Questions tagged [repentance-teshuvah]
Questions pertaining to repentance for one's past sins and transgressions and the concept of teshuvah
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Elisha ben Abuya and Repentance
Talmud Bavli in Chagigah 15a says:
ת"ר מעשה באחר שהיה רוכב על הסוס בשבת והיה רבי מאיר מהלך אחריו ללמוד
תורה מפיו אמר לו מאיר חזור לאחריך שכבר שיערתי בעקבי סוסי עד כאן תחום
שבת א"ל אף אתה חזור ...
6
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1answer
76 views
Why didn't Adam ask for forgiveness?
From the short negotiation between Adam and G-d it is clear that Adam is not asking for forgiveness.
So why didn't he ask for forgiveness?
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0answers
31 views
Why G-d didn't give Adam time/chance to repent?
If I understand the Midrash and the verses correctly, G-d judged Adam straight away after he sinned and expelled them from Eden (see Avos dR"N 1,8):
...תשיעית הכניסו לגן עדן.
עשירית צוהו.
אחד ...
3
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5answers
137 views
Is it forbidden to help idolaters become righteous Noahides?
I heard from a Rabbi who cited Rambam that it is forbidden to help idolaters do teshuvah.
Does that mean it is forbidden to persuade them that they follow fake religions and that Judaism is the only ...
7
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2answers
71 views
Golden Calf. Moshe asks for forgiveness for the people. But they have not repented?
The people sinned with the Golden Calf. Three thousand people who worshipped it were slain by the Leviim Shmos 32 (28).
Then Moshe says to the remainder Shmos 32 (30)
The next day Moses said to ...
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1answer
48 views
Was Reuben's repentance accepted? If not, why not?
The midrash (Bereshit Rabba 84:19) indicates that Reuben did teshuva (repentance) for sleeping with his father's concubine Bilhah (Bereshit 35:22). However in both Yaakov's blessing (ibid 49:3-4) and ...
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2answers
109 views
Teshuva for adultery for a Non-Jew?
What is the proper teshuva for a non-Jew who had intimate relations with a married woman (non-Jew as well)?
3
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2answers
78 views
Did Rambam say that God closes the gate of Teshuvah?
R' Yossi Mizrachi mentions in a YouTube video that the Rambam (Maimonides) writes in Hilchos Teshuvah:
The biggest punishment to a Jew is God closing the gate of teshuvah (repentance) in his face.
...
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0answers
57 views
What is the Jewish belief about atonement for suicide?
Is it possible that the sin of suicide is not forgiveable because the person is no longer living and cannot perform teshuvah? Can the soul repent once it has left this world?
(I did see a question ...
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2answers
79 views
Teshuva and spilling cold water on one's body
To repent can you pour cold water on yourself in the shower. With a pot or something while having teshuva in mind for the sin? Does it do anything? Like I’ve heard people do it before Yom Kippur. Can ...
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2answers
90 views
Can a sin be completely cleaned?
If a person does a sin, is it possible to completely clean it in the spiritual and physical worlds as it never happened and fix all the damages it caused?
What are the sources that prove that? Are ...
2
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3answers
66 views
Illness in certain part of body
I remember hearing that if someone has a sickness, disease, or ailment in a specific part of the body, they should do specific cheshbon nefesh regarding that area of their body. For instance, if a ...
2
votes
2answers
85 views
Sleeping and listening to something that's a Mitzvah
Is there anything that someone can listen to that is as if he is doing mitzvot or good things or even teshuva while he is trying to sleep or asleep?
I’ve heard subconsciously you still realize ...
2
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0answers
149 views
Teshuva for intercourse with non Jew [duplicate]
This question is different than the one people think is a duplicate because the other one doesn’t necessarily answer the questions I’m asking.
If someone has intercourse with a non Jew even if he ...
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1answer
48 views
Must a person do Teshuvah on sins done by previous Gilgulim?
I see that the Chayei Adam in Shabbos and Yom Tov Klal 143, in his explanation for Vidui and ideas for sins to include on the list, has an interesting note for the sins beginning with Beis (...
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2answers
63 views
Hashem as the judge vs His omniscience
How can Hashem's role as the Supreme Judge on the High Holidays be reconciled with His omniscience:
On one hand, we picture Him as He weighs the Mitzvot and the sins and awaits for our Teshuvah for ...
