Editing Teshuvah (section)

== Teshuvah from Love and Teshuvah from Fear ==
The Chazal taught that there is a difference between doing Teshuvah from fear - due to fear of punishment or for reward - which turns intentional sins only into unintentional ones, and Teshuvah from love - stemming from the desire to return to Hashem - which turns intentional sins into merits.

The reason is that Teshuvah from fear only works from that point forward, therefore it weakens the impression of the sins but they remain; while Teshuvah from love works retroactively - turning the sins into merits.

The Rebbe introduces that generally, even in Teshuvah from fear the intentional sins become merits, but the main concept is in Teshuvah from great love. Similarly, in every Teshuvah, even from fear, there exists internally the motivation of love and desire to return to Hashem, and therefore ultimately the one who returns will certainly reach Teshuvah from love.