NaNach: Revival/Restoration of the Soul - Meshivas Nefesh - volume 2 part 2

All of the harassment and incitement and urging of
All the yetzer ha’ra and its hordes incite every person every day at every moment. And this is all drawn forth from an aspect of the klipah of Lavan [i.e. Laban], Esav [i.e. Esau], and Egypt and the Four Kingdoms, which all rise up in each and every generation against every person of the People of Israel to annihilate them, God forbid. And there is no advice through which one can be saved from them except complete emunah in God, for it is an aspect of renewal of holiness, an aspect of: “They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Aychah 3:22). That is, that a person knows the absolute truth that he doesn’t know anything—nothing, nothing, nothing at all. He should just strengthen himself in holy emunah which we received from our holy ancestors and Sages, and he shouldn’t let anything in the world confuse him. For we don’t know anything, only just what the blessed Sages taught us. For they said, and said, and said that one needs to break all of the worldly cravings absolutely and completely—even the slightest movement which is not the desire of the blessed Creator, one needs to flee, and distance oneself from this as far as one can get, for this greatly defiles both the soul of a person of Israel and all of the worlds which are dependent upon him. And they said that even if a person transgressed what he transgressed, even if a person transgressed the entire Torah thousands of times, Heaven help us; nevertheless, there is absolutely no despair in the world, and one needs to begin anew time after time to strengthen oneself in the service of God. For Hashem Yisborach gets pleasure and delight from the worst of the worst—for actually, this is the main way that God’s greatness becomes known: when the very distant draw near Him, and acknowledge Him, and strengthen themselves in emunah, and give thanks and praise Him, “for your chesed which is with us every day, and your wonders at every moment...” (liturgy, Modim). And the main purpose of the Creation of heaven and earth was just for this, that a person should begin anew time after time, from the beginning [i.e. reshis], as if he were born today, and as if today were reshis, the very start, which is an aspect of: “In the beginning [i.e. Bereshis] God created”—specifically “Bereshis,” which is an aspect of the aforementioned aspect of “reshis” [i.e. first of all] (Bereshis 1:1). And indeed, even now in his goodness Hashem Yisborach always renews Creation [i.e. Ma’aseh Bereshis] every day. And everything is for this, for this [personal] renewal, where each and every person, in accordance with his level, [can] begin to enter into the service of the Blessed God every day anew. And this is an aspect of the mitzvah of bikurim [i.e. first offerings] and the confession of bikurim as
explained elsewhere. (Likutei Halachos, Basar Bechalav 4:11)

Each and every day Hashem Yisborach sends new
Each salvation to save a person from the Sitra Achera, which rises up against him daily, and this is an aspect of, “announce his salvation from day to day” (Tehilim 96:2). And also in the Shmonah Esray prayer one says, “and for your miracles which are with us every day....” And indeed as the blessed Sages said: “Each and every day a person’s yetzer rises up against him, and if the Kadosh Baruch Hoo didn’t help him...” (Sukah 52b). We find then that each and every day completely new things are made to happen to a person, and the God helps him and saves him every day. Therefore, a person shouldn’t get himself upset at all from day to day, because who knows how great the new salvation will be which Hashem Yisborach will send him today if he merits to strengthen himself and to begin anew.
(Likutei Halachos, Basar Bechalav 4:12)

It is stated elsewhere that a person needs to be
It extremely stubborn in his service of God, and this stubbornness strengthens a person wondrously not to ever fall, under any circumstances. And this is an aspect of: “She fears not for her household from snow, for all her household is dressed in crimson” (Mishley 31:21). And said the blessed Sages, “Don’t read it as ‘shaneem,’ [crimson] rather ‘shnayeem’ [two]” (Midrash Mishley). “Give, you shall surely give”; “open, you shall surely open”; “provide, you shall surely provide” (Devarim 15:10-11,14). [This] is an aspect of the stubbornness on which the entire fulfilment of the Torah is dependent, that he should strengthen himself to repeat and double every good action, whether Torah study, or anything else that he had begun to accustom himself to; that he should strengthen his will to go back and do the same holy act time after time, even a thousand times, even if he went through what he went through, for this is the main fulfillment of the Torah; that one needs to be extremely stubborn in one’s service of God, and to do holy acts, even to force oneself, even thousands of times, without paying attention to any discouraging thoughts, with which the Ba’al Davar and the Sitra Achera and the demons of mockery discourage him— and this is the main strengthening in holiness, and by this means, he will have no fear of the hell of snow. [Perhaps this is also alludes to the verse: “if they become as red as crimson dye, they shall become as [white] wool.”] For there is a hell of fire and a hell of snow, as the blessed Sages wrote, the hell of fire comes as a result of getting heated up to do a sin related to animalistic cravings (God forbid). But the hell of snow is from his discouragement afterwards, when he regrets what he has done, for “they are all full of regrets,” as the blessed Sages said (Shevet Musar 25; Nederim 9b). But in most cases the main obstacle to doing teshuvah is because of feeling discouraged, where a person thinks that it has become impossible for him to do teshuvah because of [his] enormously large number of sins. And because of this he despairs completely of approaching God. This is especially the case concerning those who have already begun to serve God a little bit, and afterwards fell from this. And this is mainly from becoming discouraged, and from the “coldness” [i.e. lack of motivational] which the Ba’al Davar induces in him. Therefore because of this, one is sentenced to the terrible and bitter coldness of the hell of snow. However, by holy daring and stubbornness, and by the aforementioned strengthening of will, without allowing oneself to be moved from one’s place under any circumstances, [one escapes this fate]. One should just fulfill the Torah, and again fulfill the Torah and the mitzvahs as much as possible; to snatch in this way the passing shadow, every day of his life, even if he goes through hardships. And he cannot allow himself to get cold (God forbid) in his fulfillment of Torah and mitzvahs, no matter what happens. And this way, he certainly will not be sentenced to the hell of snow and cold, and this relates to: “She fears not for her household for snow, for all her household
is dressed in crimson.” (Likutei Halachos, Basar Bechalav 4:27,29)

Despite that a person has fallen like he has fallen
Despite (God forbid), if he is strong in his desire and yearns for absolute truth, he can ascend specifically by means of the descent to a very high place. And this is an aspect of “the descent is for the purpose of the
ascent”; see elsewhere. (Likutei Halachos, Heksher Kaylim, 4:22)

Even the worst of the worst, whoever they may be,
Even need to strengthen themselves and make strong efforts to turn to God in hope and anticipation, without ever easing off or being lazy about maintaining their will to do good. And in this way a person will certainly merit to bring to fruition much true and eternal good, which the holy People of Israel have already done quite a lot of, through their holy daring and strong desire for holiness. And by this means we left Egypt, and He split the Red Sea, and we merited to receive the Torah, and many other similar genuine salvations which the People of Israel merited in every generation through the forcefulness of their will for holiness, and through true self-sacrifice. And by remembering all of this time after time, by this means we also have the strength currently to strengthen ourselves in hope and anticipation, and desire for holiness, until thus we will merit to break down all the obstacles and to arrive at the ultimate good. And this pertains to: “Strengthen yourselves, and He will give your heart courage, all who hope....” Specifically “all who hope,” which is an aspect of strengthening of the will/desire. For even though much time has passed where one hasn’t merited the good; nevertheless, one anticipates and hopes and expects [to receive salvation] from Hashem Yisborach, unto He will look out, and God will see from heaven, and this is: “all who hope,” specifically “all”—whoever it may
be. (Likutei Halachos, Heksher Kaylim 4:26-29)

