Small Steps Toward Hashem

Rav Mordechai taught that the Navi says, "Return to Me, and I will return to you" (Malachi 3:7). He explained it with a parable. A prince was captured by a band of cutthroat thieves, who took him so far from his father, the king, that had he tried to walk home it would have taken him ages to arrive. The king sent messengers to tell his son that he was waiting for him. "If you do not begin your journey," the king wrote, "then the king cannot draw closer to you either." The prince had to take the first step and set out, even though his steps might seem small and insignificant, and it might seem that he was getting nowhere. But once he started out, the king would come toward him in long, powerful strides, and they would surely be reunited very soon. This is the meaning of the pasuk: "Return to Me," even if it means taking small steps, "and I will return to you," with abundant mercy.