What the Rav said:
Rabbi Nachman said, “there is a concept that everything turns out for the best”. The Rebbe said, even if I would do the biggest sin in the world, immediately I would continue as before. It’s only that afterwards I would make teshuva (repentance).
The fact that you sin – this is because of your previous incarnations, you were part of the generation of the flood, the generation of the dispersal. That’s why you sin now. So now, you want to start getting upset and broken over it?
Start now, you’ve got a hundred and twenty years to clean yourself up, slowly, slowly. Bring a little Torah into your head, some prayer, Likutei Moharan, into your head. This will push out all the other stuff, but slowly, slowly.
My thoughts:
We all want to be fixed. We all want to be fixed now, already. But the job seems too big. It feels like we have too much to do, and no strength to face the task.
In this short piece, the Rav is telling us a number of beautiful and sweet chiddushim.
First, know that you’re going to sin. You are sinning right now. But don’t worry. Don’t blame yourself. You really can’t help it right now. It’s coming from your previous lifetimes.
Take Rabbi Nachman’s advice. So, you sinned. Ok, get over it. Carry on. Make teshuva, but carry on.
Hashem has given us enough time. In fact, plenty of time. We just need to make a start. A little Torah learning, a little prayer here and there. Slowly, slowly, it all builds. But, take it slowly. One day at a time. One step at a time. Then, everything will turn out for the good.