The Alter Rebbe begins here by saying, "O'ma She Meshabchim Mevborchim Es Hashem, Chanun Hamarbe Lisloyach." This means, "This, that we praise and bless Hashem, we say, Chanun Hamarbe Lisloyach"—the merciful one who forgives a lot. The question is, why do we praise Hashem specifically for being Hamarbe Lisloyach, for forgiving a lot? After all, even a human being can forgive. If you want to be part of the Jewish people, you have to be forgiving. But the Alter Rebbe is pointing out that there is something unique about Hashem's forgiveness, which is why we specifically praise Him as Hamarbe Lisloyach.

The Alter Rebbe emphasizes the word "Hamarbe"—that Hashem forgives a lot. The focus is on the fact that it is not just that Hashem forgives, but that He forgives repeatedly, over and over. This is the unique praise, that Hashem is not just forgiving, but He is Hamarbe, He forgives abundantly, without limit.

He brings a proof from the verse in Ezra, "Verav Lisloyach"—He is great in forgiveness, He forgives a lot. This shows that the idea of Hashem forgiving abundantly is not just a phrase we say, but it is rooted in the words of Tanach itself.

Now, what does this mean? The Alter Rebbe explains: when it comes to a human being, if a man sins against another person and then asks him for forgiveness, and the other person forgives him, that's normal. People can forgive each other once.

But if, after being forgiven, he goes back and does the same wrong again, it becomes very difficult for the other person to forgive him a second time. It's not so easy for a human being to keep forgiving someone who keeps repeating the same offense.

And all the more so, if it happens a third or a fourth time, it's even harder for a person to keep forgiving. The more times someone repeats the same wrong, the less likely it is that a human being will continue to forgive them.

But when it comes to Hashem, it's completely different. In the measure of Hashem, there is no difference between forgiving one time or a thousand times. Hashem's forgiveness is not limited by number or by how many times a person has sinned. Whether it's once or many times, Hashem forgives just the same. This is the unique quality of Hashem's mercy, that He is Hamarbe Lisloyach, forgiving without limit.

Why is this so? Because Hashem's forgiveness comes from the attribute of mercy—rachamim—and His holy attributes are not limited or bounded. They are in a state of ein sof, infinite. As the verse says, "Ki loichalu rachamov"—His mercies never end. When something is infinite, there is no difference between a small number and a large number; it's all the same before Hashem. That's why, every year and every day, we can come to Hashem and ask for forgiveness, and He forgives us, no matter how many times we've failed before. This is the special praise of Hashem as Hamarbe Lisloyach, the one who forgives endlessly.

As it says, "Ki lo chalu rachamov"—His mercies have not ended. The Alter Rebbe brings this verse to show that Hashem's mercy is endless, it never runs out. This is the foundation for why we can always come back and ask for forgiveness, no matter how many times we've failed. Hashem's compassion is not limited; it's always available to us. That's why we say that Hashem is chanun hamarbe lisloach, the merciful one who forgives abundantly, because His mercy is truly without end.

And when it comes to the level of ein sof—the Infinite—there is absolutely no difference between a small number and a large number. The Alter Rebbe explains that, by Hashem, numbers don't matter. Whether it's one time or a thousand times, it's all the same to Hashem, because He is infinite. His forgiveness isn't measured by how many times we've sinned or asked for forgiveness. This is totally different from a human being, who gets tired of forgiving after a few times. But by Hashem, there's no such thing as too many times; His capacity to forgive is unlimited.

Because, as it says, "kula kamei kelo mamash chashiv"—everything before Him is considered as nothing. The Alter Rebbe says that, in Hashem's eyes, both small and great are equal; He equates the small with the great. Numbers don't make a difference to Him. So, whether a person comes once or many times, it's all the same to Hashem. This is why we emphasize that Hashem is hamarbe lisloach, that He forgives a lot, because from His perspective, there's no limit or boundary to His forgiveness.

And that's why, every year, Hashem removes our guilt—"maavir ashamoseinu bechol shana v'shana". The Alter Rebbe explains that, because Hashem's forgiveness is infinite, every year, when Yom Kippur comes, we can come back and ask for forgiveness again, and Hashem wipes away our sins. No matter how many times we've failed, every year we have this opportunity, because Hashem's mercy is not limited by time or by the number of times we've sinned.

And all the sins that we confess in the "al chet" every year—Hashem forgives them. The Alter Rebbe points out that, even though we might be confessing the same sins year after year, Hashem still forgives us each time. This is part of the unique quality of Hashem's mercy, that He doesn't get tired of us coming back, even for the same things. Every year, when we say the al chet and confess, Hashem removes those sins again.

Even if a person went back and did those sins again, he comes back and confesses them again on Yom Kippur the next year—and so it goes on forever. The Alter Rebbe explains that, even if someone repeats the same sins, and then comes back the next year and confesses again, Hashem still forgives him. This cycle can go on every year, and Hashem's forgiveness is always available. This is not like a human being, who would lose patience after a few times. Hashem's mercy is truly endless, and He continues to forgive as long as we sincerely return and confess.

