Siman 602

It is a positive commandment for every man to return from his sins. The entire Mishneh Torah, and likewise all the prophets, warned regarding teshuvah. Israel is only redeemed through teshuvah. The Torah has already promised that Israel will ultimately perform teshuvah at the end of their exile, and they are immediately redeemed, as it is said (Deuteronomy 30:1-3): "And it shall come to pass when all these things come upon you... and you shall return unto Hashem your God... then Hashem your God will return your captivity and have compassion upon you" (the Rambam, chapter seven of Hilkhot Teshuvah). Great is teshuvah for it brings the redemption near, as it is said (Isaiah 59:20): "And a redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto those who turn from transgression in Jacob." What is the reason "a redeemer shall come to Zion"? Because of "those who turn from transgression in Jacob" (Yoma 86b). Great is teshuvah for it reaches until the Throne of Glory, as it is said (Hosea 14:2): "Return, O Israel, unto Hashem your God" (ibid.). Great is teshuvah for intentional sins are rendered for him as unintentional sins when he returns out of fear, and they are rendered as merits when he returns out of love (ibid.).

And let a baal teshuvah not imagine that he is distanced from the levels of the righteous because of the iniquities and sins he committed. The matter is not so, but rather he is beloved and pleasant before the Creator, may He be blessed, as if he never sinned. And not only that, but his reward is great, for he has tasted the taste of sin and separated from it for the honor of Hashem, may He be blessed. The sages said: In the place where baalei teshuvah stand, the completely righteous are unable to stand (Berakhot 34a). That is to say: their level is greater than the level of those who did not sin at all, for they tasted the taste of sin and separated from this (the Rambam ibid.). And how great is the level of teshuvah! Yesterday this person was hated and loathsome before the Creator, may He be blessed, and now he is beloved and dear before Him, may He be blessed. Yesterday this person was separated from Hashem, the G-d of Israel, as it is written: "Your iniquities have been a barrier between you and your G-d"; he cries out and is not answered, as it is said: "Even though you offer many prayers, I do not hear." And today he is attached to the Shekhinah, as it is said (Deuteronomy 4:4): "And you who cling" etc.; he cries out and is answered, as it is said (Isaiah 65:24): "And it shall be that before they call, I will answer."

The way of penitents is to be exceedingly low and humble. And if fools taunt them for their former deeds—they should not be affected by this, but rather they hear and rejoice. For this is a great merit for them, that they are ashamed of their past deeds, and they should not respond at all. And so our sages, of blessed memory, said: Those who are insulted and do not insult, who hear their shame and do not respond, who act out of love, and rejoice in suffering, regarding them the verse says: "And those who love Him are like the sun going forth in its strength" (Shabbat 88a). And one who shames them—his sin is very great. And it is forbidden to say to a penitent: "Remember your former deeds." This is included in the prohibition of ona'at devarim, as is explained at the end of the chapter HaZahav. And this one who shames requires repentance, and must seek forgiveness from the one he taunted.

And do not say that there is no teshuvah except for transgressions that involve an action, such as licentiousness, robbery, and theft, or forbidden foods, and the like. Rather, just as a person must repent from these—so too must he repent from the evil traits that he possesses, and repent from anger, from enmity, from envy, from hatred, and from mockery, and from the pursuit of money and honor, and from the pursuit of foods, and the like. For all of these, one must return in teshuvah. And these iniquities are more difficult than those that involve an action, because he has become accustomed to them, and it is difficult to separate from them. And so it says, "Let the wicked forsake his way" (ibid.), which is to say: the habit to which he has become accustomed.

And it is a kal vachomer if, Heaven forbid, a thought of heresy or apostasy entered his heart, for this is tzara'at of the soul. And in the footsteps of the Messiah—the powers of the evil inclination and the Satan have been exhausted in this. And this is the statement of our sages, of blessed memory: In the footsteps of the Messiah, insolence will increase. That is to say: insolence toward Heaven. And he should take to his heart: Who am I—a light, lowly, and poor creature, of slight intellect, abundant in animalistic desires—to cast doubt upon any matter of the words of the Torah or the words of our sages, of blessed memory? And I, the insignificant one, my knowledge is too short to understand even the mundane conversation of the students of their students, so how shall I disagree with them? And he should strengthen himself in Torah, and prayer, and the songs of King David, peace be upon him. And there shall be fulfilled in him, "the righteous shall live by his faith."

