Joy and Sorrow

When he was asked which was the right way, the path of sorrow or the path of joy, the rabbi of Berdichev said:

There are two kinds of sorrow and two kinds of joy. When a person broods over the misfortunes that have come upon him, when he cowers in a corner and despairs of help—that is a bad kind of sorrow, concerning which it is said, “The Divine Presence does not dwell in a place of dejection.” The other kind is the honest grief of a person who knows what he lacks.

The same is true of joy. He who is devoid of inner substance and, in the midst of empty pleasures, does not feel it, nor tries to fill his lack, is a fool. But he who is truly joyful is like a person whose house has burned down, who feels his need deep in his soul and begins to build anew. Over every stone that is laid, his heart rejoices.

Magali

This is Magali. She lives in France. I haven't met her in real life so this is obviously not a "live" portrait. She sent me a friend request on Facebook because we have a mutual friend and she saw that I was painting her friend's portrait and perhaps that was intriguing and made me seem friendly. I told her I would be her friend but she must agree to allow me to paint her portrait at some point. So, she just sent me a photo and asked if I would pick up my pen. And, like that, we have a portrait of Magali.

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