Questions tagged [repentance-teshuvah]
Questions pertaining to repentance for one's past sins and transgressions and the concept of teshuvah
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Why does אָבִֽינוּ מַלְכֵּֽנוּ כָּתְבֵֽנוּ בְּסֵֽפֶר סְלִיחָה וּמְחִילָה come last in the sequence of repeated lines?
I apologise if this a klotz kasher, but as Pirkei Avos 2:5 says:
וְלֹא הַבַּיְשָׁן לָמֵד
And a shy person can't learn
So here goes....
When we recite Avinu Malkeinu at this time of year i.e. the ...
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How does one do Teshuva?
Apologies for the seemingly simple question, but I feel it is appropriate for this time of year.
How do we actually do it? I know the Rambam says Regret, Confess, and Resolve, but I also know that ...
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1answer
80 views
Is it a mitzvah to forgive without being asked?
Is one required to forgive someone who hasn’t apologized? Is it pious even if not required?
I am aware the Shma Al Hamittah includes a paragraph of forgiveness but my question is more in terms of our ...
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Remembering One's Sins After Yom Kippur
Should one remember and keep the guilt of his sins after Yom Kippur? If he had previously written them in a book, in order to have the proper mindset during tachanun throughout the year, should the ...
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2answers
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“The Process of Tshuvah” - how to apologize properly according to Halacha
The “Process of Tshuvah” requires that one must sincerely promise never to repeat the sin(s) again. I hope to apologize sincerely and do Tshuvah properly, however, I can’t promise I will never repeat ...
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1answer
187 views
Is there a source for the claim that a dishonest person cannot do teshuvah?
If I recall correctly, I remember someone saying in a shiur a long time ago that a dishonest person cannot do teshuvah. Is there any source for this claim?
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Which Rav was this?
I heard a rabbi tell a famous true story of a certain other rabbi. A black man broke into his house in the middle of the night and demanded at gunpoint all of the rabbi’s money/valuables. The rabbi ...
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235 views
Tikkun for Timtum HaLev
Is there teshuva/tikkun for timtum halev (specifically for forbidden foods)? Please cite sources.
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45 views
What is the halakha for public displays of contrition / regret for sin?
In many places in Tanakh we are told of people wearing sackcloth openly, putting ash on their heads and lamenting publicly on account of their sins and the sins of the community. Hashem commands this ...
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Did Esav do Teshuva?
The Chizkuni Bireishis 25:8 says at the end of his comment that Esav also did Teshuva. Is there other sources for this amongst the Rishonim and Chazal?
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What is the teshuvah for violating a noahide law? [duplicate]
How does one repent for violating a noahide law? Can you simply pray for forgiveness or must you do more.
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What is the Teshuvah for a gentile marrying a Jew
Firstly, is it a sin for a gentile to marry a Jew?
Second, if so, what Noahide law does it break?
Lastly, what is the Teshuvah for that?
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1answer
72 views
Source about a king like Haman if Israel doesn't repent
I'm writing an article about the holocaust and I want to find a source that says if Israel does not repent, Hashem will raise up a king like Haman.
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1answer
95 views
Is there an obligation to ask for forgiveness?
Though it is part of the t'shuva process, I wonder if asking mechila from people exists as a separate and distinct obligation. Must I either seek out individuals and ask for forgiveness for both ...
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Source for repentance being illogical (or counter intuitive)
Rav Yosef Yehuda Leib Bloch in the sefer Shiurei Da'as (page 178) is quoted as having said that there are many places in the words of Chazal that Teshuva is against the sechel.
I'm looking for ...
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How does "ancestral merit" work?
We see the usage of Zechut Avot, which I loosely translate as "ancestral merit" used in numerous circumstances to ask God to forgive our sins and wrongdoings. Moses used this several times ...
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Is one obligated to do teshuva for transgressions (between man and his fellow) commited as a child?
A person who, for example, steals, is obligated to apologise and offer to return what was stolen or compensate the owner. Is an adult who transgressed as a minor also obligated to do teshuva?
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Yishmael - if he did Teshuva why does he continue to be punished
We know that Yishmael early on acted in an improper manner (see for example Bereishis Rabbah 53:11) and was resultantly banished from Avraham's household - Bereishis 21:9-10
However, we learn later on ...
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343 views
What happens in Gehinnom?
The Rambam said:
Gehinnom, however, is the name for the pain and the punishment that will come to the evildoers [after they die], but the Talmud did not give a [definitive] description of this ...
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1answer
54 views
Chatat or Asham for Non-Jews?
Related to this and this.
Non-Jews can make sacrifices anywhere in the world, regardless if there's a Mikdash standing or not. Technically, Jews need to bring a Korban Chatat or an Asham as part of ...
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Teshuva for uttering the ineffable name?
Is there any or a specific way to repent for uttering the ineffable name?
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Does an ex-slave need to do Tshuva?
Rashi, on Shemot 21:6 that talks about an Eved-Ivri extending his servitude, writes:
What is the reason that the ear had to be pierced rather than any other limb of the servant’s body? Rabban ...
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Irony or Tshuva in Berachot?
In Berachot 10a, it is said that Chizkiyah was punished by Hashem for not having children:
מָה עָשָׂה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא — הֵבִיא יִסּוּרִים עַל חִזְקִיָּהוּ, וְאָמַר לוֹ לִישַׁעְיָהוּ: לֵךְ ...
