When a person is, R”l, sick, and there is no known cure for his illness, and doctors give him a year or two to live, we strengthen the patient by telling him that there are always new cures being created. HaKadosh Baruch Hu reveals to us new cures, incredible remedies that have never been imagined from the days of the creation of the world—and people who even yesterday despaired of being cured can be healed through this. We show him the thousands of people who have been helped in this way, and they are alive to tell the story, and in this way, the patient gains hope and faith in ultimately being healed—for, who knows, within a year, the cure for his illness may come into being.
The same applies to teshuvah. A person says, “I feel that I am spiritually sick, and there is no cure for my illness. I have tried a hundred times, and it didn’t help.” But we tell him, “If you will persist and do your part... one day the ‘cure’ will be created. You still can’t see it, because the path for your return hasn’t yet been created—but by persevering and ‘staying alive,’ you will yet see the refuah, and you will emerge from darkness to light.”
