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In explanation of repentance and its principles Among the good things which God, may He be blessed, has bestowed upon His creations is the path which He prepared for them to ascend from the baseness of their actions, to escape the trap of their inequities, to hold their souls back from destruction and to remove His anger from upon them. Because of His goodness and uprightness, He has taught them and warned them to return to Him when they sin against Him - for He understands their nature, as it is stated (Psalms 25:8), "Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He shows sinners the way." [Even] if they greatly sin and rebel and act like treacherous betrayers - He does not close the doors of repentance to them, as it is stated (Isaiah 31:6), "Return, to Him to whom they have been so shamefully false." It is [also] stated (Jeremiah 3:22), "Turn back, O rebellious children, I will heal your afflictions." We are warned about repentance in several places in the Torah. It is explained that repentance is accepted even when the sinner repents because of his many troubles - how much more so [will it be accepted] if he returns because of fear or love of God - as it is stated (Deuteronomy 4:30), "When you are in distress because all these things have befallen you and, in the end, return to the Lord your God and obey Him." It is explained in the Torah that God will help those who repent beyond what their natural ability would allow; and that He renews a pure spirit within them, to reach great heights in His love - as it is stated (Deuteronomy 30:2), "And you return to the Lord your God, and you and your children heed His command with all your heart and soul, just as I enjoin upon you this day." Further, it is stated about the body of the matter (Deuteronomy 30:6), "Then the Lord, your God, will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your offspring," to acquire love for Him. And the Prophets and Writings constantly speak on the subject of repentance, such that the principles of repentance are all explained in their words, as will be explained.

Know that the punishment for the sinner who delays repenting of his sin will grow much heavier for him every day. For he knows that [God's] wrath has gone forth against him and that he has an escape route from it - that escape being repentance - yet he still remains rebellious and stays within his evil. Even though it is within his power to leave from within the disorder, he does not fear the anger nor the rage. Thus, his evil is great (see also Midrash Kohelet [Kohelet Rabbah 7:15], which relates a parable illustrating this concept).

But delay of repentance is only found among the ignorant, who are sleeping - lounging. They do not turn to their hearts, and they have neither the knowledge nor the understanding to know that they should hurry, to escape for their lives. Some of them are led astray from God, Blessed be He, and they do not believe in punishment for sin. And our rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 19a), "If you saw a scholar transgress a prohibition at night, do not think badly of him the [next] day; for in truth, he has [already] repented."

And furthermore - reflect upon the evil of the one who delays repenting, as it is great. For if it were not that he had delayed - now when his impulse would confront him a second time and he have the opportunity to sin, he would recoil and sigh with a bitter heart, with anguish and worry; and his eye would weep with grief. He would [then] subdue his impulse, remember that the cup of bitterness had passed over him once and he would not drink it again. As it is stated (Psalms 4:8), "Tremble and do not sin" - its explanation is, tremble and fear and be troubled about your sinning, and do not sin again. For it mentioned their sin above [in that chapter in Psalms], when it stated (Psalms 4:3), "you sought falsehood, Selah." And its using the expression, "tremble," confirms this explanation. [As its usage is like in] (Genesis 45:24), "Do not tremble along the way"; and (Habakkuk 3:16), "I trembled where I stood." And their meaning is distress at something that passed and is still present. And it did not state (in Psalms above), "Fear," or "Flinch." But when he delays from repenting - when the sin comes to his hands, he will fall into its trap like he fell at first. And his second iniquity will be very great and his evil will rise up in front of God. For at first, he did not think that the marauding impulse would come upon him. But after he saw the weakness of his power and that his impulse had overcome him and that it is more powerful than he; he should have seen that it is unbridled, and he should have sought to increase his fear of God, to bring down His fright upon his soul, to save it from the ambush of his impulse and to protect it from its iniquity. And King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 26:11), "As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." Its explanation is that a dog eats disgusting things; but when he vomits them, they are more disgusting, yet he returns to eat them. Such is the matter of a fool. For he will do a disgraceful act, but when he repeats it, it is [even] more disgraceful, as we explained.

Additionally, repentance is more difficult for one who repeats his sin; for the sin becomes as if it were permitted to him. And his sin is very weighty with regards to this, as it is stated (Jeremiah 3:5), "that is how you spoke; you did wrong, and you were able." The meaning of, "you were able," is that the evil deeds have become like that which is permitted to you, and like something within your ability and your authority - like the usage (in Deuteronomy 12:17), "You are not able to eat in your gates," for which the translation [of Onkelos] is, "you do not have authority." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Yoma 86b), "When a person commits a transgression and repeats it, it becomes to him as if it were permitted. [Additionally,] our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said about a man who commits a transgression and repeats it - that from now on, if he thinks about doing that sin but is prevented from doing it by duress, his bad thought is joined with the act (it is counted as if he did it). And about him is it stated (Jeremiah 6:19), "I am going to bring disaster upon this people, the outcome of their own thoughts."