And it's not just every year. The Alter Rebbe says it's not only every year that this happens. It's not limited to Yom Kippur or to an annual cycle. The same principle applies even more frequently.

Rather, the same is true every single day. Three times a day, we bless Hashem—"baruch atah Hashem chanun hamarbe lisloach"—the merciful one who forgives abundantly. This is not just for Yom Kippur, but for every day. The Alter Rebbe explains that our daily prayers, especially the blessing of forgiveness, correspond to the daily korban tamid that used to atone for sins. Just as the sacrifices brought atonement every day, our prayers now bring forgiveness every day, three times a day. This shows how Hashem's forgiveness is constant and ongoing, not just a once-a-year event. And even if someone knows he may fail again, as long as he sincerely asks for forgiveness and wants to improve, Hashem continues to forgive, because His mercy is infinite.

Like the saying of our teachers, of blessed memory, they say that the prayers were instituted to correspond to the Korban Tamid. So, now we're going to tell you, what are we talking about, the Chanun Hamarbe Lisloyach, it's going in the place of the Korban. The Korban Tamid of the morning, that would atone for the sins that you did at night. And the Tamid that comes in the afternoon would atone for the very sins you did during the daytime. Same thing every day, forever, that was done through the Korban. So, that's why we had the two Korbanos. And now that the tefillah, makom korbanos tiknum, comes out, that every day, when you daven, you get forgiven, we also have Maariv, but basically the two tefillos. So, we're forgiven for the sins of that day.

The Tamid of the morning would atone for the sins of the night, and the Tamid of the afternoon would atone for the sins of the day. That's why we had the two Korbanos, as he explains, so that every part of the day would be covered. The morning Tamid took care of what happened at night, and the afternoon one took care of what happened during the day.

And the same thing, every day, forever, that was done through the Korban. So, that's why we had the two Korbanos. And now that the tefillah, makom korbanos tiknum, comes out, that every day, when you daven, you get forgiven. We also have Maariv, but basically the two tefillos. So, we're forgiven for the sins of that day.

So, if we're forgiven that day, why do we wait for Yom Kippur? He's going to say, it makes a difference, because there are certain sins that you can be forgiven for right away, but for more serious sins, you have to wait for Yom Kippur. That atones for serious sins.

But the Tamid, which is a korban olah, only atones for a positive commandment that was violated. That only atones for a positive, for a violation of positive mitzvos. So, if someone missed a mitzvas asei, the Tamid would atone for that, but not for more severe transgressions.

And so too, the prayer nowadays will forgive for the mitzvas asei, just like the Korban Tamid, together with the teshuvah that you do, as mentioned before. So, it's not just the prayer alone, but the prayer together with teshuvah, as was said earlier, that you need teshuvah for the atonement to take place.

Now, we have another issue over here. Since we're saying that every day, we're asking Hashem forgiveness, and Hashem forgives us constantly, we know that when a person says, 'I'm going to sin and I'm going to do teshuvah,' then we don't give him an opportunity to do teshuvah. So, doesn't it seem like, I mean, you know that you're sinning now, and you know, you say, you do teshuvah, then you know, you're going to again, you're going to say, against, chas v'shalom. So, you're not really asking forgiveness, because you know that you're going to do it again. The Alter Rebbe says, no, that's not really what the meaning is over there.

When do we say, 'I will sin and then do teshuvah,' and that he won't be given the opportunity to do teshuvah? That's only if, at the time of the sin, he could have controlled himself, but he relies in his heart on the teshuvah. So, he knows, why isn't he controlling himself? Because he knows he'll do teshuvah. Since it's actually the teshuvah that causes him to sin, because he's only relying on the teshuvah, that's why he's doing the sin; otherwise, he would control himself. So, it turns out that what causes him to sin? The teshuvah. Since that, that's why we're not going to give him the opportunity to do teshuvah, because he relied on the teshuvah. The teshuvah is the cause for his sin. And also, even though when one relies on teshuvah, we're only saying, specifically the language is, we don't provide him the opportunity. But if he pushes himself, if he strengthens himself and overcomes his inclination, we'll accept his teshuvah. So, in other words, we're only saying that we're not going to give him the opportunity to do teshuvah; it doesn't mean that he can't do teshuvah, it doesn't mean that his teshuvah is not acceptable—it is acceptable. He could do teshuvah, it's going to be very hard for him to do teshuvah for that reason. But still, this is all because the reason he did the sin is because he relied on the teshuvah. That's when you have the hard time. But we, that we ask every day, 'forgive us,' what do we say before we ask Hashem to forgive us? We say to Hashem, 'Bring us back with a complete teshuvah before you.' We're not saying, 'forgive us because we're going to do teshuvah.' First, we're saying we want to return with a complete teshuvah before You. And then, after that, we're saying, 'forgive us.' We're saying, we don't want to return to foolishness, we shouldn't sin anymore. And also, on Yom Kippur, we ask, 'Let it be that I shouldn't sin anymore.' So, he's not relying on the teshuvah, but he's asking not to sin. He's begging Hashem that he shouldn't sin. That's what he wants to do. He doesn't want to sin and then say, 'I'm going to do teshuvah.' But he's asking that he doesn't want to sin. Hashiveinu. So, in that case, we do provide him the opportunity. As the saying of our teachers of blessed memory, 'One who comes to become pure, he gets supported.' So, what do we say here? It says, when you come—as soon as you come, you want to do teshuvah, Hashem gives you the opportunity. So, that means, right away, you have every opportunity. And because of that, also, the forgiving is immediate.