One needs daring and temerity and enormous
One strength in the numbered and fleeting days of this world, in order to stand up against everything which holds one back etc. For the Ba’al Davar wants to push one back (God forbid) at every moment. And the main thing is, through its deluded deductions, by which it depicts light as its opposite (God forbid), by this means it incites a person to transgress (God forbid), and causes one to think that the prohibited is permissible and that a transgression is a mitzvah. And afterwards when a person has already faltered, it comes another time and dresses itself up as mitzvahs; and it wants to trip up the person and push him away completely [from holiness,] God forbid. And all of this and its like is drawn forth from the klipah and the Sitra Achera. And this is mainly through an aspect of the klipah of Bila'am, which wants to depict the light of the Torah as the opposite. Therefore one needs enormous daring and strengthening against it, without measure; and concerning this it is said: “Fortunate is the man who has strength in You, in whose heart are the highways,” whose [Hebrew] initials form the acronym “Bila’am,” as is explained elsewhere
(Tehilim 84:6). (Likutei Halachos, Yayin Nesech 4:28)

Sometimes a person falls very much and becomes
Sometimes distanced from Hashem Yisborach because of the truth. For he knows the truth that he has greatly defiled and ruined, and now too he is in the state that he is, and therefore he completely despairs of himself. But in truth, a person needs to
distance himself from such truth, etc.

(See Likutei Halachos, Ribis 27,30.)

The enormity of the greatness of Hashem
The Yisborach’s compassion and chesed is to the point of infinity and endlessness. And it is utterly impossible to gain understanding of the essential true intentions of Hashem Yisborach, even amidst the flaring up of his anger and fury (God forbid). For then too it is God’s desire that we entreat and pray to Him, and He truly desires to save us with complete salvation. And therefore, in that situation too one needs to strengthen oneself in prayer, and supplicate to God, and rely on his great compassion and chesed, which is utterly impossible to understanding. And like we found with Moshe Rebeinu of blessed memory, after the Sin of the Golden Calf, and He said He would destroy them (God forbid). And then Moshe understood (without paying attention to the literal meaning of what God said, that it was as if He wanted to destroy them, God forbid). But the actual truth is this was not so; it was all in order to energize him so that he would strengthen himself in prayer to sweeten the judgements and heavenly accusations, and cause them to be removed from the People of Israel. Therefore Moshe then strengthened himself in prayer very much, until God was appeased by Moshe, and “God reconsidered the evil [punishment]...” (Shmos 32:14). And then He taught him the order of prayers and He revealed the Thirteen Attributes of Compassion to him. And there He revealed to him the ultimate truth, that the true essence of God was his great compassion and chesed for all eternity, which never ever ceases. And this is an aspect of, “benevolent God, who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in chesed and truth...” (Shmos 34:6). That is, this is the essence of Hashem Yisborach’s truth, that his compassion and chesed never ever run out, no matter what happens; and prayer, supplication, and screaming and crying out to God are always effective. For after all of the angering, when people anger Hashem Yisborach, his true mercies never
ever run out.

And in every generation there are tzadikim and the
And upright who always strengthen themselves in prayer; and by doing so they sweeten all of the judgments in the world, and annul all of the evil decrees [which beset] the People of Israel. And they inculcate true inner knowledge into the People of Israel, which is to always strengthen themselves in prayer and supplication. For this is the main absolute truth, as it is written: “God is near to all who call Him, to all who call Him in truth” (Tehilim 145:18). And it is written: “But, as for me, may my prayer to You...answer me in the truth of your salvation” (Tehilim 69:14). Specifically “in truth,” because I believe that it is an absolute truth that even now, after I have done what I have done, and I have gone through what I have gone through, still, still, You desire to bring me salvation. Therefore I strengthen myself and pray “answer me in the truth of your salvation.” And understand this extremely well, how very very much one needs to always strengthen
oneself in prayer, no matter what happens.

(Likutei Halachos, Ribis 5:33)

All of the battles in the world mainly symbolize the
All war against the yetzer ha’ra. Because even the battles that an individual has in the material world against one’s antagonists and enemies, these are all wars with the yetzer ha’ra; as the blessed Sages said: just as a person has antagonists down below, in parallel to them he also has antagonists up above. Therefore the main war is the war with the yetzer ha’ra. And this is what the Cohen cautioned before they went to battle in a war of God, to overcome the enemies and the Sitra Achera which surround holiness, which are an aspect of the pagan nations which surround the Land of Israel, which represent all of those who are stumbling blocks and obstacles to acquiring holiness. And when a person engages them in battle, great heavenly accusations rise up against him, and they want to completely push him down from his service, God forbid. And this is the main war, wherein a person needs to strengthen himself to stand up on his feet and not fall from his service of Hashem Yisborach, God forbid. And then he will certainly merit to be victorious over them,
and break them, and annul them.

But on what will he firmly place his trust, so that he
But does not fall from his service of Hashem Yisborach, God forbid? The main thing is just holy emunah, so that since he is strong in holy emunah, he certainly will not have to fear any war and any test in the world. And this is what the Cohen told them: "Hear, O Israel, today you are approaching the battle” (Devarim 20:3). And the blessed Sages interpreted this as meaning: “Even if you have no merit other than that you say ‘Hear, O Israel’ [i.e. Shema Yisrael] every day, you are fit to be victorious over your enemies...” (Sotah 42a). And this relates to the above. For in the merit of “Shema Yisrael” alone, that is, in the merit of holy emunah, through this alone you can enter into battle, both materially and spiritually. Because you are strong in faith in God, you no longer need to fear any battle in the world at all. And this pertains to: “Let your hearts not be faint; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not be alarmed, and you shall not be terrified because of them” (Devarim 20:3). And the blessed Sages interpreted this to mean, do not be afraid of the stamping of the horses, and the clamor of the troops, and the sounding of the horns; that is, the tactics used by the enemy to scare and threaten those who oppose them. And all of these things exist in the war against the yetzer ha’ra. And this is known by he who has begun somewhat to enter into the service of God and the war against the yetzer ha’ra, even a completely simple person. For it is the way of the Ba’al Davar to threaten and scare a person very much, and to make his service of God extremely tiresome. And because of this, there are many who are deterred from starting to enter into the service of Hashem Yisborach, because of these threats and this heaviness and the like. And this is an aspect of the stamping of the horses, and the clamor of the troops. But the most important thing in the service of God is not to be afraid at all, as explained elsewhere; that in this world, a person needs to pass over a very narrow bridge, but the main thing is that a person not be
afraid at all.

