Reb Baruch Ber zt’l (Birchas Shmuel) excelled in the mitzvah of honoring his parents, and when his father was ill, he stayed with his father almost every night. One night, Reb Baruch Ber couldn't be with his father, so he appointed someone to take care of his father. Unfortunately, his father was niftar that night. Reb Baruch Ber blamed himself for not being more devoted. "If I were with my father that night, perhaps he wouldn't have died."
The shivah passed, but Reb Baruch Ber couldn’t return to yeshivah to give his shiurim. His spirits were down, and he was afflicted with guilt.
He went to Radin to seek encouragement from the Chofetz Chaim zt'l. The Chofetz Chaim told him, "When one does teshuvah, he becomes a brand-new person. He isn't the same person who did the aveirah. This is the reason teshuvah atones. He is no longer the person who committed the aveirah." Reb Baruch Ber came out of the Chofetz Chaim's house singing and dancing. He shouted, "I'm a new Baruch Ber! I'm a new person!"