4
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1answer
64 views
Weekdays atoning for Weekdays during the year
I have heard from a few speakers that during the week before Rosh Hashana (some versions say that it is the week of Aseres Yemei Teshuvah), each day of the week that one does Teshuvah and acts ...
2
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1answer
38 views
Is one allowed to ask forgiveness for a misdeed he committed towards another before he/ she was bar/ bat mitzvah?
Is one before bar/ bat mitzvah obligated (or allowed) to ask forgiveness for misdeeds, as they are not entirely accountable for them (source needed: that one’s averot are upon the father until the age ...
6
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1answer
103 views
Where do we first see Elul as a time for repentance?
Today, the month of Elul is seen as being an introduction to the period of the High Holy Days (Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur).
For instance, Tur Orach Chaim 581:
התקינו חז"ל שיהו תוקעין בר"ח אלול ...
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1answer
343 views
What are the consequences of homosexuality?
We all know that homosexual intercourse is forbidden in Judaism (directly from Torah).
But that it also has consequences in the spiritual world as everything in the physical realm has its ...
3
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1answer
47 views
Does someone who does teshuvah get answered only after he prays or even before?
The Rambam in hilchos teshuvah (7:7) states:
כמה מעולה מעלת התשובה אמש היה זה מובדל מה' אלהי ישראל... צועק ואינו נענה שנאמר [גם] כי תרבו תפלה [אינני שומע ...
והיום הוא מודבק בשכינה... צועק ונענה מיד ...
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5answers
2k views
Someone in authority apologizes?
I am looking for examples where someone in authority apologizes to someone lower than him. I am specifically looking for examples where we know that the authority figure is someone to emulate (eg. the ...
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0answers
45 views
Hakanah; Teshuva Process
I'm reading the Artscroll biography Reb Elyah. It mentions that he completed a six year Teshuva process known as Hakanah, which includes almost constant fasting and other acts out of love for Hashem, ...
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4answers
196 views
Can a believer in Jesus do teshuvah [closed]
I believe in Jesus and also believe in the way the Jewish faith see God so I am asking how can I do teshuvah while not losing my faith? Is it the same steps since I’m a gentile?
2
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1answer
126 views
Teshuva for gentiles
What is teshuva for non Jews? Im Christian and have broken some laws of Noah, so does praying for forgiveness as a Christian and not doing the sin constitute teshuva for me? Or is just feeling regret ...
4
votes
1answer
116 views
The Rambam's “Complete Repentence” + halachical logistics
In Chapter 2 of the Mishnah Torah on Repentance, the Rambam presents an achingly romantic view of "Complete Repentance" (doubly romantic as it involves love between both a man and a woman and a man ...
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1answer
52 views
Adam and Chava's lack of repentance
I searched but did not find this exact question. Were Adam and Chava's expulsion also in part due to their lack of repentance or was it specifically because of their disobedience?
2
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1answer
69 views
If I'm unconscious about it should I still apologise?
Someone else points out to me that I have hurt another person by something I've done or said, but any of the following apply, then how should I deal with it? How should I react?
1) I'm unaware of it ...
2
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1answer
201 views
Source wanted: Talmudic story about the power of teshuvah
The story is about a man who lived his life sinning and rebelling against God. I remember his sins being sexual in nature. Then the last minute before his death he did Teshuvah and God forgave him ...
2
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0answers
60 views
Is one exempt from asking forgiveness for a sin against another if the result of that apology could lead to greater consequences for the community?
To get to the specifics:
A Jew sinned against someone but that person may not actually be aware of it. (Lets use the example that you stole from his shop and he never noticed)
In the scenario I'm ...
5
votes
2answers
296 views
When can repentance be considered complete?
When can repentance be considered complete?
When you feel bad and resolve not to do it again. (No.)
The above, plus make restitution. (Maybe.)
All the above, plus ask and receive forgiveness. (Maybe....
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3answers
393 views
Can one reach the point where he can no longer do teshuvah?
If someone caused pain to multiple people or caused irreversible damage, can he possibly be in a situation where he can no longer do teshuvah? If so, what does hashem want from him at this juncture?
1
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1answer
81 views
Where can I see the letter/proclamation the Chafetz Chaim wrote about the major natural disasters in his time?
There were multiple large natural disasters in the past two months. The Jewish newspapers referenced a letter from the Chafetz Chaim saying that HaShem does natural phenomena in the world to spur us ...
