Many people are bewildered by the approach of chizuk that teaches us that Hashem is always with us, and He loves us and takes pride in us. How does this help us when we’re having a hard day, we don’t accomplish our goals, or even worse, we stumble and fall to actual sins? A person doesn’t want to be a failure who needs encouragement—he wants to be strong and succeed.
The problem with this question is that the person asking it is only concerned with his own kavod. If a person is focused on his own image, and he only values what people see as success, he will certainly get depressed and discouraged, since he has decided that he won’t be happy unless things go his way. He will never agree with how Hashem leads his life if it doesn’t go exactly as he wants, and it never does.
A second problem is that when a person strives for a particular level or status as his end goal, he will not advance or even try to improve himself once he “arrives.”
On the other hand, Rebbe Nachman teaches us that our goal in life is to minimize our own kavod and increase Hashem’s kavod. This gives us a completely different picture of success. It motivates us to do mitzvos and learn Torah purely for Hashem’s sake. We realize that we can give Hashem great nachas with every word of tefillah we say. We can reveal His glory by holding ourselves back from temptation or peacefully negotiating difficult situations. This is the purpose of the world, as the verse says, “לכבודי בראתיו יצרתיו אף עשיתיו”—For My honor have I created, formed and made everything.”
Teshuvah — Remembering Hashem’s Honor
This is the basis of what Rebbe Nachman says here, “A person who wants to return to Hashem must strengthen himself to follow Hashem’s path, whether he’s going up or falling down.” Teshuvah begins by focusing on Hashem’s kavod. When a person truly wants to return to Hashem, he will always search to reveal His honor however possible. When he reaches a new spiritual level, he will always strive for more, since this is how he can give Hashem even greater pleasure. This is an aspect of baki b’ratzo.
On the other hand, when he falls, he will never give up, no matter what. Instead, he will look for Hashem, searching for how to attach himself to Hashem from his low place. He will do whatever he can to serve Hashem, since he knows that this honor’s Hashem. He will view his situation as an opportunity to reveal Hashem’s glory even in the darkness of this world. He will know that every effort to strengthen himself to find Hashem gives Him incredible nachas. This is an aspect of baki b’shov.
This is the foundation of teshuvah that can give us the ability to face everything we have to go through. We must take upon ourselves from the very beginning to search for Hashem’s kavod, whether we’re going up or falling down—no matter what!
