תשובה פתאומית ותשובה הדרגיתSudden and Gradual Return

teshuvah pit'omit u-teshuvah hadragtitIn Gamatria ↗

One flash or a thousand small steps, arriving at the same light.

Measured by time, return takes two forms. Sudden return is a spiritual lightning flash entering the soul. At once a person sees the ugliness of sin and becomes someone else, a change Kook traces to an inner gift whose paths lie in hidden depths. Gradual return has no flash. One simply feels the need to keep improving, and step by step wins the straight path, mending traits and deeds until reaching refinement. Above both stands a higher return, born of a glimpse of the divine good filling all worlds: how could anyone stay torn off from the whole, like a stray speck of dust?

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