„The shame that one feels in the innermost heart on account of sin, ev…”

When we commit a transgression and are pained by it, and are ashamed of what we did, God sees our sorrow. And if we do not cast off the sorrow, but rather try to atone for the sin and to understand and rectify its cause and its root—then our sins are atoned.

This atonement is natural, just as one transgression drags along another—since the person is already in the mud, he sinks into it more and more. So too, sorrow over a transgression drags along atonement for the transgression: the person is pained by the fact that he is in the mud and tries to get out of it.

We must know that every person falls, and the Sages said that 'whoever is greater than his fellow, his evil inclination is greater than his'—that is, the greater a person is, the stronger is his evil inclination. But a person who believes in God must know that his greatness lies in this: that he will rise and shake off the sin, be pained by it, and seek ways to serve God. This is the best way to advance. Coping with sin requires a will for change. This will is the engine and the foundation of repentance.

In memory of Devora bat Bova