The main benefit of crying is when it is motivated by joy and happiness. It is even very good when remorse is motivated by joy; when out of his great joy in God, a person feels remorse and aches greatly over having rebelled against Him in earlier days. He is moved to cry because of his abundant joy. This, then, is the main benefit of crying: it should be motivated by joy.
Thus, the word B’KhiYaH (crying) is an acrostic for “B’shimkha Y’giloon Kol Hayom (In Your Name they rejoice all day long)” (Psalms 89:17). Crying should primarily be motivated by joy in God’s Name. This is because crying is initiated from the Holy Name SaG, which is in [the sefirah ] Binah. Hence, b’khiyah is numerically equivalent to the expansion letters of SaG, as is explained in the writings of the Ari.
In other words, the arousal to cry should come from joy. This is because BINah is heart, as it is written, “The heart mayBIN (understands)” (Tikkuney Zohar, Introduction; Berakhot 61a). And the main joy is in the heart, as it is written (Psalms 4:8), “You put joy in my heart.” So the arousal to cry should come from there, as above. Through this, the crying is “sweetened.” Understand this.
עִקַּר מַעֲלַת הַבְּכִיָה הוּא כְּשֶׁהִיא מֵחֲמַת שִׂמְחָה וְחֶדְוָה, וַאֲפִלּוּ הַחֲרָטָה טוֹב מְאֹד שֶׁתִּהְיֶה מֵחֲמַת שִׂמְחָה, שֶׁמֵּרֹב שִׂמְחָתוֹ בְּהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, הוּא מִתְחָרֵט וּמִתְגַּעְגֵּעַ מְאֹד עַל שֶׁמָּרַד נֶגְדּוֹ בַּיָּמִים הָרִאשׁוֹנִים, וּמִתְעוֹרֵר לוֹ בְּכִיָּה מֵחֲמַת רֹב הַשִּׂמְחָה, וְזֶה עִקַּר מַעֲלַת הַבְּכִיָּה, שֶׁתִּהְיֶה מֵחֲמַת שִׂמְחָה.
The main benefit of crying is when it is motivated by joy and happiness. It is even very good when remorse is motivated by joy; when out of his great joy in God, a person feels remorse and aches greatly over having rebelled against Him in earlier days. He is moved to cry because of his abundant joy. This, then, is the main benefit of crying: it should be motivated by joy.
וְזֶה בְּכִיָּה הוּא רָאשֵׁי־תֵּבוֹת: בְּשִׁמְךָ יְגִילוּן כָּל הַיּוֹם (תהלים פט) – שֶׁעִקַּר הַבְּכִיָּה שֶׁתִּהְיֶה מֵחֲמַת שִׂמְחָה בִּשְׁמוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ. כִּי בְּכִיָּה הוּא מִתְעוֹרֵר מִשֵּׁם ס"ג, שֶׁהוּא בְּבִינָה, וְעַל־כֵּן בְּכִיָּה בְּגִימַטְרִיָּא הַמִּלּוּי שֶׁל ס"ג, כַּמּוּבָא בְּכִתְבֵי הָאֲרִ"י,
Thus, the word B’KhiYaH (crying) is an acrostic for “B’shimkha Y’giloon Kol Hayom (In Your Name they rejoice all day long)” (Psalms 89:17). Crying should primarily be motivated by joy in God’s Name. This is because crying is initiated from the Holy Name SaG, which is in [the sefirah ] Binah. Hence, b’khiyah is numerically equivalent to the expansion letters of SaG, as is explained in the writings of the Ari.
הַיְנוּ שֶׁהִתְעוֹרְרוּת הַבְּכִיָּה תִּהְיֶה מִשִּׂמְחָה, כִּי בִּינָה – לִבָּא, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: הַלֵּב מֵבִין; וְעִקַּר הַשִּׂמְחָה הִיא בַּלֵּב, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (תהילים ד׳:ח׳): נָתַתָּ שִׂמְחָה בְלִבִּי; וּמִשָּׁם צָרִיךְ שֶׁתִּהְיֶה הִתְעוֹרְרוּת הַבְּכִיָּה כַּנַּ"ל, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה נִמְתָּק הַבְּכִיָּה. וְהָבֵן:
In other words, the arousal to cry should come from joy. This is because BINah is heart, as it is written, “The heart mayBIN (understands)” (Tikkuney Zohar, Introduction; Berakhot 61a). And the main joy is in the heart, as it is written (Psalms 4:8), “You put joy in my heart.” So the arousal to cry should come from there, as above. Through this, the crying is “sweetened.” Understand this.