Shevet HaLevi (vol.4 siman 55) writes:
"You asked about a baal teshuvah who is now married, has children, and learns in a kollel in Yerushalayim. He is cautious with all the mitzvos and toils in Torah. You asked me to arrange a plan for teshuvah for him because until he was eighteen, he didn't keep the mitzvos. His parents aren't religious, and he knew nothing about Torah and mitzvos. During those days, he ate non-kosher food, ate on Yom Kippur, and ate chametz on Pesach.
"You quoted the Noda b'Yehudah, who says that Torah scholars don't need to afflict themselves so much for their atonement. Nevertheless, the Noda b'Yehudah concedes that some fasts and sigufim (afflictions) are certainly required so he can have a complete teshuvah, המשקל תשובת. Similarly, the Reishis Chachmah says, סגי לא הא בלא הא, that just learning Torah or just afflictions alone isn't enough. It takes a combination of the two to attain complete atonement.
"The truth is that this is a difficult question. Who is the person during these times that can set a path for teshuvah? Who has fully rectified their own sins? Woe to us from the day of judgment! We live in a weak generation, spiritually and physically. When we read the sefarim of the early scholars on the topic of teshuvah, the hairs on our heads stand up. Therefore, we are better off being silent, and HaKadosh Baruch Hu, Who accepts people who repent, will mercifully show them what to do for their teshuvah.
"Nevertheless, I found a diamond in the introduction to the sefer Yismach Moshe. He writes, 'Rosh Chodesh Av, 7545, I had a dream...'"
In this dream, heaven revealed to the Yismach Moshe that change itself is the greatest affliction. For example, a person who is lazy and isn’t careful to spend his time studying Torah must change his lifestyle and become more diligent in Torah study. If he was accustomed to speaking whatever came to his mind, he must train himself to guard his tongue. Making these changes is very hard; they are like sigufim (afflictions). The Kotzker zt'l said, "Keeping the Torah is the greatest siguf of all." One doesn't need to fast or engage in other forms of affliction. The changes he makes on his road to improvement are sufficient because change is so difficult and painful.
25. There are unfortunately many people who are addicted to the internet, r'l. According to the Shevet HaLevi's ruling, it stands to reason that when they overcome this addiction, they won't require further affliction to attain purity from sin. The difficulty involved in breaking the habit is, in itself, a considerable affliction.
The Chasam Sofer forbade his students to study חיצונים חכמות, foreign subjects, which could lead to heresy. One student wrote that he was from the best bachurim in the yeshiva and obeyed the Chasam Sofer’s directive. However, it happened that he once awoke in the middle of the night and was tempted to read one of those forbidden books. All the other bachurim were sleeping, and no one would know. He reached for the book but suddenly saw an image of a person with a drawn sword. Frightened, the bachur threw the book down, and the vision disappeared.
"It must have been my imagination," the bachur decided, and he picked up the book again. Once again, he saw the image of a man brandishing a sword. He put down the book again and went back to sleep.
The following day, when the Chasam Sofer finished his daily shiur, he added, "It's time to remind the bachurim of the prohibition against reading חיצונים ספרי. We haven't spoken about it for a while, so this is a reminder that there is a חרם on those books, and they are strictly forbidden. חרם has the same letters as רמח (sword) because if one transgresses the חרם, he can be punished, chalilah, with a sword." Hundreds of bachurim heard the Chasam Sofer's words, but only one understood precisely what the Chasam Sofer was referring to.
A wealthy person once told the Divrei Chaim zt'l of Tzanz, "Many bachurim learn in your beis medresh, and they attend your shiurim. Why not turn this into a formal yeshiva? I will cover all the expenses." "I’m afraid of the responsibility," the Divrei Chaim replied. "But the Chasam Sofer ran a yeshiva," the man countered. "We can't compare ourselves to the Chasam Sofer," the Divrei Chaim replied. "When the Chasam Sofer merely looked at a bachur's face, that bachur couldn’t sin afterward." It is known that the Chasam Sofer's holy influence protected the bachurim of his yeshiva from aveiros. The story above is an example.
The Shevet HaLevi explains that the sefarim that discuss the many days one must fast to atone for one's sins refer to a person who sinned once or twice. He had a weak moment and now seeks to rectify that grave aveirah. But if one is accustomed to sin, he doesn't need anything other than to improve his ways. His effort to create lasting change is yesurim in its own right.
The Shevet HaLevi continues, "The person you describe was a שנשבה תינוק, born to irreligious parents, and didn't know anything about Torah, which is why he committed so many aveiros. Later, he did teshuvah, raised himself above the mire of sin, and merited to go from level to level, and today, he sits and toils in the tents of Torah. He built a holy Jewish family and is cautious with the mitzvos. This is a perfect teshuvah, תשובת המשקל based on the lesson from the Yismach Moshe. We generally don't learn halachos from dreams, but this time, it seems logical and correct. I have much to add on this subject from many sources in Chazal. However, I decided to end the letter here because I became very afraid as we discussed rectifying sins. May Hashem see our broken hearts and enable us to do teshuvah sheleimah."
