Although we all think that our emotions affect our behavior- if I’m angry I scream; if I’m happy I smile; it’s a basic concept in Yiddishkeit that our actions influence our thoughts and emotions. Working on our middos and elevating our Neshamos is thus acomplished through actions and mitzvah observance. Not that we need their approval, but in the secular world psychologists also observe that the act of smiling makes us feel happy, and frowning can make us feel more pain. (Interesting to read study on subjects whose smiling is impaired due to Botox injections.) Acting in a giving, loving manner towards another person, will therefore make us feel inside the love we are acting out.
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