Chasidic philosophy explains this by comparing the Jew's relationship with G-d to a fire, based on the verse "For the L-rd your G-d is a consuming fire."
In order for a physical flame to be sustained it must be given a sufficient amount of material to burn, and it must also avoid any substances that can extinguish it.
Likewise, the spiritual "flame" that symbolizes the Jew's relationship with G-d must have sufficient "food", so to speak, to sustain it. Its food, is Torah study and the performance of mitzvot, and it must also avoid any substances that can extinguish it, like those things that the Torah has forbidden.
When a Jew observes mitzvot and is careful not to transgress the Torah's prohibitions, his "flame" flourishes and burns brightly.
When a person repents, does teshuva, he is merely "re-igniting" a flame that wasn't properly tended. To do so, he must bring a fire from another source, a fire, which is completely incapable to being extinguished, and that actually exists in the depth of every Jew's heart. The potential for a "fiery" and all-consuming relationship with G-d always exists.
When a Jew sincerely regrets his distance from G-d and contemplates his innate love for Him, he accesses this inner and eternal "fire."
Teshuva, then, is the "match" that can rekindle even the tiniest flame, and cause it to burst into a giant blaze.
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