Turn Your Mistakes Into Miztvahs - R. Tzvi Sytner - TorahAnytime.com

Okay, so we're taught that when a person does chuva, real change, it actually turns all of their mistakes and their sins of the past into merits, into good deeds and mitzvahs. How does that work? I mean like there are bad things that you did, right? It's in the past, but you did them. How else do they change into good? So, the idea is like this. Imagine for a second you always drove like a maniac, road rage your whole life. And suddenly somebody like gets a clip of it and they post it online and this clip gets like millions of views and it's your face and you're driving like a maniac and you're watching this clip and the more you watch it the angrier you get and the more you watch it the more upset you get and more ashamed and more embarrassed and the more you decide I'm done, I'm never driving like that ever again, I'm going to become a new person and you do. You become a whole new person and driving calmly and carefully and you're just your your your character has changed. And up in heaven they look they look down, heaven looks down and goes, "Whoa, look at this new person. Incredible. What was the catalyst? Who was the catalyst? What caused this person to do so much good now?" You know what was the catalyst? It was that clip. It was that original sin, that original thing that he did, that original mistake. That was the catalyst for all this change. And so from heaven they go, "Wow, if that was the catalyst, that thing turns into a merit." And this is how it works. If a person looks back at the mistakes they've made, you really look at it and go, "Wow, look at look at how it's held me back. Look at look at how much damage it's caused to myself, to other people." And you get so upset by it. You're like, "I can't believe I did those things." And now you become a whole new person, that becomes the catalyst, that becomes the mitzvah. Think about the things that you want to change. See where it's holding you back. Let it get you upset and mad and then take all that energy and use it to become the new you.