The Sfas Emes explains that we know that HaKadosh Baruch Hu is ôåúç ùòø ìãåô÷é áúùåáä, He opens the door to those who rap in teshuvah. He explains that a tzaddik is one who constantly thinks thoughts of teshuvah—many times throughout the day for aveiros large and small. This is the designation of a tzaddik. You want to be a greater yerei Shamayim? Think thoughts of teshuvah at all times.
By the way, the reason for this is that the tzaddik doesn’t become broken by these thoughts of teshuvah. His heart is broken, but his spirit is not, and so he doesn’t fall into despair. On the contrary, he becomes elevated by this experience. He learns more and more about himself through this process—and he’s thus able to repair his ways.
This is akin to a home in which there’s a leak. The homeowner can’t find the source of the leak, and he calls down a professional who comes with his gadgets and begins to search. After half an hour, he excitedly calls the homeowner, and with a wide grin shows him the source of the leak. What’s he excited about? He found a problem! The obvious answer is that now that he has found the source of the problem, there’s hope that he can repair the pipes. So too, the tzaddik isn’t depressed by the negative findings within himself; he now has hope to fix his problems.
