Please enjoy selected stories and teachings of Rav Mordechai of Lechovitch from the sefer Returnity, The Way Back to Eternity – Selected Teachings from the Chassidic Masters on Teshuvah by Rav Tal Zwecker
There was once a prince who was captured by a band of cutthroat thieves, and they took him so far away from his father, the king, that if he had tried to walk home, it would have taken him ages to arrive. The king sent messengers to tell his son, the prince, that he was awaiting his return.
“If you do not begin your journey,” he wrote, “then the king can’t draw closer to you either.” The prince had to take the first step and set out on the journey, even though his steps might have seemed small and insignificant, and he might have thought that he was not getting anywhere. But if he started out, then the king would come toward him, taking long, powerful strides – and then surely they would be reunited very soon.
The Novi (prophet) says, “Return to Me [says Hashem], and I will return to you” (Malachi 3:7). This is what the verse means: “Return to Me,” even if it means taking small steps, “and I will return to you” — I will return with abundant mercy.
