Repentance (/tʃuvɑː/; Hebrew: תשובה|translit=tǝšūvā "return") is one element of atoning for sin in Judaism. Judaism recognizes that everybody sins on occasion, but that people can stop or minimize those occasions in the future by repenting for past transgressions. Thus, the primary purpose of repentance in Judaism is ethical self-transformation.[1]
Maimonides defines the essence of repentance as follows:
A Jewish penitent is traditionally known as a baal teshuva.
Numerous guides to the repentance process can be found in rabbinical literature.
According to Gates of Repentance, a standard work of Jewish ethics written by Rabbenu Yonah of Gerona, a sinner repents by:[2]
The second of Rabbenu Yonah's "Principles of Repentance" is "forsaking the sin" (Hebrew: עזיבת–החטא, azivat-hachet). After regretting the sin (Rabbenu Yonah's first principle), the penitent must resolve never to repeat the sin.[4] However, Judaism recognizes that the process of repentance varies from penitent to penitent and from sin to sin. For example, a non-habitual sinner often feels the sting of the sin more acutely than the habitual sinner. Therefore, a non-habitual sinner will have an easier time repenting, because he or she will be less likely to repeat the sinful behavior.[5]
The case of the habitual sinner is more complex. If the habitual sinner regrets his or her sin at all, that regret alone clearly does not translate into a change in behavior. In such a case, Rabbi Nosson Scherman recommends devising "a personal system of reward and punishment" and avoiding circumstances that may cause temptation toward the relevant sin. One is shown to have fully repented if they are presented with an opportunity to perform the same sin under the same conditions, yet they manage to refrain from doing so.[6]
The Mishnah states:
One should repent immediately. A parable is told in the Talmud that Rabbi Eliezer taught his disciples, "Repent one day before your death." The disciples politely questioned whether one can know the day of one's death, so Rabbi Eliezer answered, "All the more reason, therefore, to repent today, lest one die tomorrow."[7]
Because of Judaism's understanding of the annual process of Divine Judgment, Jews believe that God is especially open to repentance during the period from the beginning of the month of Elul through the Ten Days of Repentance (including Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur), and, according to Kabbalah, Hoshana Rabbah. Another good time to repent is toward the end of one's life. Another occasion on which forgiveness is granted is whenever the entire community gathers and cries out to God full-heartedly due to their distress.[8]
The Talmud debates the spiritual level of a person who has repented (a baal teshuvah). According to one opinion, this level is lower than that of a "fully righteous" person who has never sinned. According to another opinion, though, it is even higher than that of a fully righteous person.[9]
The Talmud makes two statements about the power of repentance to transform one's past sins: If one repents out of fear, the intentional sins are turned into unintentional sins. But if one repents out of love, the intentional sins actually become merits.[10] The first statement can be easily understood, in that if one committed the sin unaware of its consequences (e.g. punishment), and subsequently becomes aware, the sin was committed in a state of incomplete knowledge. The second statement is harder to understand, and different interpretations have been suggested. According to Joseph Dov Soloveitchik, the meaning is that a person who repents out of love embarks on a journey of self-transformation, in which they use the pain of their failure as a spur to self-improvement. Thus, the magnitude of the original sin is eventually reflected in the magnitude of the good traits which the penitent develops in response.[11]
According to the Talmud, God created repentance before He created the physical universe, making it among the first things created.[12]
Jewish tradition describes many people who repented, including:
If a person strays from the path of goodness in some aspect, there is always a "way back" if a person wills to try taking it. (Although texts mention some specific categories for whom the way back will be exceedingly hard, such as the slanderer, the habitual gossiper, and the malicious person.)