The Rambam wrote in the first chapter of Laws of Repentance: Regarding all the mitzvot in the Torah, whether a positive commandment or a negative commandment, if a person transgressed one of them, whether intentionally or unintentionally, when he performs repentance and returns from his sin – he is obligated to confess before God, blessed be He. As it is stated in Parashat Naso: "When a man or woman shall commit... then they shall confess their sin which they have done" – this refers to a verbal confession. And this confession is a positive commandment. How does he confess? He says: "I beseech You, Hashem! I have sinned, I have been iniquitous, I have transgressed before You, and I have done such and such. And behold, I have regretted and am ashamed of my deeds, and I shall never return to this matter." And this is the essence of confession, and anyone who increases in confession and is lengthy in this matter – behold, this is praiseworthy.

And likewise, those liable for chatat offerings and asham offerings, at the time they bring their sacrifices for their unintentional sins or for their intentional sins—they are not atoned for through their sacrifice until they perform teshuvva and confess a verbal confession, as it is said: "and he shall confess that which he sinned concerning it." And likewise, all those liable for death by a beit din and those liable for malkiyot—they are not atoned for through their death or through their malkiyot until they perform teshuvva and confess. And likewise, one who wounds his fellow or damages his property, even though he paid what he owes him—it does not atone until he confesses and repents from ever doing such a thing again, as it is said: "from any of the sins of man" (ibid.). And one should not wonder: for what does the unintentional sinner need to perform teshuvva? For it is certainly so, as in Vayikra regarding chatat and asham sacrifices, which are for the unintentional sinner, it is written several times: "and the kohen shall provide atonement for him for his sin, and it shall be forgiven him." This implies that it is called a sin and requires forgiveness and atonement. And at the end of "Shelach" it is written: "And the kohen shall provide atonement for the soul that errs by sinning unintentionally before Hashem, to provide atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him." And the reason is that even an unintentional sin comes from a lack of caution, as opposed to an accident which does not require teshuvva, as the Rambam wrote in the Commentary on the Mishnah at the end of Yoma; see there. But an unintentional sin is not similar to an accident.

He further wrote: The scapegoat, because it was an atonement for the collective of Israel—the Kohen Gadol confesses over it on behalf of the collective of Israel, as it is said (Leviticus 16:21): "And he shall confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel." The scapegoat atones for all iniquities in the Torah, the light and the severe, whether he transgressed intentionally or whether he transgressed inadvertently, whether it became known to him or whether it did not become known to him—everything is atoned for by the scapegoat. And this is provided that he repented. But if he did not repent—the goat does not atone for him except for the light ones. And what are the light ones, and what are the severe ones? The severe ones are those for which one is liable for death by a beit din or karet. And an oath taken in vain or a false oath, even though they do not involve karet—behold, they are among the severe. And the rest of the negative commandments and positive commandments that do not involve karet—behold, they are among the light. Thus far his words.

And behold, that which he wrote, that without having performed teshuva the se'ir hamishtale'ach atones for the light sins—is very perplexing. For at the end of Yoma and in Shevuot (13a), Rabbi and the Rabbanan disagree. For Rabbi holds that Yom Kippur atones even for those who do not repent, and the Rabbanan hold that it only atones for those who repent. And we rule like the Rabbanan, that even for the light sins it does not atone without teshuva. And they have already wondered at his words (Kessef Mishneh and Lechem Mishneh). And in the Gemara there it asks simply: What are the circumstances of this positive commandment? If he did not perform teshuva—"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination," see there (and the explanation of the Lechem Mishneh regarding this is perplexing, see there). And it appears that he derived this law from the Yerushalmi there in Yoma and Shevuot, which says that for a positive commandment it atones even without teshuva. And even though it says there that for a negative commandment it does not atone without teshuva—nevertheless, the Rambam equated them in this matter, because in our Shas—both are called light sins. And even though at the end of Yoma it wishes to distinguish between a standard negative commandment and a negative commandment transformed into a positive commandment, and perhaps the Yerushalmi also holds so, nevertheless, the plain meaning of the sugya in Shevuot is that there is no distinction. See there.