And the main way of strengthening oneself to pass
And safely over the narrow bridge without fear, is this holy emunah. This is an aspect of: "Hear, O Israel, today you are approaching the battle.” That is, in the merit of Shema Yisrael, which is holy faith, then again: “Let your hearts not be faint...”; “For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you...to save you...” (Devarim 20:3-4). This is an aspect of “God is for me; I shall not fear.” Since I believe in Hashem Yisborach in complete faith, for “the whole earth is full of his glory.” And God is always with me, so then again: “God is for me; I shall not fear. What can a person do to me?” (Tehilim 118:6). Since a person has strong emunah in God, he will certainly be victorious in all of the battles, and in the final end, he will truly return to Hashem Yisborach. And this is an aspect of: “This I reply to my heart; therefore I have hope” (Aychah 3:21). “This” is an aspect of Malchus of emunah, as explained
elsewhere. (Likutei Halachos, Geeluach 3:9)

Concerning the releasing of vows through regret,
Concerning from this one can understand the enormous chesed of God—infinite and without end—and how there is absolutely no despair in the world at all. For the vows, where a person vows and prohibits something from himself, this is a very high aspect, which rises to the place of the vow, which is an aspect of the holy makifs [i.e. the surrounding spheres of mind]. And these are the roots of the Torah, as explained elsewhere. However, despite that vows are such a high aspect; nevertheless, one can release them through regret which one expresses in front of a Torah sage; and this is an aspect of teshuvah. Because the main part of teshuvah is regret, for in that, there is an aspect of the makifs; there it is an aspect of “the ultimate knowledge which we shall not know” (Bechinas Olam 13:45). And there, chesed is infinite, and one can always
regret and do teshuvah, no matter what happens.

For in truth, teshuvah is something wondrous, and it
For is higher than our understanding, higher than the holy Torah (so to speak) as explained elsewhere. Therefore, the power of teshuvah never ever ceases, under any circumstances. And even a person who begins to do teshuvah and falls (God forbid), and even if he began several times and fell each time into what he fell; nevertheless, he needs to strengthen himself and begin anew time after time—for the power of teshuvah never ever ceases.For
there, chesed is infinite.

And we see this in the releasing of vows, where a
And vow can be annulled through regret. And this is an aspect of teshuvah through the power of a Torah sage. Even though the vow is an aspect of something extremely lofty, an aspect of the makifs, which are higher than our understanding, an aspect of the roots of Torah, an aspect of teshuvah—nevertheless there is an even higher aspect, where the vow is annulled through regret. Likewise, in every service to Hashem Yisborach, from every person, on every level, and at every time, there is wondrous chesed from God, higher than high, which the mouth cannot speak of, nor the heart think of. And even though Hashem Yisborach behaved towards him benevolently, and raised him out of the dumps, and returned him to Him, and [still] the person did not have compassion on himself, and also defiled this wondrous chesed a number of times; nevertheless, there is chesed above chesed, up to infinity, such that all are able to draw near to God wherever they are, through the power and merit of the great and wise tzadik of the person’s generation; if they will listen to him and
walk in his holy paths. (Likutei Halachos, Nedarim 4:7)

In that the Great Tzadik is able to enlighten those on
In a high level, who are an aspect of “dwellers above,” and inform them that they still don’t know anything at all about the greatness of Hashem Yisborach, by doing this alone he can draw near the distanced and very lowly, and strengthen their heart not to despair of receiving compassion, God forbid. For God is still with them and among them, for “the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Likutei Halachos, Nedarim
4:14-16; Likutei Etzos Chadash, Garim 14)

There is a need for a person to strengthen himself,
There since one needs to know that it is impossible under any circumstances to know in this world where one stands and at what level one is on; and this is his main free choice and test. One just needs to strengthen oneself in emunah, and also believe in oneself, that there is not any positive movement of his which is lost, God forbid, as the blessed Sages
said (Zohar, Shmos 150b).

(See Likutei Etzos Chadash, Emunah 101)

[Let] a person look with a true eye on how time
[Let] disappears, and how time passes and flits away, and it never rests—even for a moment. For in truth, time does not exist at all. However, because of the smallness of our minds, it appears to us as if there is some aspect of time, just as it seems to a person who sleeps and dreams for a quarter of an hour, that in his dream seventy years have passed, and this is all because of the smallness of our minds at that time. For doesn’t he see clearly immediately afterwards when he wakes up that no more than a quarter of an hour had passed by? Likewise, this is just like how it seems to him, that there truly is some kind of aspect of time. And in reality time does not exist at all, as is explained elsewhere. And if a person examines this truthfully, then he will certainly put all of his heart into annulling the nonsensical [illusion] of time, and put all of his hope
on an aspect of being above time.

Also, in this way, that he believes in an aspect of
Also, above time, in this way he will never fall because of any possible kind of descent, no matter what happens, because he will remind himself that there exists the aspect of: “I have given birth to you today” (Tehilim 2:7), which is said regarding Mashiach, who is an aspect of above time. And there everything becomes rectified; and all the time which passed by is completely annulled. And it is as if he is really born today, through the aspect of being above time, which is a level that the true tzadikim attain, who are an aspect of Mashiach. And this is the main hope and strength to do teshuvah from all of the defilements which a person fell into, each person in accordance with his own situation. [And these defilements] are all drawn forth from the aspect of the evil deeds done under the sun and over time. A person wants to purify himself from his contamination and return to God in truth, and be included in an aspect of above time, for teshuvah is mainly an aspect of above time, as is explained elsewhere. But how is it possible to transform and rectify all of the days and periods which passed by
him in such defilement?

Therefore, his main hope and rectification is
Therefore, through an aspect of above time, for there, all is rectified, as if today he is born anew. And for as long as a person has a “point” of emunah, where he believes in God and the next world, and the coming of the Mashiach (who is an aspect of above time, which is said regarding Mashiach), through this he will always have hope. And somehow, since he strengthens himself to some degree, then there is hope for his final end, through an aspect of “I have given birth to you today,” which is the holiness of Mashiach. And from there, holiness and rectification is drawn forth upon all of
the converts and penitents.

For even a convert who is born from the defilement
For of the Akum, when he comes to convert, the blessed Sages said regarding him, that a convert who converts is like a newborn child, which is an aspect of: “I have given birth to you today,” since he now comes to enter into the holiness of the People of Israel. And this is even more the case regarding a Jewish penitent, who was born into the holiness of Israel. Even though he went through what he went through, Heaven help us. Nevertheless, when he wants to truly do teshuvah and enter completely into the holiness of the People of Israel, then every day and every hour he needs to regard himself as if he were really born anew. And this is drawn forth from the holiness of the tzadikim, who are an aspect of Mashiach, regarding whom it is said: “I have given birth to you today.” And this is the main entrance into the holiness of the People of Israel. But when he will manifest this aspect, and always feels as if he were born now, even if he goes through what he goes through; and if he will strengthen himself time after time, and thinks in his heart that he has been born now; then certainly, in the final end he will merit to draw near to Hashem Yisborach, and then
all shall be rectified.

