Question:
What Chizuk and guidance can you give us during these turbulent times, especially considering the current situation that is going on in Eretz Yisroel? How can we do Teshuva?
Answer:
I can only tell you what I'm used to from the world of Novardok, that’s all I can give the public, because that’s what I know. I have met the happiest, happiest people in the world. Novardokers went through Gehinom during the war, hundreds of them. R' Yonasan Blau Shlita, a Rosh Kollel in America, I heard from him that they were the happiest people in the world. They had the worst pecklach you ever heard, yet they were the happiest people in the world. Not ONE person was depressed. Why? Because the Mussar that they learned put them in a different world. A world of Simcha, that you don’t need any Seforim on Simcha. When you work on your Middos, you are happy forever.
Now, I don’t want to say things that are not for the public. I don’t want to say things that you can’t do. That’s why I'm hesitating. What should I say, and what should I not say. But I'm telling you where I'm coming from. I officially learn Mussar for an hour a day. So I'm a different person. And I learn Mussar before Gemara. Until I did that, I wasn’t really, really, really Matzliach. I used to learn Gemara first. I'm not telling others not to follow that, since Gemara itself can make you happy. But my experience, it turned around my life. I have two Chavrusos, with Gemara, but Mussar is by far number one! And the Mussar on what I need, not Stam Mussar-Mussar. It gives me Gan Eden! So that’s what they did. There’s a lot to talk about; you take what you like.
Doing Teshuva is a thrill, it makes you happy, and I’ll tell you why. My Rebbe, R' Ozer Schwartz Zatzal, whenever he got sick, he did Teshuva and it went away within two days! Ask his rebbetzin! He told me this himself. That’s the way he lived his life! He once needed the emergency room; he was bleeding all over. He said: Leave me alone, I'm doing Teshuva. He did Teshuva, and a few days later everything was fine. When you are not doing Teshuva, your body doesn’t like it; it’s not healthy to walk around feeling guilty. We all do. And sometimes, the Teshuva is NOT TO FEEL GUILTY!
I’ll tell you a story. I was once physically ill. So I said to myself: Mandel, you're calling yourself a bum, and it’s not right! I was Dan myself L'kaf Zechus, and I gave a whole explanation why. I had been doing Teshuva, and I was getting too carried away! A number of times, my Teshuva was: Stop being: ש ַא ַמ ַים blaming yourself. I proved why I'm not guilty, for different reasons, and I had a Refua Shleima. I’ve done this a number of times. In fact, I get sick in the first place because I can be too tough on myself. Watch out! You're not allowed to be farfrumed; your body doesn’t like it. What’s Teshuva? Teshuva is not a “bear”. Teshuva is FUN! I will tell you something that I myself recommended; and I told it to an Adam Gadol, and he said it’s Gevaldig. Write down all your sins. Next to it, write down a possible solution. And AD KAN, that’s it! The Alter of Novardok says: דַַע ַ מ ַקוֹםַש ַי ַדוַַֹתע ַג ַמ ַ You are not required to do more than your best; more than that, you are Patur. Hashem will help with the rest. You do that once a week, or once a day, I don’t know how often. You're going to feel so happy. Psychologically, it affects you. That is one Eitza I give for Teshuva.