In this time when the Beit HaMikdash is not standing, and we have no altar of atonement, we have nothing but teshuvah. And teshuvah atones for all transgressions. Even if one was wicked all his days, and performed teshuvah at the end—they do not mention his wickedness to him, as it is said: "The wickedness of the wicked—he shall not stumble by it on the day of his return from his wickedness." And the essence of Yom Kippur atones for those who return. However, a person should not wait and say: I still have time to return. For who knows, perhaps tomorrow he will die, and he will be found to have died without teshuvah. This is what Shlomo said: "At all times let your garments be white." Furthermore: for the essence of teshuvah is in the days of youth, and this is what Shlomo said (Kohelet 12:1): "And remember your Creator in the days of your youth"—while your strengths are firm, and you are able to perform transgressions, yet you refrain because of His honor and His awe, may He be blessed. And this is what they said at the end of Yoma: What is the case of a master of teshuvah? With that same woman, at that same time, in that same place. That is to say: that you are with all your strengths, and the transgression is available, and you refrain.

But when he repents in his old age, when his powers are diminished – this is not complete repentance. Nevertheless, even this is repentance, and he is called a "baal teshuvah." Even if he transgressed all his days, and did repentance on the day of his death, and died in his repentance – his iniquities are forgiven, as it is said: "Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain" – which is the day of death, implying that if he repented before death, he is forgiven (ibid.).

And what is repentance? That the sinner shall abandon his sin, and remove it from his thought, and resolve in his heart that he will not do it again, as it is said: "Let the wicked abandon his way"; and he shall regret the past, as it is written: "For after I returned, I repented"; and He who knows hidden things shall testify concerning him that he will never return to this sin again, as it is said: "And we will no longer say 'our God' to the work of our hands" (ibid. chapter two, and it is in the Yalkut at the end of Hosea). And this is what the Torah said: "Before Hashem you shall be purified," meaning: that He, may He be blessed, shall testify concerning you that you are pure. And one must confess with his lips. And anyone who confesses but has not resolved in his heart to abandon the sin—behold, he is like one who immerses in a mikvah while holding a creeping creature in his hand. And it is said: "He who confesses and abandons shall find mercy," meaning: confession and abandonment of the sin, and not with only one of them.

And one must specify the sin regarding a sin between a person and their fellow. But regarding those between a person and the Omnipresent—it is impudence to reveal them; rather, one confesses in a whisper between himself and his Creator. And that which is written: "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper"—this refers to transgressions between him and his fellow (Gemara). And it is among the paths of repentance for the penitent to always cry out before Hashem, may He be blessed, with weeping and supplications. And he should perform charity according to his ability. And he should distance himself greatly from the matter in which he sinned. And if he is able to exile himself from his place—how good it is, for exile atones for iniquity, and causes him to be submissive, humble, and lowly of spirit.

Yom Kippur is a time of repentance for the individual and for the public, and it is the end of pardon and forgiveness for Israel. Therefore, everyone is obligated to perform repentance on Yom Kippur, and to confess in every prayer. The orders of the confessions will be explained in siman 607. And this is regarding transgressions between man and the Place. But regarding transgressions between man and his fellow—neither repentance nor Yom Kippur is effective until he appeases his fellow, if he only insulted him with words. And if he stole money from him, whether in commerce or in another manner—it is not effective until he returns the stolen object, and also requests forgiveness from him. And this is what the Torah says: "For on this day He shall provide atonement for you... before Hashem you shall be purified." That is to say: transgressions that are before Hashem, Yom Kippur atones for, and not those between man and his fellow (Mishnah ibid.).