For the early days will fall away, and everything
For will be transformed into goodness through his complete teshuvah. And all will be included into an aspect of above time, which is an aspect of Mashiach, an aspect of “I have given birth to you today.” And this is an aspect of: “You bring man to the crushing point” (Tehilim 90:3). And the blessed Sages interpreted this to mean, “till the decline of the soul” (Talmud Yur., Chagigah 2a). Nevertheless, teshuvah is useful even then, which is an aspect of, “and You say, ‘Return, O human beings’" (Tehilim 90:3). And all of this is through an aspect of above time which is an aspect of: “For a thousand years are in your eyes like yesterday, which passed...” (Tehilim 90:4). And likewise when one begins the Mizmor, “O God, You have been our dwelling place”; “Before the mountains were born...and from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Tehilim 90:1-2). And all of this is an aspect of above time. Because specifically in this way one merits to always do complete teshuvah, no matter what happens. And all of this Mizmor deals with this
issue, see elsewhere. (Likutei Halachos, Mila 4:17-19)

Concerning how one can merit, through
Concerning strengthening oneself at the time of a fall, that the descent transforms into an ascent, and how specifically through this, one will become affirmatively renewed with wondrous renewal, see
Likutei Etzos Chadash, Tiltul OoNisiyah 10.

The mitzvahs relating to impure skin diseases hint at
The great encouragement for a person. Sometimes when one reaches the ultimate descent, then one merits to receive purity and a rectification for his soul, and to do teshuvah, for this is an aspect of how the disease of Baheres contaminates at the size of an
oat, but if it spreads to the entire body, one is pure.

(See Likutei Etzos Chadash, Yirah 87.)

Sometimes through God’s grace a powerful light is
Sometimes opened up to a person, and it seems to him that he will certainly become an upright person as is fitting, and afterwards it suddenly becomes dark to him, as if the sun has set, really suddenly and not in its proper time. And this is an aspect of what is said regarding Yaakov, “and he arrived at the place” (Bereshis 28:11). For with Avraham it was said, “and he saw the place from afar” (Bereshis 22:4), but Yaakov Avinu merited to really meet up with the Place [i.e. with God] as is stated in the holy Zohar. And despite this, it is written afterwards that he slept there because the sun set; and the blessed Sages interpreted this to mean that it did not set in its proper time, as mentioned above. And after that they informed him in a dream that this was all an aspect of, “and behold! a ladder was set up on the ground, and its top reached to heaven.” For this is all of the service of a person: that he needs to go from level to level like one ascending a ladder; “and behold, angels of God were ascending and descending upon it” (Bereshis 28:12). That is, the tzadikim, who are called “the angels of God,” need to have a multitude of ascents and descents. And before the ascent, there needs to be a descent; and the descent is for the purpose of the ascent. Therefore, a person should not be shocked and never ever become discouraged because of everything which he goes through. For even when he is in an aspect of ascent, where he sees some kind of salvation and gleams of light, he shouldn’t err to think that the light is already his. He should just know that he is still very far. And by this means, he will not fall when he sees afterwards that for him, the light has turned to darkness, which is an aspect of descent. For in truth, despite everything, the light which had already shined upon him was not extinguished, and will not depart from him, God forbid. For the light of Hashem Yisborach’s chesed always shines upon him. Just that everything is an aspect of “she brings her food from afar” (Mishley 31:14), and an aspect of, “and he saw the place from afar.” But in the final end, God will finish what He began, and will do good for Klal Yisrael [i.e. the totality of the People of Israel], and for each individual person. Just one needs to always expect redemption, as is said, “for we hope for your salvation all day long” (liturgy). (See Likutei Etzos Chadash,
Yirah VeAvodah 89; Likutei Halachos, Shiluach HaKen 5:10)

There are those who may err because they see how
There very far they are from the light. Therefore depression and melancholy may descend upon them (God forbid), which does great damage—more than everything, as is well known. Therefore, he who truly has compassion on himself needs to transform everything into happiness. For specifically, through seeing and understanding how distant the light is from him, specifically because of this, he will delight and be very joyful. For despite everything, isn’t it that he sees that the light is truly with him? For don’t we, despite everything, ignite the holy light of Chanukah candles right in our home? And also Tefilin, which are very lofty lights, and we wrap them on our arms and on our heads—could there be more nearness than this? And if we know that the light of Tefilin is still very far from us—on the contrary—this is our joy, that they heal us with precious and wondrous medicines such as these, which come from so very far away. And in this we have great hope, for God will certainly extricate us from all our problems, and will draw us near to Him
with compassion.

And since at every moment we see these distant and
And lofty lights, which are really with us; and if we are still distant from them, on the contrary, [we should be happy about this even more so]. One needs to realize all of this in order not to get discouraged when he sees that he goes through what he goes through. Even though he wraps Tefilin, and lights the Chanukah candles, etc. etc. For he needs to know that the light is still very far away from him; but nevertheless, one needs to transform everything to happiness. For despite all, this distant and lofty light is really right with me and in my home; and this is an aspect of Halel and the joy from the remarkable miracles which were done for us on all of the holidays. And this is all in order to become strengthened through this, to always expect salvation, which is an aspect of: “He made a memorial for his wonders” (Tehilim 111:4). And in order that we be trusting and strong, that just as his chesed had overcome us, in doing such miracles for us, so that we merited such wondrous lights which come from afar—“she brings her food from afar”—in order to heal the afflictions of our souls; through this we are trusting with strong trust that He will certainly bring us to merciful salvation, and will continue to do new and wondrous miracles for us, until we return to Him in truth. And He will finish what He began, for “the word of our God shall last forever” (Yeshayahu 40:8), and as it is said: “But You remain on high forever, O God” (Tehilim 92:9).
(Likutei Halachos, Shiluach HaKen 5:11)

The main drawing near of those distanced from
The God, of converts and penitents, is through their knowing and recognizing by themselves how far they are from Hashem Yisborach, in light of their state; and nevertheless, that they also know and believe the opposite, that they are really adjacent and nearby God, in light of his wondrous and measureless compassion. And this is an aspect of what our blessed Sages said; one says to a convert who comes to convert: “What did you see which caused you to want to convert?” (Yebamos 47a). And if he says, “I know, and I know that I am not deserving”; that is, that he also recognizes in himself how very distanced he is, just that nevertheless, he desires to draw near to God, trusting on his great compassion, for Hashem Yisborach loves converts
too—then he is welcomed into the fold.

And this is an aspect of what Naomi told Rut [i.e
And Ruth]: four methods of capital punishment were granted to the court, and she said: “The way you die, I will die” (Rut 1:17). This seemed like this was distancing, since Rut was so modest, and wanted so badly to convert, and she tells her, perhaps you will be culpable of a sin [punishable by one of] the four capital punishments, God forbid. And Rut herself, why did she respond: “The way you die, I will die”? That is, she was satisfied with this possibility. It would have been more appropriate for her to respond: “I am certain in my purity and righteousness that I won’t incur the death penalty,
God forbid.”

