אַאַזְמוּ"ר אָמַר: אַ אִידִישׁעֶר קרעֶכץ וואָס קוּמט חַס וְשָׁלוֹם בְּסִבָּה פוּן אַ נִיט גוּט גַּשְׁמִי אִיז אוֹיך אַ תְּשׁוּבָה גְדוֹלָה, בִּפְרַט אַ קְרעֶכץ בְּסִבָּה פוּן אַ נִיט גוּט רוּחָנִי אִיז אַוַדאַי אוּן אַוַדאַי אַ תְּשׁוּבָה מַעַלַיְתָא. דעֶר קְרעֶכץ שְׁלעֶפּט אַרוֹיס פוּן עוֹמֶק רַע, אוּן שְׁטעֶלט אַנִידעֶר אִין אַ מַעֲמָד טוֹב.

My revered grandfather, the Rebbe [Maharash], once said: “Even when the sigh of Jew is occasioned by an unfavorable material circumstance (Heaven forbid), this too is a significant act of teshuvah. All the more so, a sigh due to an unfavorable spiritual situation is most certainly a lofty level of teshuvah. It drags one out of the depths of evil, and sets him up in a good place.”1

Delving Deeply

A person sighs when he feels that alone he cannot overcome the difficulties he faces. But it is this very acknowledgment — that he can no longer rely on his own strength but must turn to G‑d — that opens him to truth. This is the first step in teshuvah.

This acknowledgment also frees one from being weighted down by worry. As the Rebbe once wrote in a letter to a confirmed worrier,2 “Consider: Is G‑d really in need of your worry as to how He is going to run your affairs and solve your problems? Or will He succeed in finding good solutions even without your worrying?”