There Is No Despair in the World: A Jewish Perspective on Hope and Change

When we find ourselves drowning in helplessness or gripped by despair, we must pause and remind ourselves of a powerful truth: There is no such thing as despair in the world! There is always a path to repair, because the Creator of the world has given us the ability to transform darkness into light, to turn mistakes into growth.

There’s a beautiful saying: “Don’t tell G-d how big your problems are—tell your problems how big G-d is.”

We may have failed, stumbled, made mistakes, even veered far off course. But that’s where it ends. What was until now doesn’t have to define what will be. Even if we haven’t lived up to our potential so far, that doesn’t mean we can’t become who we’re meant to be beginning from today. In a single moment, everything can change. We can choose a new path that leads us to the peak of joy and fulfillment.

Despair doesn’t exist in the world—it exists only in the human heart. It is one of the most powerful weapons the negative inclination uses against us.

In his book Michtav Me’Eliyahu, Rabbi Dessler brings a remarkable teaching in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that beautifully illustrates this idea: The Talmud (Chagigah 15a) tells us about Elisha ben Avuya—known as Acher ("the other one")—a great Torah scholar and the teacher of Rabbi Meir, who later left the path of righteousness. The story says he once heard a heavenly voice proclaim: “Return, wayward children—except for Acher.”

This raises serious questions: How is it possible that someone like Acher—who had sinned so greatly—was privileged to hear a voice from Heaven? And more importantly, how could a heavenly voice declare that he was beyond return? Repentance (teshuvah) is a fundamental principle of the Torah! We’re taught that a person can return to G-d at any moment, even in the last breath of life. How could it be that Acher, of all people, was denied that possibility?

The Baal Shem Tov explains: Acher didn’t actually hear a heavenly voice. He heard the voice of his own despair.

He was so consumed by guilt, so convinced that he had no way back, that he imagined this inner voice as if it came from Heaven—seeming to confirm what he already believed. However, it was his own heart speaking, echoing the hopelessness that had taken over. He didn’t want to return and so he believed the “voice” that told him he couldn’t. Or more precisely, he heard what he wanted to hear. (Michtav Me’Eliyahu, Vol. 4, p. 289)

The Talmud also notes that Rabbi Meir—his loyal student—never gave up on him. Even after Acher told him about the voice he heard, Rabbi Meir wasn’t convinced. He understood that what Acher had heard wasn’t a heavenly message at all, but the sound of despair rising from a broken heart.

Rabbi Meir knew the truth. He knew there is no such thing as despair and that no matter who you are, or what you've done, there is always a way forward. Every person, in every situation, can change, return and start anew.