When we focus on Hashem’s honor, even if we fall far away from the Torah, we will always be able to find strength to renew ourselves and make a fresh start in avodas Hashem, since we will understand that the more distant we are, the more pleasure we give to Hashem with each movement we make to come closer to Him.
The best example of this is Yisro. When Yisro joined the Jewish people in the desert, he said to Moshe, עתה ידעתי כי מכל אלהים ’גדול ה"—Now I know that Hashem is above all other gods.” Our sages tell us that Yisro was a priest who worshipped all forms of idolatry before becoming a Jew. The Zohar HaKadosh writes that when Yisro said, “Now I know...” Hashem’s honor was uplifted and magnified in all the higher and lower worlds, since Yisro came from such a distant spiritual place. Rebbe Nachman learns from this that the further away we are, the more nachas we give Hashem when we return to Him.
Based on this, we can understand that the more we fall, the more inspired we should be to start again in serving Hashem. We must constantly remember that there is nothing more important than Hashem’s kavod. Thus, every time we make a mistake, we have an amazing opportunity to give Hashem incredible nachas by strengthening ourselves to do whatever we can in kedushah. When we internalize this reality, it will fill our hearts with immense joy!
