Editing Repentance in Judaism (section)

==When to repent==
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."<ref>''Shabbat'' 153a; quoted in Telushkin, 155</ref>

{{quote|Now on the day of Rosh Hashana, the beginning of the 10 days of repentance - this is a very holy hour and auspicious time to create a pleasant delight before the Creator to want to cry tears of joys…|[[Baal Shem Tov]]}}

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.<ref name="Telushkin" /> Another occasion on which forgiveness is granted is whenever the entire community gathers and cries out to God full-heartedly due to their distress.<ref>[[Mishneh Torah]], Hilchot Teshuvah 2:6</ref>