Not all transgressions are equal in their atonement, and there are four categories of atonement. How so? If a person transgressed a positive commandment and repented, they forgive him immediately. Regarding this it is said: "Return, wayward children, I will heal your waywardness." If he transgressed a negative commandment that does not carry the penalty of karet or death, and he performed teshuvah—teshuvah suspends [the punishment], and Yom Kippur atones. Regarding these it is said: "For on this day He shall atone for you," etc. If he transgressed commandments carrying karet or death by a beit din, and he performed teshuvah—teshuvah and Yom Kippur suspend [the punishment], and sufferings that come upon him complete the atonement for him. Regarding this it is said: "Then I will punish their transgression with a rod, and their iniquity with plagues." All these transgressions apply when they do not involve a chilul Hashem. But one who profanes the Name, even though he performed teshuvah, and Yom Kippur arrived while he stands in his teshuvah, and sufferings came upon him—he is not granted complete atonement until he dies. Rather, teshuvah, Yom Kippur, and sufferings—all three suspend [the punishment], and death atones, as it is said: "And it was revealed in my ears by the Lord of Hosts... surely this iniquity shall not be atoned for you until you die."

And chillul Hashem—it is all according to the stature of the man. And the more a man is of high standing, behold, if he transgresses even a small matter—it is chillul Hashem. And like that which Rav said in Yoma (86a): For example, I, if I take meat from the butcher and do not give the money immediately in a place where the butcher does not demand it. And Rabbi Yochanan said: For example, I, who walk four amot without Torah and without tefillin. And there is one who says: For example, that his colleagues are ashamed because of his reputation, or for example, that they say: May Hashem forgive him for his deeds. Or a talmid chacham who does not conduct business faithfully, and his speech is not pleasant with people; see there. And from this we have learned that the greater a person is—his chillul Hashem is greater.

And it is a kal vachomer regarding the chillul Hashem before the nations, that is, when an Israelite commits some injustice or deception against a non-Jew, or in measures and weights—it is a chillul Hashem beyond measure. And concerning this, Ezekiel the prophet said (Ezekiel 36:17): "Son of man, the house of Israel dwell on their land, and they defiled it... their way before Me was like the impurity of a niddah... and I scattered them among the nations... and they came to the nations, and they profaned My holy name, in that it was said of them: These are the people of Hashem, and they have gone out of His land." Which is to say: that the Holy One, Blessed be He, complains that while they were in the land of Israel and defiled it—their way before Me was like the impurity of a niddah. Which is to say: just as when a woman is a niddah—there is no one who knows of this except her husband, so too the nations: they did not know of their impurity, only I knew. But when I exiled them among the nations, and the nations knew of their impurity—did not the chillul Hashem increase, for they say to Israel: Are you not the people of Hashem, and how can you defile yourselves? And also you must know that you have gone out from your land, and therefore "do not rejoice, O Israel, unto exultation like the nations." And it is upon us to sanctify the name of Heaven and the name of Israel.

And even though repentance and crying out are always beneficial, nevertheless, during the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, they are most beneficial and are accepted immediately, as it is said: "Seek the Lord when He is found." And our sages, of blessed memory, expounded (Rosh Hashanah 18a): These are the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, for then even the individual is answered immediately. Because of this matter, all the House of Israel are accustomed to increase in tzedakah and good deeds, and to engage in mitzvot from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur more than during the rest of the year. And everyone is accustomed to rise at night during these ten days and to pray in the synagogues with words of supplication and words of submission until the day breaks (the Rambam there, chapter three). And they say the confession three times during the selichot, except for the eve of Yom Kippur, when they say it only once. And they say "Avinu Malkeinu" in the evening and morning except for Shabbat and the eve of Yom Kippur. However, when Yom Kippur falls on Shabbat, they say "Avinu Malkeinu" on the morning of the eve of Yom Kippur. And even if there is a brit milah where they do not say tachanun, nevertheless, they say "Avinu Malkeinu." And on Shabbat Shuvah, they say "Tzidkatkha" at Mincha. And the day after Rosh Hashanah is a public fast, the Fast of Gedaliah. And there are those who do not perform kiddush levanah until after Yom Kippur, and there are those who, on the contrary, perform kiddush in order to add a mitzvah before Yom Kippur. And so we are accustomed. And the custom is not to issue a curse in beit din during these days, and likewise they do not administer an oath until after Yom Kippur.