But this is all related to the topic above, for the main
But drawing close of the distanced is through an aspect of distancing and drawing near, and this is an aspect of, “peace to the far and to the near” (Yishiahu 57:19). Because right after he misleads himself to say that he is already close to God, then he will know for certain that in truth, he is far from God—and this caused all of the destructions, Heaven help us. For also during the time of the Beis HaMikdash, when it certainly was a period of nearness of the People of Israel to their Father in Heaven—especially when they merited to stand in the Beis HaMikdash itself, which is the ultimate place of being drawn near (and even more so in the First Beis HaMikdash where the Ark and the Tablets etc. were still there); despite this, they needed to know how far away they still were from God and from the holiness of that awe-inspiring place. They just needed to transform everything into happiness and to trust in the chesed of Hashem Yisborach, who also draws all of the distanced near [to Him], as we saw in the Beis HaMikdash itself, where Hashem Yisborach constricted the indwelling of the Shechinah [i.e. the Divine presence] in the Beis HaMikdash, for: “Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain You” (Malachim I, 8:27). And indeed through the enormity of Hashem Yisborach’s compassion, He commanded that coarse beasts be elevated [as offerings] into a pleasant fragrance. And because they defiled this, and thought that all goodness was in their hands, and that they were already very near through their own accomplishment, therefore their heart became haughty; thus “they forgot Me” (Hoshea 13:6), and in this way they caused the entire destruction, which is an aspect of: “Turn away your eyes from me, for they have made me haughty,” in accordance with the
interpretation of Rashi (Shir Ha Shirim 6:5).

Therefore Naomi also spoke to Rut in this way, for
Therefore even though right now your heart burns to draw near to holiness, at any rate, who knows what will be later on? Perhaps you will be found guilty of capital punishment from a rabbinical court. And Rut the tzadikah, even though she certainly took upon herself in her mind to be a complete tzadikah, and not to be found liable for capital punishment from a rabbinical court (God forbid); nevertheless, she responded in the innocence of her righteousness, that she certainly is not sure whether she will be permanently righteous, and who knows in what way I may eventually fall, God forbid. Just, no matter what happens, even if the Ba’al Davar becomes overpowering (God forbid) and he brings me to do what it brings me to do, so that I will be liable for the death penalty (God forbid); nevertheless, I truly take upon myself the holiness of the People of Israel, and whatever will happen to me so be it, and “the way you die, I will die.” So then Naomi really drew her near whole heartedly, and she became a great tzadikah, to the extent that she merited that Mashiach descended from her, who will return the entire world to the proper path. And indeed this is the case with every person who seeks to draw near to the truth, that the main drawing near is through being pushed away. And even afterwards when he has drawn quite close, time after time one needs to remember how one [also] gets pushed away. Just one shouldn’t truly [allow oneself] to be pushed away because of this (God forbid)—on the contrary—being pushed away needs to assist one’s goal of drawing close, which is an aspect of “peace
to the far and to the near.”

(Likutei Halachos, Shiluach HaKen 5:16-17)

Each member of the People of Israel [struggles]
Each amidst the harsh difficulties and stress, and the enormity of the soul’s distress and exile, to the degree that each and every person feels in his soul; nevertheless, one needs, specifically from that place, to see and observe hopeful and [optimistic] thought [i.e. sever] for the redemption of one’s soul and return to God. This is an aspect of “Yaakov saw that there was ‘grain’ [i.e. ‘shever’] being sold in Egypt” (Bereshis 42:1). The blessed Sages interpreted this to mean, “there was ‘shever’”: “Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt.” [Shever here means “grain” but the interpretation derives from its additional meaning of “breakage.”] Because “there was sever”: “Now Joseph was the ruler.” [“Sever” meaning “optimistic thoughts” is related to “shever” since the Hebrew letters of “shever” can also be pronounced as “sever.”] Because “there was ‘shever’”: “and they will enslave them and oppress them.” Because “there is sever”: “and afterwards they will go forth with great possessions....” (Bereshis 39:1,15:13-14; Midrash Rabbah, Miketz). For this is the truth, that amidst the great shever [i.e. turmoil] and distress (Heaven help us), one needs to always look forward to salvation, and the sever [i.e. optimistic thinking] and the great hope which is enclothed in it. And indeed, this is so regarding each person individually, and this is an aspect of “being distanced is for the purpose of being drawn close, and descent can be for the purpose of ascent.” And this is an aspect of "I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up” (Bereshis 46:4). And in the books it is understood that this verse discusses the entire secret of the People of Israel’s Exile, and all of the ascents and descents which the person of Israel goes through. And the main thing is strengthening oneself, for one needs to strengthening oneself enormously in the midst of the overwhelming bitterness of the descent, where specifically from there, God will have compassion and will grant a person salvation and draw him near to Him: “For God will not forsake his people...” (Shmuel I 12:22). And as is written: “If I said: ‘My foot has slipped,’ your kindness, O God, supported me” (Tehilim 94:18). And additionally there are many other verses and discussions by the blessed Sages, for Hashem Yisborach transmutes the blow into healing for the
People of Israel.

And here in this verse, "I will go down with you...”
And there are thirty letters [in Hebrew] which are divided into three groups, each one comprised of ten letters. And this forms the holy name discussed in the book Sha’aray Tzion which is learned from the verse "I will go down with you,” which forms the acronym “Ami Netzeh...” [“My people, we shall depart...”] That is, the first letter of the first group, which is Aleph, and the first letter of the second group, which is Mem, and the first letter of the third group, which is Yud of the word “anochi” [I]; from these are formed the name “Ami”; [and then correspondingly, the second letter of each of the three ten-letter groups is taken to form the next segment of the acronymic name, and so on following this pattern.] And from this, one is able to very much take heart, how in the beginning of the descent, which is alluded to in the words of "I will go down with you,” which comprise the first ten letters, and additionally within the full severity of the Exile itself, which is an aspect of the word “Mitsraymah” [“to Egypt”] and [the second appearance of] “anochi” [“I”], which comprise the ten words of the second group, which alludes to, and immediately joins together with the [phrase] sprouting of the horn of salvation of the ultimate ascent, which is an aspect of the “Yud” of “anochi,” and the words “I will also bring you up” and the Yud of “anochi,” (from which derives the main ascent, as explained elsewhere); this joins together with the Aleph of the first “anochi,” which is the beginning of the descent into the Exile, and with the Mem of “Mitsraymah” which is the Exile itself—all of this is in order to teach that even from the beginning of the descent and the Exile, the aforementioned “Yud” immediately stood up to guard us and save us, so that we would not get stuck there, God forbid; rather, the descent would be for the purpose of ascent (see Sha’aray Tzion 22-24). And this is alluded to in the words of the blessed Sages, who said in the Midrash regarding the verse: “Now it came about at that time that Yehudah [Judah] was demoted by his brothers” (Bereshis 38:1). For even before the first Exile, the final redeemer was born, who is Peretz, etc. as mentioned above [in that Yehudah’s decline was the beginning of a chain of events which lead to the dynasty of King David and
the future Mashiach.] (Likutei Halachos, Shiluach HaKen 5:22-24)

