Editing Repentance in Judaism (section)

==How to repent==

{{quote|One hour of bliss in the World to Come is better than all the life of this world. Yet one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life in the World to Come!<ref>[https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/114944/jewish/The-Universality-of-Teshuvah.htm “The universality of Teshuvah” (www.chabad.org)]</ref>}}

According to ''Gates of Repentance'', a standard work of [[Jewish ethics]] written by [[Yonah Gerondi|Rabbenu Yonah of Gerona]], a sinner repents by:<ref>[[Yonah Gerondi]], ''Shaarei Teshuva: The Gates of Repentance''. Trans. [[Shraga Silverstein]]. Jerusalem, Israel: Feldheim Publishers, 1971. Print.</ref>

* regretting/acknowledging the sin;
* forsaking the sin (see below);
* worrying about the future consequences of the sin;
* acting and speaking with humility;
* acting in a way opposite to that of the sin (for example, for the sin of lying, one should speak the truth);
* understanding the magnitude of the sin;
* refraining from lesser sins for the purpose of safeguarding oneself against committing greater sins;
* [[Viduy|confessing the sin]];
* [[Jewish prayer|praying]] for atonement;
* correcting the sin however possible (for example, if one stole an object, the stolen item must be returned; or, if one slanders another, the slanderer must ask the injured party for forgiveness);
* pursuing works of ''[[chesed]]'' and truth;
* remembering the sin for the rest of one's life;<ref>''Thus, “He guards Lovingkindness for thousands”— even though a person has sinned thousands of times and made thousands of blemishes, God can and will forgive him, i.e. all sins'' (if he repents) (Rebbe [[Nachman of Breslov]]. ''Likutey Halakhot'' I, p. 1b)</ref>
* refraining from committing the same sin if the opportunity presents itself again;
* teaching others not to sin.

===Forsaking the sin===

The second of Rabbenu Yonah's "Principles of Repentance" is "forsaking the sin" ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: עזיבת–החטא, ''azivat-hachet''). After regretting the sin (Rabbenu Yonah's first principle), the penitent must resolve never to repeat the sin.<ref>Yonah, 14-15</ref> 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.<ref name="Scherman">[[Nosson Scherman]]. "An Overview - Day of Atonement and Purity." An Overview. ''The Complete ArtScroll Machzor: Yom Kippur''. By Scherman. Trans. Scherman. Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications, 2008. XIV-XXII.</ref>

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.<ref name="Scherman" /> 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.<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.86b.8 Yoma 86b]; Maimonides "Laws of Repentance" 2:1</ref>

The [[Mishnah]] states:
{{quote|To a man who says, 'I will sin and repent, I will sin and repent', [[Yom Kippur]] brings no atonement. For sins against God, Yom Kippur brings atonement. For sins against one's fellow man, Yom Kippur brings no atonement until he appeases the fellow man he wronged.<ref>[[Mishnah]] Yoma 8:9.</ref>}}