10 Powerful Truths About Teshuvah: How to Start Over Spiritually

1. A Powerful Message from the Chazon Ish
A terrified young girl once came to the home of the Chazon Ish, asking to speak with him. At that time, however, he wasn’t available to receive her. He asked his aides to refer her to Rabbi Wolf, the founder of the Bnei Brak girls’ seminary.

The girl arrived at Rabbi Wolf’s home physically and emotionally drained. With great effort, she explained that she was going through intense spiritual turmoil and felt so broken by her sins that she wanted to leave this world — believing death would be better than continuing her life.

Rabbi Wolf was shaken. He told her that he would go to the Chazon Ish himself, share her words, and return with his advice. The Chazon Ish listened attentively and then told Rabbi Wolf to give her this message: “Even thinking about and dwelling on past sins is itself a sin. Let her accept upon herself from now on to think only of the future and of improving her deeds.”

When a person wants to do teshuvah (repentance), the first step is to start doing good, increasing mitzvot, and stop wallowing in past mistakes.

2. Why Does the Torah Begin with the Letter Bet (ב)?
To teach us the path of teshuvah. Rabbeinu Yonah explains that just as the letter Bet is closed on three sides and open only forward, so too, a person must look only ahead, not behind. However, Bet also has a small "thorn" in the back, hinting that we should remember our past mistakes only enough to avoid repeating them, but not to be stuck in guilt.

3. Man Is Not Born Perfect
A person is created lacking, so that he will strive toward spiritual completion. This is his essential purpose. Everyone is prone to stumble, to make mistakes, to fall short, in all areas of life: relationships, spirituality, mitzvah observance, and more. Added to the failure itself is the deep frustration it brings.

This is one of the yetzer hara's most dangerous tactics: to make a person believe that God has distanced Himself from them, and that they are too far gone to ever return.

4. The Truth Is the Opposite
The Torah says: "His Kingdom rules over all." Even in the depths of impurity, God is present. As it says: “Who dwells with them in the midst of their impurity” (Leviticus 16:16). The Sages comment: “Even when they are impure, the Divine Presence is with them” (Yoma 56).

5. This Was the Approach of Moshe Rabbeinu
During the 40 days he spent in Heaven from Elul until Yom Kippur, Moshe taught us that Hashem is with everyone, even the lowest of the low. As it says: “If I descend to the depths — You are there” (Psalms 139:8). As long as a person repeats this truth to himself and internalizes it, there is always hope for true teshuvah.

6. Even in the Deepest Waters, There Is a Way Back
Even in times when a person feels overwhelmed by wave after wave of troubles, there is always a path back to God. Especially in the month of Elul, when the gates of Heaven are open and a spirit of purity is poured into us. (Halachot of Testimony, Law 5, section 9)

7. Sin Distances a Person — But Doesn’t Sever the Connection
Teshuvah was created before the world itself to show that everything can be restored. This is the foundation of Judaism: “One can acquire their entire share in the World to Come in just a single moment.”

8. The Main Rule in Serving God: Never Give Up
“All the righteous people throughout history reached greatness only by this principle: they never gave up on themselves.” Even when they experienced many falls and setbacks, they kept going. It was through this perseverance that they achieved their greatness.
(Hilchot Ona’ah, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov)

9. “He who confesses and forsakes [his sins] will be shown mercy”
This verse teaches the process of teshuvah: A person must confess the sin aloud to God, identify exactly what they did wrong, and firmly commit not to repeat it. If they do this sincerely, they are promised Divine compassion.

10. Complete Purification Is Possible
God gave us the ability to become completely pure, to the point where our sins are treated as if they never happened. More than that: When one repents out of love, their deliberate sins are transformed into merits. This is not exaggeration. The very sins committed intentionally can be turned into positive spiritual currency.

Teshuvah from love means:

• Recognizing how foolish it was to distance oneself from God,

• Feeling true regret over that distance,

• Speaking directly and personally to God,

• Confessing the sin and expressing sincere remorse,

• Resolving not to return to that sin ever again.

When teshuvah is done this way, the past itself becomes part of one’s growth, and the sins become transformed into spiritual light.