Musar do Izajasza 55:7

The second principle is leaving the sin: That he should leave his evil ways and decide with all of his heart that he will not continue to return this way again. And if he did evil, he shall not do [it any] more, like the matter that is stated, (Ezekiel 33:11), "Return, return from your evil ways"; and [likewise] stated (Isaiah 55:17), "Let the wicked give up his ways." But know that [in the case of] one who sins by happenstance because he had a desire and his impulse overpowered him and attacked him, whereas his ideas and senses did not rescue him when he encountered it; so they were not quick to rebuke him in the sea of desire, to dry it up - hence the impulse dragged him into its nets and he fell into its snares at that particular time and instant, at the time that the spirit of the evil impulse kicked him down, but not because of his [own] desire and will to find his iniquity and to do like this afterwards: The beginning of the repentance of this man is regret; to place sorrow into his heart about his sin, to have his soul be afflicted and bitter like wormwood. Afterwards, he should increase the fear of sin in his heart every day, and put the dread of God into his heart at all times, until his heart becomes steady in the trust of God. As if the impulse comes across him again - like it does from time to time - and his desire become fanned like the first case, his heart will not be seduced by it and he will abandon its path. [This is] as it is stated (Proverbs 28:13), "but one who confesses and abandons [them] will find mercy" - it mentions "confesses" first, about the regret and the confession; and afterwards, "abandons." However [in the case of] one who is constantly positioned on the path that is not good, and the man who treads on his sins every day and repeats them in his foolishness; and who runs after it many times in his race, loves his evil all the time, places the trap of his iniquity in front of his face - meaning his desire and impulse - and his craving is his occupation; he does not prevent himself from doing anything that he wants to do: For such a man, the beginning of his repentance is to abandon his evil way and thoughts, and to agree, resolve and accept upon himself to not continue sinning. Afterwards, he should regret and return to God, as it is stated (Isaiah 55:7), "Let the wicked give up his ways, the sinful man his plans; let him turn back to the Lord, and He will pardon him." And the parable for this is about one who holds a sherets (an impure crawling animal) and comes to immerse and become pure. For he must first leave the sherets, and then immerse and become purified. But all the time that the sherets is in his hand, his impurity is still with him and the immersion is ineffective. And behold that leaving the thoughts of sin is [equivalent to] throwing out the sherets; and the regret of that which he sinned, the confession and the prayer are in place of the immersion. And when afflictions and aches come upon the evildoer for whom all of his plans are to continue with his crimes, he is first afflicted. And then he repents from the evil thoughts that he thought and cuts off the actions from his hands. And the parable for this is about a calf which they hit with a cow prod to direct his [work on the] furrows. So is one who is positioned on a path that is not good. He should take the chastisement first, to abandon the ways of death and to walk in a straight path - as it is written (Jeremiah 31:18), "I can hear Ephraim lamenting, 'You have chastised me, and I am chastised like a calf that has not been broken.'" And it is further stated after it (Jeremiah 31:19), "Now that I have turned back, I am filled with remorse." [This] means to say, "After you chastised me, and I was chastised and returned from my evil ways; I was filled with remorse afterwards and regretted what occurred with my iniquities." So behold that all of this matter that we have explained has been clarified for you.

Now that it has been explained that the pillars of love are three and we have explained each of them briefly, we can now say that the foundation of the book and its intent is a service in which man can reach the level of fulfilling God’s will till he purifies his heart from its wickedness and cleanses it from its uncleanliness. Then his heart will cleave to the service of God. It is like a garment which you wish to dye. If it is soiled, then the dye will not be fast until you first wash it well and remove all of its stains; then the dye will be fast. Concerning this, Isaiah, the prophet, peace be upon him, said (Isaiah 55:7), “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the man of iniquity his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have compassion upon him, and let him return to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” And Samuel the prophet said (1 Samuel 7:3), “If ye do return unto the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods from among you.”

"So in a time of good fortune enjoy the good fortune; and in a time of misfortune, reflect: The one no less than the other was God’s doing" (Ecclesiastes 7:14). This verse said King Solomon about what he saw, that all that was created in the world - everything is against each other. how? There is good in the world, there is evil against good. There is light in the world, against it there is darkness and gloom. In the world, there are days and rivers, against it there is land. There is a desert and there is a settlement. There are mountains and hills, there are ravines and valleys. And there is warmth and there is coolness. In this matter everything was created, and in each and every one there is good and evil in it. And every wise heart takes from each and every one what he enjoys. Such as: Light is better than darkness, but in darkness there is a good that at night there is rest for all to sleep, which is not the case during the day. And in the darkness a man fled from his enemies coming upon him. And in this matter there is in everything and anything, and everything is against each other. And man was created in this matter that all his virtues and methods - everything against each other, such as: pride and humility, grief and joy. And in every quality and quality - there is a side to it that distances it from the good and righteous way, and about this, it is said: "Let the wicked give up his ways" (Isaiah 55:7). And there is in every quality - a side in which the wise and educated approach to the work of Hashem. And for which we have seen that the sidelines are many in every quality, therefore we have come to order the measures in a short way, to make signs. And these signs shall be in your mouth, and you shall be accustomed to them. And if you are in a matter that will bring you to pride - remind yourself of these signs to humble your spirit. So that you will think: How proud were they in the world of pride and authority, and forgotten as if they were not, and where are they? Therefore stick to humility.