Repentance in Judaism

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Repentance (Hebrew: תשובה, romanized: tǝšūvā "return") is one element of atoning for sin in Judaism. Judaism recognizes that everybody sins on occasion, but that people can stop or minimize those occasions in the future by repenting for past transgressions. Thus, the primary purpose of repentance in Judaism is ethical self-transformation. In Jewish thought, teshuva refers both to a religious - ethical process and to a theological principle. While often translated as “repentance,” teshuva emphasizes a return to proper moral and spiritual alignment rather than remorse alone. Classical Jewish sources distinguish teshuva from related concepts. Teshuva denotes the internal process of moral change, including regret for wrongdoing and commitment to altered behavior. Kapparah (“atonement”) refers to the removal of the consequences of sin, which in biblical times was associated with sacrificial rites and, in later tradition, with Yom Kippur. Selicha (“forgiveness”) describes divine pardon, while...

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