The words of the true tzadikim, which strengthen us
The to always be strong in God, and proclaim to us that there is absolutely no despair in the world at all—these words need to be heeded by us; they need to enter into our hearts like “dew and rain” (liturgy). And this is an aspect of what Moshe Rebeinu of blessed memory said to us in the song “Ha’azinu,” which is entirely strong admonition and energization and strengthening, never to give up on crying out to Hashem Yisborach, even if “a sharp sword is laid on a person’s neck” God forbid (Brachos 10a). “For God will not forsake his people,” for Hashem Yisborach’s mercy is bountiful, as explained elsewhere. Therefore He cautioned them very much to listen intently to all of this: “My lesson will drip like rain; my word will flow like dew” (Devarim 32:2). For just like the dew and rain in which a drop of rain enters into the earth, and afterwards wondrous plants grow because of this; likewise, one needs to amply insert these words deeply into the heart, until they germinate in the heart, and they bring forth fine fruits. For these words, to always strongly hold on to God, one needs to listen to them intently and understand their inner meaning. One needs to understand the allusions of the Tzadik, how very much one needs to always strengthen oneself, because it is utterly impossible to explain how much all of these things are needed, which is an aspect of what King David, of blessed memory, said after he talked about all of his hardships, how it is absolutely essential to always just roar and cry out to God all day long, which is an aspect of: “For this let every pious man pray to You at the time that You are found, only about a flood of vast waters [that] should not reach him.” And he concluded afterwards with: "I will enlighten you and instruct you which way [to go]; I will wink my eye to you” (Tehilim 32:6,8). For it is still impossible to explain the details of this to you very much, just that I signal to you with my eyes, not to look at anything which pushes you away, where [you feel] you are being distanced from Hashem Yisborach, neither at thoughts which arise from within yourself, nor at what pushes you away, the source of which is other people. Don’t pay any attention to any of these things. Just understand my words, that I teach you the way which I communicate with my eyes, that you should always strengthen yourselves in crying out and roaring to Hashem Yisborach. Then it will be
good with you.

(Likutei Halachos, Arla 4:16; Likutei Etzos Chadash 139-140)

The main Chinuch [i.e. “education”; also, “making a
The dedication”] for serving the blessed Creator is through an aspect of thanksgiving and thankful praise, which is an aspect of Chanukah [i.e. the holiday; also, “to make a dedication”; the word shares the same root as “Chinuch”]. For [when one considers] what each and every person goes through, the enormous suffering and difficulties, and obstacles and confusion and cravings etc., it certainly should be difficult to carry on until one merits complete salvation, that is, until one truly becomes an upright person to the proper degree, for this is an aspect of complete salvation. And therefore in reality, quite a number of people began serving God, and there are those whose service extended over days and years. But afterwards, they no longer could bare the bitterness and heaviness of the Ba’al Davar, and each person fell in the manner they fell, Heaven help us. But he who desires in complete truth to have compassion on his own life, his main ability to carry on is through the aforementioned aspect. [It is through realizing that] everything which he goes through, no matter what happens, even if he sees that he himself is absolutely guilty of doing deeds which aren’t good etc.; nevertheless, even the worst of the worst certainly [can realize that] God does him great and wondrous chesed every day, as it was instituted to say, “for your miracles which are with us every day, and for your wonders and favors of every moment...” [Chanukah
liturgy].

And certainly the words of the blessed Sages are
And straightforward and genuine, that we all need to believe in this very much, that Hashem Yisborach certainly works miracles and wonders and benevolence on each and every person, every day and every time and every hour. And if a person wants to look, he will see a lot with his eyes, and he will remember his situation very well, how much exalted benevolence is done for him by God, for everything which a person merited to do (a mitzvah, or some good point [i.e. a small positive deed]) certainly is never ever lost. And the entire world with all of its worldly pleasures and suffering and nonsense does not measure up to a single point of one mitzvah which each member of the People of Israel merits every day. One needs to accustom oneself, that whatever one goes through, no matter what happens, one should remind oneself at all times about the goodness and the wonders which God has done for him up to this time. In this way he will become motivated to always cry out and pray to Hashem Yisborach, which is an aspect of “give thanks for the past, and cry out regarding the future” (Brachos 54a). And by doing this, he will merit in the final end to truly return to Hashem Yisborach. And therefore, through this specific aspect, one becomes educated [i.e. “mitchanchim,” which shares the root of the words “chinuch” and “Chanukah”] to serve God. For just as the service that a person does while he is a child, despite that it doesn’t have complete wholeness, especially since it serves to reason that immediately afterwards he will do some juvenile or childish act; nevertheless, every small positive movement which he makes at that point is very cherished, since this is the way he becomes educated in the service of God. Likewise, this is even the case with a person of standing or with a broad personality. As long as he doesn’t merit the proper completeness, and even if he is very far away; nevertheless, every good point and movement towards holiness which he then does is also very precious, for it is an aspect of chinuch, [i.e. education/dedication] and chinuch is mainly through giving thanks for the past. In this way, he strengthens himself to cry out the next time, until by this means he merits to do complete teshuvah. (Likutei
Halachos, Clay Behema 4:9; see also Likutei Etzos Chadash, Shabbas 130)

The main way to become strengthened is through
emunah (see Likutei Etzos HaChadash, Emunah 112).

The blessed Sages said one doesn’t strengthen
The anyone but those who are strengthened, and one doesn’t provide motivation to anyone but to the motivated. And this seems puzzling, for if this were so, where does the process begin? And we have already explained elsewhere, that there are a few things in the service of God which are dependent upon each other, and it isn’t known where the beginning lies. But in truth, every beginning and middle and end, and our ultimate direction, it is all through the True Tzadik of every generation, who is an aspect of Moshe Rebeinu, who was the first Rabbi of all of the People of Israel, and from him is the beginning, and from him we gain our ultimate direction and in him is our hope: “For what has been is what will be (Koheles 1:9), as the blessed Sages said. And the beginning of the True Tzadik, an aspect of the Moshe himself, is certainly impossible for us to fathom at all, and it is not for us to contemplate this at all, how a human being of flesh and blood merited to acquire spiritual knowledge such as this, etc. However, since we already merited to receive the Torah through Moshe Rebeinu, and to draw forth his holy inner knowledge into every generation through the true tzadikim of every generation; through this, with thanks to the Blessed God, we have from where to begin. For from our youth, they raise us with the holiness of the People of Israel, and they circumcise a child immediately on the eighth day, and afterwards educate him in Torah and Mitzvahs. And certainly we have with what to strengthen ourselves; with God’s help, in that we merited to be born and raised with the holiness of the People of Israel, and that we believe in the Torah of Moshe and the words of all of the true tzadikim who followed him, and who strengthen us to trust in the chesed of God. And despite that we have already gone through what we’ve gone through, in general and individually; nevertheless, they caution us not to cause ourselves to despair, and to trust in Hashem Yisborach. For God is with us—have no fear—for still, still, God is with us and among us, and very close to us for “the whole earth is full of his glory,” and still his fondness is for us, and our fondness is
for Him.

And through that we merit to believe and strengthen
And ourselves in the true words of the genuine tzadikim, who have already labored and toiled for us enormously, to draw us close to the service of God—in this way we can also merit a holy inspiration of desire, so that our desire will be extremely strong and courageous, to desire and yearn for Hashem Yisborach with intensity and
extremely great longing.

