Teshuvah "The Path of No Return" Rosh Hashana 5778

(3) I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine, That feedeth among the lilies.’

(7) Then they shall confess their sin which they have done; and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him in respect of whom he hath been guilty.

(1) All of the commandments in the Torah: whether they be the positive commandments, or the negative commandments; if a person transgressed any of them, whether he did so intentionally, whether he did so unintentionally, when he repents and returns from sinning - he is obligated to confess before God, as it says, (Numbers 5:6-7) "When a man or a women does any of the sins of man...and he shall confess his sin that he committed..." - this refers to a verbal confession. And confession, that is a positive commandment.

(3) What is teshuvah? It is when a person ¹abandons the sin that he sinned and removes it from his thoughts ²and commits in his heart that he will not do it again, as it says, The wicked should abandon his path etc. (Isaiah 55:7). And also ³that he regrets sinning, as it says, After I returned I regretted (Jeremiah 31:18). And the One Who Knows Hidden Things testifies about him that he will never return to this sin, as it says, And we will no longer call the work of our hands “god” etc. (Hosea 14:4). ⁴And he must confess verbally and say these things that he has committed in his heart.

When R. Eliezer said, "Repent, even if only one day before your death," his disciples asked him, "Does any
man know what day he will die?" R. Eliezer: "Then all the more reason that he repent today. For should he
die tomorrow, his entire life will have been spent in repentance."

And Reish Lakish Said: "How great is Teshuvah for it turns his sins into merits" As it says in (Yechezkel 33:19) And when the wicked turns back from his wickedness and practices justice and charity, he shall live because of them"

(11) Teshuva and Yom Kippur only atone for transgression between man and God, such as one who eats a forbidden food, or has a forbidden sexual relationship, etc. But transgressions between man and his fellow, such as hurting his fellow, or cursing his fellow, or stealing from him, etc, those are never forgiven until he gives his fellow what he owes him, and [his fellow] is appeased.