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Punishment vs suffering
The Rambam says in Hilchos Teshuva chapter 1
עָבַר עַל כְּרֵתוֹת וּמִיתוֹת בֵּית דִּין וְעָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה, תְּשׁוּבָה וְיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים תּוֹלִין וְיִסּוּרִין הַבָּאִין עָלָיו גּוֹמְרִין לוֹ ...
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No atonement for adultery without punishment?
If I understand correctly, proper teshuva for sins between man and G-d removes punishment (Hilchot Teshuvah 2:9):
Neither repentance nor the Day of Atonement atone for any save for
sins committed ...
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1answer
36 views
Can a good decree on Rosh Hashanah be rescinded?
If someone was decreed for the good on Rosh Hashanah and afterwards sinned (possibly say with nivul peh) can the good decree be rescinded?
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How can I redeem a wasted youth?
I wasted my youth. I am 35 years old. I had a toxic relationship with my parents, especially my mother. My career never started, and I am still looking for a fresh start and finding it humiliating at ...
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Is teshuva ever ineffective?
Rosh Hashana 17b quotes a Baraita
[...] If one repents in the meantime, between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, he is forgiven; if he does not repent in the meantime, then even if he later brings as ...
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Is adultery a sin between man and G-d or between man and man?
As we know, there are two types of sins: sins between man and man, and sins between man and G-d.
I used to think that adultery is a sin between man and man. However, reading Mishneh Torah, I ...
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1answer
72 views
Should repentance and Yom Kippur save someone from capital punishment?
In Yoma 86a we find the following Tannaic statement
If one commits a transgression that warrants karet or a sin punishable by death from the earthly court and then repents, repentance and Yom ...
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1answer
145 views
Does Teshuva protect from punishment or not?
The Rambam says in Hilchos Teshuva, chapter 6:
There are other sins for which justice determines that retribution be
exacted in the world to come with no damages coming to the
transgressor in ...
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Asking forgiveness from a deceased person who has no gravesite
The Rambam in Hilchos Teshuvah 2:9 writes:
הַחוֹטֵא לַחֲבֵרוֹ וּמֵת חֲבֵרוֹ קֹדֶם שֶׁיְּבַקֵּשׁ מְחִילָה מֵבִיא עֲשָׂרָה בְּנֵי אָדָם וּמַעֲמִידָן עַל קִבְרוֹ וְיֹאמַר בִּפְנֵיהֶם חָטָאתִי לַה' ...
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Why is a person who refuses to forgive another considered a sinner?
The Rambam Hilchos Teshuvah 2:9 writes about what to do when asking for forgiveness from a person who won't grant it:
אֲפִלּוּ לֹא הִקְנִיט אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ אֶלָּא בִּדְבָרִים צָרִיךְ לְפַיְּסוֹ ...
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Can a mute person do teshuva?
The Rambam in Hilchos Teshuvah 1:1 tells us that saying vidui (confessing) is an integral part of the teshuva process:
כָּל מִצְוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה בֵּין עֲשֵׂה בֵּין לֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה אִם עָבַר אָדָם עַל ...
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How to make oneself regret a sin?
As we know, regret is part of teshuvah. However, sometimes even though we understand logically that what we've done is wrong, we may not always sincerely regret it. In such case, two questions arise:
...
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Are you obligated to ask forgiveness from someone if they don't know you sinned against them?
According to the laws of repentance, is one obligated to ask forgiveness for interpersonal sins the victim is unaware of?
For instance, suppose someone cursed their fellow "behind their back", and in ...
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If one entices someone to sin (i.e mesit) are they liable to induce them to not commit the sin and/or follow the commands as part of repentance?
If someone was a mesit (i.e an enticer) and tried to influence someone to commit a sin, as part of that person's repentance, are they liable to track that person down and try and convince them not to ...
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Why did God not accept the people's repentance in the days of King Yoshiyahu?
After a disastrous 57 years (the reigns of Menashe and his son Amon), during which idolatry was rampant in Judah and Judaism was threatened with extinction, the good king Yoshiyahu comes on the scene ...
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1answer
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Why Dor Hamidbar weren't given a chance to repent?
This probably echoes "why-G-d-didnt-give-adam-chance-to-repent".
I'm trying to empathize Dor Hamidbar and try to imagine how would they feel, doomed by G-d Himself to die pointlessly in the ...
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Breaking one’s word to God
When someone wishes to repent it’s standard practice to ask HaShem for forgiveness while assuring Him that you won’t repeat the sin. But what if that person slips up & repeats the sin, is it ...
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Why must a convicted Jew be executed immediately? [closed]
Here are some speculations why I would think Judaism would never execute [rightfully] convicted Jews right away:
We don't like killing people (even those who deserve it) and try everything within our ...
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2answers
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Is Rabeinu Yonah at all encouraging wasting any food?
Rabeinu Yonah discusses one of the ways of repentance as leaving a little food over after the meal.
אך בעת מאכלו ועודנו תאב לאכול יניח ממנו לכבוד הבורא מתאוותיו, ואל יאכל כפי תאוותו. ודרך זה ...
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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 ...
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157 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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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 ...
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5answers
259 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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3answers
135 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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138 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
399 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
111 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.
...
