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The World’s Greatest Joy PDF Print E-mail
Written by Rabbi David Samson   
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Jews who have become religious, baale t'shuva, describe t'shuva as the most joyous experience in their lives. Very often, a gleam of happiness shines in their eyes. Their speech is filled with an excited ring, as if they have discovered a secret treasure. Even people who have tasted all of life's secular pleasures insist that the experience of t'shuva is the world's greatest joy.

This feeling is also shared by religious Jews who have fallen off the track, let's say by falling victim to the temptations of Internet pornography, and who have fought their way back to discover an even more intimate connection to G-d through the wondrous pathway of t'shuva.  

What is the reason for this? What is the source of this joy?

Rabbi Kook states: "T'shuva is the healthiest feeling possible. A healthy soul in a healthy body must necessarily bring about the great joy of t'shuva, and the soul consequently feels the greatest natural pleasure" (Orot HaT'shuva, 5:1).

When a person rids himself of bad moral habits and base character traits, his spiritual health is improved. Without these negative influences, his soul is free to receive the flow of Divine light which fills the universe. It is this "meeting with G-d" that brings the influx of joy that every baal t'shuva feels. When the unhealthy walls which had separated him from G-d are eliminated from his life, he stands ready for life's greatest discovery - the discovery that G-d and the spiritual world are real. Suddenly, G-d's love and kindness surround him. All his sins are forgiven. Instead of darkness, there is light all around him and a pool of endless love.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 22 October 2011 )
 
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