Just curious: if I was aiming for gan Eden there’s at least one gemara that says that as long as I’m over 50% of doing the right thing, I’m good to go.
That’s a pretty low bar. I’m hoping everybody here reached that at least soon after bar or Bas Mitzvah.
One of the many things I love about Chabad is that it shows you how low you are, how much work you need to do, but yet how high you can reach, in an empowering way.
So, the starting point of real Avodas Hashem is to become a beinoni (someone who controls their every thought speech and action to be within the boundaries of Mutar etc) (otherwise you can’t truly rule your heart as a result of being a rasha.) But don’t worry. Even if you’re -30 steps, as long as you’re growing that’s great and you’ll be provided with international motivation and encouragement, credits due to Chassidus, to keep working your way up. Once you get there, it’s a whole new life, you don’t need to live with guilt etc. And it just gets better. Oh I forgot, the bar was upped to becoming at least a low level tzadik (someone who actually experiences love of Hashem palpably and disgust of evil) because our Nefesh habehamis is more refined today.
Honestly is there any other derech in Yiddishkeit today which expects so much (so you never feel done) and yet is so empowering and positive? I’d love to hear. See sources. People’s experiences etc