And so, instead of being afraid of the teshuvah lifestyle, and in the place of thinking that life will be more pleasant when we ignore our issues... as some people will say, “It’s so painful to think about how many aveiros I do in a day! I can’t deal with it. In any case, Chassidim emphasize joy!” No, no, no! Chassidim emphasize teshuvah with joy..
The idea is that since it’s possible to do teshuvah at any given time, we can always tap into the great light that fills our hearts with joy. Especially on Chanukah, when HaKadosh Baruch Hu brings down such a great light—a light that enables us to see clearly that we can do teshuvah and we must do teshuvah whenever we notice that we thought or spoke in ways that are unbefitting. Then, one must immediately immerse in the mikvah of the Rambam, determine to become close to Hashem and to daven for it, and if he falls again, chas v’shalom, he will pick himself up once again.