And even in this case, the language is, "ein maspikin"—they do not provide him with the opportunity. The Alter Rebbe is being very precise here. It doesn't say that Teshuvah is not accepted, but rather, "ein maspikin"—they don't help him, they don't make it easy for him to do Teshuvah. This is specifically when a person says, "I'm going to sin and then I'll do Teshuvah," and the only reason he's doing the sin is because he knows he can do Teshuvah afterwards. In that case, the Chachamim say, "ein maspikin"—he's not given the opportunity to do Teshuvah. It's not that Teshuvah is impossible, but it's not facilitated for him. It's much harder, because the Teshuvah itself is what caused him to sin in the first place. So, the help from above is withheld, and that's the meaning of "ein maspikin"—they don't provide him the opportunity.

But if he pushes himself, and he strengthens himself and overcomes his inclination, and he does Teshuvah—then his Teshuvah is accepted. In other words, even in the case where "ein maspikin" applies, if the person really makes the effort, if he is doychek, if he is mischazek, if he is misgaber al yitzro—if he overcomes his Yetzer Hara and truly repents—then his Teshuvah is accepted. It's just that it's much harder, because he's not given the same help from above. But if he really wants it and puts in the effort, his Teshuvah will be received.

But we, who ask every day, "Forgive us," what do we do first? We first ask, "Veha'chazireinu b'teshuvah shleimah lefanecha"—bring us back in complete Teshuvah before You. In other words, before we even ask for forgiveness, we ask Hashem to help us do Teshuvah, to return to Him fully. We're not saying, "Forgive us because we're going to do Teshuvah." Instead, we first express our desire to truly return, to do a complete Teshuvah, and only then do we ask for forgiveness. This shows that we're not relying on the fact that we can always do Teshuvah, but rather, we're sincerely asking Hashem to help us not sin again, to bring us back to Him with a full heart.

That is, we are asking that we should not return again to our foolishness. "Shelo nashuv od le'ksiloh"—that we shouldn't go back to our old mistakes, to our foolish ways. We're not saying, "We'll sin and then do Teshuvah." We're asking Hashem to help us not to sin at all, not to fall back into the same patterns. The request is that we should be able to truly change and not repeat the same errors.

And similarly, on Yom Kippur, we ask, "Yehi ratzon milfanecha shelo echetah od"—may it be Your will that I should not sin again. So, again, we're not relying on Teshuvah as a backup plan. We're sincerely asking Hashem to help us not to sin in the first place. We're begging Hashem for the strength and the help not to fall into sin again. That's the real desire—to avoid sin entirely, not just to rely on forgiveness afterwards.

In that case, "maspikin u'maspikin"—we do provide him the opportunity. In other words, when a person sincerely wants to do Teshuvah and is not relying on it as an excuse to sin, then Hashem gives him the help, the opportunity, the support to do Teshuvah. The help from above is there, and Teshuvah is facilitated for him. So, "maspikin u'maspikin"—he is given every opportunity to return.

As our sages of blessed memory said, "Haba litaher, mesayin oso"—one who comes to purify himself, he is helped. This means that when a person truly wants to become pure, to do Teshuvah, Hashem gives him assistance. The desire to improve is met with support from above. The moment a person takes the step to come closer, to purify himself, Hashem helps him along the way.

"Haba"—specifically, as soon as he comes. The emphasis is on the word "haba"—the one who comes. It means you don't have to do a whole big Teshuvah process before you get help. As soon as you make the move, as soon as you come and want to do Teshuvah, Hashem gives you the opportunity, the help, right away. The support is immediate, just for coming and wanting to return.

Now, the Alter Rebbe brings the saying of our sages, "One who comes to become pure, he gets supported." What does this mean? It means that as soon as you come, miyad sheba, right away when you come, you don't have to do a whole big Teshuvah. Just the fact that you want to do Teshuvah, the Ebershter gives you the opportunity. So, that means, immediately, as soon as you approach, you are given every opportunity to return. The moment you make the move to come close, to do Teshuvah, Hashem helps you right away. You don't have to wait or go through a long process; the support is immediate.

And because of that, the forgiveness is also immediate. Ve'al kein, gam ha-selicha ve-ha-mechila hi miyad—therefore, the forgiving and the pardon are right away. As soon as you come to do Teshuvah, Hashem forgives you immediately. It's not a drawn-out process; the Ebershter's forgiveness is instant, just as soon as you sincerely want to return. This is the special quality of Hashem's mercy, that the moment a person turns to Him, the forgiveness is given right away.