And then, to the degree that one’s desire grows and
And expands, in this way, we merit to become extremely strong—for the main strengthening is through one’s desire. For the desire is always free to do as it wants. For no matter what happens, despite everything, our desire and yearning for Hashem Yisborach is very strong—to do his desire and truly fulfill his mitzvahs. And in this way, by strengthening oneself exceedingly in this manner, one merits a more complete inspiration, from the sense that God is pleased, which in turn strengthens a person even more, and the cycle repeats itself. And truly, this inspiration from [God’s] being pleased, which is an aspect of awe, as explained elsewhere, can easily be merited by every person, for the desire is always free to do as it likes; just that one needs to be heroic, and very strong in this. But each aspect is dependent on the other, because only those who
have been strengthened get strengthened.

And the beginning is only through the strength and
And merit of the true tzadikim, who toiled so much in their service of God, until they drew forth such inner knowledge, by which means all people can strengthen themselves and merit inspiration from [God’s] satisfaction; and in this way become exceedingly strong; and the cycle repeats itself, as
mentioned above.

And therefore Moshe expressed this well when he
And said: “And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God demand of you? Only to be in awe of the Lord your God” (Devarim 10:12). And the blessed Sages said regarding Moshe, “awe [of God] is something small?” (Brachos 33b). That is, now after I have already labored and toiled for you so much (as explained in the previous sections) to the point that I merited to acquire such a high level of spiritual experience and knowledge—so that awe [of God] became something small for Moshe. Therefore you also have a strong foundation and a good start through which you will be able to strengthen yourself to such an extent, through the inspiration from my inner knowledge which I shine upon you, such that you will also merit inspiration from [God’s] satisfaction and great awe of God, which is drawn forth from the inspiration from the inner knowledge of the True Tzadik. This brings about that in truth, we too can also easily merit this spiritual level right now, that awe of God will be a small thing for us too, by means of our meriting to truly strengthen ourselves. And this is possible through the power of the beginning which Moshe Rebeinu made, and that of all of the true tzadikim who came
after him. (Likutei Halachos, Pidyon Bachur 5:36)

Even a person who fell very far (God forbid), even
Even if he fell into sin (God forbid), he also needs to have great awe of Hashem Yisborach, to strengthen himself regarding each and every good point so that he can bring his soul out of evil, and draw himself towards some degree of good, and not exempt himself, [saying to himself that] since he has already fallen so much, if so, everything is permissible for him, Heaven help us. God forbid; there will not be such a person of the People of Israel, for “there is no darkness and no place of gloom where the workers of iniquity can hide” (Eeyov 34:22). For even in She’ol Tachtios, and underneath it, one needs to have very very great awe of God, for his sovereignty is in every place. (Likutei Halachos, Bachur Behemah Tehorah 4:14;
see Likutei Etzos Chadash, Yirah 104)

The blessed Sages said: “Such is the method of the
The yetzer ha’ra—today, it tells you to do such and such...” (Shabbas 105b). And this is an aspect of “one sin brings on another” (Avos 4:2), and it is written: “Woe to those who draw wickedness with ropes of nothingness...” (Yishiahu 5:18). And in truth, in accordance with the ways of the yetzer ha’ra, regarding those people who don’t stand up against it in their youth, [it would be as if] there certainly is no hope, (God forbid) for most of the world; as it is written: “If one pampers his slave from childhood, he will ultimately be a ruler” (Mishley 29:21). But Hashem Yisborach has compassion on us in every generation. And he thinks thoughts about how no one will be lost to Him, and he sends help from above through the great and true tzadikim of the generation, who are an aspect of Mordechai. And they know very well what is happening to each and every person, which is an aspect of: “And Mordecai knew all that had happened.” And they awaken the People of Israel to do teshuvah, which is an aspect of, “and he went out into the midst of the city and cried [with] a loud and bitter cry” (Esther 4:1). And they make known to the entirety of Knesset Yisrael, which are an aspect of Esther, not to let themselves give up on receiving compassion, and she [i.e. Knesset Yisrael] should come before the king, even though she is so distanced that she has “not been called to come before the king for thirty days”—for at any rate the People of Israel need to come before their Father in Heaven at least once a month (Esther 4:11). Despite everything, they need to knock on the doors of compassion; perhaps He will have pity and
compassion.

Until afterwards, Knesset Yisrael receives inner
Until knowledge from the True Tzadik, and she says, “I shall come to the king [in a manner] not in accordance with the law” (Esther 4:16). And the blessed Sages interpreted this to mean: not in accordance with the law of Torah. For I know myself that in accordance with the strictures of the Torah, I am certainly not worthy to come before the king and pray before Him, because of what I know about my sins and transgressions. But nevertheless: “I shall come [before him in a manner] not in accordance with the law, and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16; Megillah 15a). That is, if God forbid, my prayer and personal supplication is not favorable now to Him because of my many flaws,” if I perish, I perish,” and Hashem Yisborach will do with me as He will—I will always hope and cry out to Hashem Yisborach, perhaps He will have compassion. And then God has compassion on his people Israel, “and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter” (Esther 5:2). This is the secret of the inspiration from, and being drawn nearby to God, which sometimes happens to a person who is very low; where despite that [he is low], from afar God sends him [an inspiration] to draw near, which derives from the secret of the extension of the golden scepter, which miraculously extended out a number of feet, as mentioned by the blessed Sages (Megillah 15b). That is, even the person who is very far from God, when he listens to the advice of the Tzadik not to cause himself to despair; nevertheless, somehow, somehow, he turns to God with self‑sacrifice and self-nullification, and comes before the King of the Universe to supplicate before him. Then Hashem Yisborach has compassion on him, and shines upon him wondrous inspiration from very far off, for He shines lofty inner-knowledge upon him, which is an aspect of the highest and most lofty awe, until the very distant person merits complete awe, which is an aspect of awe together with inner knowledge. And in this way he will truly draw near to Hashem
Yisborach. (Likutei Halachos, Bachur Behemah Tehorah 16:17)

There are many people who study books of musar
There [i.e. self-improvement books which contain approbation], which discuss the terrible defilement caused by sins, and the incredible bitterness of the punishments of hell, and the like—they scare people very much. But in this way the Ba’al Davar incites them and pushes them down into deep depression—more than before—to the extent that sometimes this causes them to fall very low, God forbid. And there are those who fall so low that they adopt beliefs of complete apostasy, God forbid. And all of this is because they did not merit to receive the true inner knowledge from the true tzadikim, to revive and strengthen themselves. And it seems to them that they have already sunken down into their ways to the extent (God forbid) that it is impossible for them to ever do teshuvah. Therefore, the more they think about the fear of the punishment, their opinion of themselves declines more and more, and this is the main aspect of the war against Amalek in every
generation, as explained elsewhere.

