Derech HaEmes V'Derech HaYashar (The Way of Truth and the Way of Righteousness)

Derech HaEmes V'Derech HaYashar are two paths in Divine service that together influence a person so that their "acceptance of the yoke of Heaven" will be authentic and not fleeting.

The Need for Them

As is known, the soul's powers are drawn from the ten Sefiros, and the final level ("Malchus" of the soul) is its power of action. Just as "Malchus" has nothing of its own (it receives from the Sefiros above it and through this is "built"), so too with the soul's power of action:

If the performance of mitzvos (accepting the yoke of Heaven and the yoke of commandments) is "disconnected" from a person's feelings (the higher Sefiros within them), they have no vitality in them and must constantly "force themselves" to fulfill them. Only when the acceptance of the yoke stems from an inner feeling, then it has true and permanent existence, and the person will not stumble in transgressions.

This is similar to the difference between a regular servant and a faithful servant: A regular servant "prefers lawlessness" – the moment he can, he will find a way to evade the master's work. But a faithful servant serves the master out of love for him and will not come to neglect his work.

Derech HaEmes (The Way of Truth)

Emes according to Kabbalah is the name of Havayah, which generally corresponds to the Sefirah of Tiferes (the main central line, which encompasses all the attributes) – and in Divine service it is the attribute of mercy.

When a person contemplates that (due to their sin) their soul has descended to the impure klipos, and subsequently also the Shechinah (which is the root of their soul), they are awakened with great mercy for their soul and for the Shechinah, and this influences them so that their acceptance of the yoke will be genuine (since it stems from their inner and authentic feeling).

Derech HaYashar (The Way of Righteousness)

A person can come to true and sincere remorse for their sins by understanding what they caused through their sin and where they damaged. But this way is not "straight" – what causes him to repent is the sin he committed. The catalyst for teshuvah is opposite from teshuvah itself (whose purpose is to return to Hashem).

However, the straight path to teshuvah is to contemplate (not the sin he actually committed, but) the deficiency in his service, that he could have done more. The Alter Rebbe explains that since all the mitzvos descend from Hashem's name, it follows that any deficiency, even in the intention of one of all the mitzvos, causes from a spiritual perspective the descent of the Shechinah's influence to the klipos.

This contemplation allows him to reach "crushing" and breaking of his heart even if in practice he has never actually committed a sin.