - as the Gemara says there. However the Torah is like a hammer that breaks apart a boulder which lets off many sparks and many explanations. So in our generation, the Gemara is also hinting to a path for the rabbi or the teacher: The teacher must make efforts to win over the heart of the student and to keep bringing him close. And joy is one of the main vehicles through which he can win him over. The spirit of a child does not tolerate sadness, and the teacher should never appear to him like an irritable or disputative person.
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