But God has compassion on his people, and sends us
But wondrous inspiration through the Tzadik of the Generation, which is an aspect of the awe of the Mashiach, who will draw forth awe from the higher intellect, to the extent that the awe will become benevolence, even for the worst of the worst, where even the extremely distanced person will have true inner knowledge to discern the truth, that he too has hope, for the compassion of Hashem Yisborach is enormous. And therefore the fear of punishment won’t cause him to fall—on the contrary—the fear of punishment will cause him to strengthen himself to find good points within himself, and to cheer himself up that, at any rate, he is a descendent of the People of Israel. And specifically through the fear of punishment, he will achieve great joy. For the fear of punishment will force him to fulfill the words of the true tzadikim, who strongly warn the worst of the worst to always keep themselves in a happy state, by means of [the] holy advice [of the tzadikim]. And we certainly need to be very God-fearing, to listen to their true words and truly fulfill them. And therefore, at the end of the [portion of] rebuke [in the Torah], which is fear of punishment, it is written, “because you did not serve the Lord your God with happiness” (Devarim 28:47). Therefore it can be deduced that one needs to be very fearful of punishment, to the extent that this will cause one to fulfill the words of the true tzadikim who warn the worst of the worst to cheer themselves up through the good points which [they] still find within themselves, and to serve God with happiness. (Likutei
Halachos, Bachur Behema Tehorah 17:20)

One needs to know that everything which is written
One in the book Rayshees Chochma and the rest of the holy books concerning holiness and purity, and the severity and enormity of the defilement and punishment for every sin and indiscretion—even something tiny—their intention in all of this is not to distance a person from his service of the Blessed God, and to greatly discourage him, God forbid. Rather their positive intention is only to draw near the People of Israel and to warn them, that they should be holy and pure and distance themselves from the slightest indiscretion, for that is certainly appropriate for them, as befits their great holiness at their root. But nevertheless, even a person who defiled to the degree that he defiled (heaven help us), certainly needs to fulfill what is written: “Don’t be overly wicked” (Koheles 7:17). And like the blessed Sages said, a person who eats garlic and emits an odor, and eats garlic again, emits even more of an odor (Shabbas 31b). And a person certainly needs to always revive and strengthen himself at every moment, no matter what happens, for we need to be careful not to receive fear of Heaven and ethical admonishment in a negative way (God forbid) and not to become greatly distanced because of it. Rather a person should have fear of God specifically in a manner which strengthens his life; that is, in a way which causes him to draw close to God by means of fear of Heaven and ethical admonishment, and not to become distanced, God forbid. On the contrary, through strong fear of Heaven, he should strengthen himself to fulfill the words of the blessed Sages, who admonished us to believe in the chesed and goodness of Hashem Yisborach, which never ever ceases. And he should strengthen himself at every moment to begin anew
in the service of God.

(Likutei Halachos, Bachur Behemah Tehorah 17:28)

When we see what the Torah commanded
When concerning a Hebrew slave: “If he comes [in] alone, he shall go out alone” (Shmos 21:3), in this we see the compassion of Hashem Yisborach, in that He contemplates how none of the dispersed shall be dispersed. For is it not so, that even a slave who fell to such a low level, to the point that the Torah permitted his master to give him a Canaanite slave woman, which is [ordinarily] a serious sin, if so one could say that his body is forfeit and that he has no hope anymore—but in truth this is not the case. For we see that also concerning the slave, there are a number of laws and warnings where the Torah warned us to have great compassion on him, and not to treat him with complete abandon, God forbid. And we also see this in how the Torah warned: “If he comes [in] alone, he shall go out alone....” That is, if he doesn’t have an Israelite wife, in order that he not be lost completely, (God forbid), it is prohibited for his master to give him a slave woman as a wife. Since if he already has a connection and bond with a God-fearing woman of the daughters of Israel, then despite that, because of his utterly lowly level of being a slave, it has become permitted for him to marry a slave woman; nevertheless, he has hope. But if he still has not connected to an Israelite woman, then if he were to marry a slave woman—which is the complete opposite—he would be utterly lost. Therefore the Torah prohibited that he be given a slave woman, even though he fell into slavery. For even regarding he who has fallen into complete slavery, which is the main contamination of the snake, an aspect of Amalek; nevertheless, the compassion of God penetrates even into there, and He thinks thoughts that they should not be cast off
completely, God forbid.

(Likutei Halachos, Bachur Behemah Tehorah 17:26)

One needs to always strengthen oneself in God, in
One order not to cause oneself to despair under any circumstances—just always know that “the whole earth is full of his glory” and God is still with him and nearby him etc., until he eventually merits to strengthen himself while he is eating, so that he can acquire an inspiration of Divine desire, where specifically while eating, a strong and extremely intense desire and yearning for Hashem Yisborach will rest upon him. And this is the exact opposite of what causes most people of the world to fall, because most of the descents come from eating, that is, they get very discouraged because of their eating,
which isn’t as holy as it should be.

And in truth, despite that certainly each person of
And the People of Israel needs to eat with complete holiness; nevertheless, he is prohibited from getting discouraged for any reason, rather—on the contrary—time after time he needs to encourage himself, especially while he is eating, when it is prohibited to be lazy. Rather he needs to be a soldier; that is, not only is it prohibited to get discouraged from one’s eating, on the contrary, one needs to know and believe that the eating by a member of the People of Israel is very precious, since his eating is in accordance with the Torah; at any rate, he doesn’t eat prohibited food (God forbid), rather it is all in accordance with the Torah. And he also does the blessing before and after everything, and by this means each person of the People of Israel makes many refinements [of the holy sparks from the klipahs] through his eating, and he should eat with happiness and with strong [faith] in Hashem Yisborach, and know that “the whole earth is full of his glory,” and God is with him, as mentioned above. Until he merits an inspiration of Divine desire specifically while he is eating, where then, he yearns for Hashem Yisborach with highly exalted desire, which is the main holiness when the People of Israel eat. For this is the way whereby an ultimate and complete refinement of all of the sparks within the food takes place; and in this way they ascend to their supernal root in completeness, as
explained elsewhere. (Likutei Halachos, Chalah 4:3)

The Kadosh Baruch Hoo does not withhold the
The reward from any creature (Baba Kama 38b), and every good act which a person does without ulterior motives for the sake of Hashem Yisborach, whether it be big or small, nothing at all will be lost from it in the future, even if he transgressed (God forbid) against the precepts of the entire Torah a number of times. For even though the holy books discuss how if a person is wicked, he adds strength to the klipah through his good acts, and there is truth in this which cannot be explained very well in writing; however, the overarching principle is that whoever wants to have compassion on himself, so that he won’t lose his world entirely, and whoever yearns to return to God, then even though he doesn’t merit to do teshuvah to the degree appropriate to him; nevertheless, whatever he does in the realm of holiness, no matter what happens, certainly nothing from it will be lost, even if he doesn’t merit to do complete teshuvah in truth, God forbid. And even more so, in most cases, when he will be strong in his desire and accustom himself little by little in the ways of holiness, then in the final end he will merit to return in complete teshuvah to God. For there is absolutely no despair in the world at all, as has
already been explained a number of times.

(Likutei Halachos, Trumos U’Ma’aseros 3:2)

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Revival/Restoration of the Soul - Meshivas Nefesh - volume 2 part 2 - articles 61-90

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