5
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1answer
145 views
Why wouldn’t G-d allow the decree against the Asarah Harugei Malchus to be overturned?
In general, a bad decree from G-d can be overturned through repentance and davening, while a good one can never be revoked. (This is a major theme in the books of Yirmiya and Yonah, among others.)
...
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0answers
30 views
Teshuvah: How to return or going back to one's true nature?
In the 5th bracha of the Amidah, we request from HaShem "our father" (אבינו), to return us (השיבנו) we mention three kinds of Teshuvah – 1. returning to HaShem, 2.returning to the Torah, and 3. ...
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1answer
38 views
Regret, remorsefull, repentance
They all seem to deal with some part of a process of reconciliation but could someone explain the difference between Teshuvah (תשובה) Charatah (חרטה) and L'hiNachem (להינחם) ?
8
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1answer
69 views
Does a blanket request for forgiveness effect teshuva?
As Yom Kippur approaches each year, I often see people in leadership positions make blanket requests like "if I have hurt any of you this year, I ask that you forgive me". Are these requests in any ...
4
votes
3answers
118 views
Is someone required to ask forgiveness if he causes tangential discomfort to another?
My son relayed this to me a few days ago.
When he was in yeshiva high school, the principal would enter each classes a few days before Yom Kippur and tell all the students that he was sorry if he may ...
3
votes
3answers
246 views
Is there a Rabbinical argument that Hashem holds Baal Teshuva to a different standard from those born in observant households?
This question may sound strange but I'm attempting to find a source for an argument I heard made by someone very recently. I'm assuming this is a known argument which I'm just unfamiliar with the ...
5
votes
1answer
116 views
Requesting forgiveness when in doubt
Rambam writes in Teshuva 2,9 that one must ask a person for forgiveness when he has wronged him and personal Teshuva is not enough.
I have seen people (and I myself have often done this) asking for ...
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1answer
45 views
Medrash Tanchumah 0n Teshuvah
I read a book which quoted the Medrash Tanchumah (Parshas Vayeira 18)
as stating the following:
"Teshuvah so powerful that it eradicates one’s sins so that no blemishes remain on his soul."
I looked ...
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1answer
287 views
Is teshuva supposed to be done only when you know you're realistically capable of never sinning again?
Is teshuva done for each mitzvah individually?
What if you realistically feel that you don't have it in you (yet) to refrain from commiting a certain sin ever again?
4
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3answers
63 views
How can Moshe risk the trustworthiness of his Nevuah?
Bamidbar 16:29
אִם־כְּמ֤וֹת כָּל־הָֽאָדָם֙ יְמֻת֣וּן אֵ֔לֶּה וּפְקֻדַּת֙ כָּל־הָ֣אָדָ֔ם יִפָּקֵ֖ד עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם לֹ֥א יְהוָ֖ה שְׁלָחָֽנִי׃
If these men die as all men do, if their lot be the common ...
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1answer
87 views
Why can't we repent every day?
I am piecing together a few different ideas so I apologize if I misstate any of them.
According to the gemara in Shabbat 153a, one should repent a day before his death:
(l) (Mishnah - R. Eliezer): ...
3
votes
2answers
83 views
The power/limit of Teshuva
Can I repent (sincerely) after performing ANY active sin and avoid its punishment? Would this be different at a time when there was a religious court which might still apply certain punishments/...
3
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1answer
125 views
Regretting intentionally breaking a fast
My daughter asked me what would happen if someone started the day not fasting -- intentionally! He wakes and says "this is dumb so I'm having breakfast." Then, due to some intervening act or ...
3
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2answers
170 views
About coming back to Jewish practice
I'm 47 and I've spent my whole adult life far from Jewish practice. But now I'm engaged in tshuva (i.e. returning to Judaism; lit. repentance) and I want to come back to Hashem and live my Jewish life ...
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2answers
207 views
Rebbi Akiva knew Torah before he turned 40?
I have heard there is a not so well-known opinion that Rebbi Akiva actually knew Torah before the age of 40, but had left the path of Torah observance. His story would actually make more sense if that'...
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1answer
67 views
Source for Teshuva, Repentance
Where is the source for God reaching under His throne to give us the wonderful gift of teshuva, repentance?
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1answer
43 views
Teshuva without kaballah le'asid
Is there a source for the idea that for a minimal level of repentance, it is enough for me to feel regret over sinning even though I know that I will return to the sin when the opportunity avails ...
