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Another reason why the joy of t'shuva is so great is because the happiness of t'shuva is felt in the soul. Until a person discovers t'shuva, he experiences the pleasures of the world on the physical, emotional, or intellectual levels alone. He enjoys good foods, sexual highs, stimulating books, new clothes and the like. But a man has a deeper, spiritual level of being, his soul, which derives no satisfaction from earthly pleasures.

"To what is this analogous? To the case of a city dweller who marries a princess. If he brought her all that the world possessed, it would mean nothing to her, by virtue of her being a king's daughter. So it is with the soul. If it were brought all the delights of the world, they would be nothing to it, in view of its pertaining to the higher elements" (Mesillat Yesharim, Ch.1).

When a person does t'shuva, he opens his soul to a river of spiritual delight. The joy he discovers is like nothing which he has ever experienced. Not only are his senses affected, t'shuva touches his soul. Just as his soul is deeper than his other levels of being, the happiness he discovers is deeper. Just as his soul is eternal, his joy is eternal. Unlike the transitory pleasures of the physical world, the joy of t'shuva is everlasting. An erotic image on the Internet may cause a momentary wow, but the hit quickly fades and has to be replaced by another. A jacuzzi feels good, but when it is over, the pleasure soon passes. But in the heavenly jacuzzi of t'shuva, you don't just get wet - you get cleansed and transformed.

"When the light of t'shuva appears and the desire for good ness beats purely in the heart, a channel of happiness and joy is opened, and the soul is nurtured from a river of delights" (Orot HaT'shuva, 14:6).

This river of delight is the river of t'shuva. Rabbi Kook's use of this expression is not metaphorical alone. In the spiritual world, there actually exists a river of t'shuva. This is the constant flow of t'shuva which, though invisible, is always present and active. It is our channel to true joy and happiness because it is our channel to G-d. Nothing in the world can compare to its pleasures.