And now understand - listen to this, for it is a great principle. It is true that there are righteous people who sometimes stumble into sin - like the matter that is stated (Ecclesiastes 7:20), "For there is no man that is righteous on earth, who does good and does not sin." However they conquer their impulses from in front of them. And if they do fall to sin once, they will not repeat it. [Rather] they will have it taken away from in front of them and repent. However anyone who is not careful of a particular sin and does not take upon himself to guard against it - even if it is from the light ones [and] even though he guards himself against all of the [other] transgressions of the Torah - the Sages of Israel call a habitual sinner (mumar) about one thing (Chullin 4b); he is counted with the sinners, and his sin is too great to bear. For surely if a slave said to his master, "I will do everything you tell me except for one thing," he has already broken his master's yoke from upon himself and will do what is proper in his [own] eyes. And this whole matter is stated [in] (Deuteronomy 27:26), "Cursed be he who will not uphold the words of this Torah, to do them" - the explanation of the matter is that he does not accept upon himself to fulfill all of the words of the Torah, from beginning to end. And what indicates this [is the phrase], "who will not uphold [...] to do" - and it did not state, "who will not do them."

Furthermore, know that one who repeats one sin ten times - even though he guards himself against all of the other transgressions - is surely considered as if he transgressed different transgressions. And so did our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, say (Makkot 21a) that if they tell a Nazirite, "Do not drink [wine]," and he drinks; "Do not drink," and he drinks - at the end, he is lashed for each and every time - like one who eats a terminally sick animal (tereifah), an impure animal, forbidden fat and blood.

And we have surely seen that the iniquities of the generation have increased on account of this. For there are many people who do [not] take upon themselves to guard against specific sins. And they do not guard against them all the days of their lives, but [these sins] are rather like something permitted to them. And if they were only behaving like this with one sin, it would have been a bad disease upon their souls - as we explained. All the more when they behave so with many negative commandments, including weighty ones - such as unnecessary oaths, cursing one's fellow or oneself with [God's] name; mentioning God's name unnecessarily, in an impure place or with unclean hands; diverting one's eyes from the poor, evil speech, baseless hatred, pride, terrorizing [others], staring at those sexually forbidden - and the neglect of Torah is equal to all of them [together]. And there are many like this - we have written some of them for the people of the generation, to remind them and to warn them. And likewise is it fitting for all penitents to write in a scroll-book the things that they have stumbled upon, and the commandments in which their performance has fallen short; and to read from this book of memoirs every day.

And behold that there are many levels of repentance. It is true that you will find forgiveness for any repentance. However the soul will only find complete purification - to be as if the iniquities never had been - when a person purifies his heart and prepares his spirit, as will be explained. And so is it written (Psalms 32:2), "Happy is the man whom the Lord does not hold guilty, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." And it is like the matter of a garment that needs washing: For a little washing will be effective to remove its soiling. However, it will [only] whiten according to the amount of washing. And so is it written there (Psalms 51:4), "Wash me thoroughly of my iniquity." And the soul will be washed from iniquity according to how you wash its heart, as it is stated (Jeremiah 4:14), "Wash your heart clean of wickedness, O Jerusalem." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Avodah Zarah 19a), "'Happy is the man who fears the Lord' (Psalms 112:1) - when he is still a man." This means to say that the most elevated repentance of a man is in the days of his youth - [when] he overcomes his impulse when his strength is still with him. However any repentance is effective, as it is stated (Psalms 90:3), "You return man to dust; You said, 'Return you mortals!'" And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Yerushalmi Chagigah 2:1), "Until the soul turns to dust."

Now we will explain the principles of repentance. The first principle is regret: His heart should understand that leaving God is bad and bitter; and he should place into his heart that there is punishment, vengeance and repayment for iniquity, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 32:35), "To be My vengeance and repayment." And it is stated (Job 19:29), "Be in fear of the sword, for [your] fury is iniquity worthy of the sword." And he should regret his bad deeds and say in his heart, "What have I done? How did I not have fear of God in front of my eyes, and did not become afraid from the rebukes of iniquity and from the harsh judgments? For there are many aches [waiting] for the evildoer. I did not pity my body; and for a moment of pleasure, my eyes did not pity its being destroyed. I became like a man who robs and extorts, eats and is satiated; but who knows that after his eating and his drinking, the judge will grind his teeth with gravel - like the matter that is stated (Proverbs 20:17), 'but later his mouth will be filled with gravel.' And worse than this, I was cruel to the dear soul and I rendered it impure with the idols of my impulse. And what did it gain from all of its acquisitions, if they are bad in the eyes of its Master? And how did I trade a passing world for a world that exists for ever and ever? How have I become similar to animals? As I have gone after my impulse like a horse, like a mule that does not understand. And I have strayed from the way of the intellect. And behold the Creator blew a living soul into my nose - a wise heart and the benefit of intellect - in order to recognize Him and fear Him and to govern over the body and all of its actions, like it governs over the other animals that do not speak, because it is precious in His eyes. And though I was created like this, it has become the opposite of this in me. Why am I alive? It is like the matter that is stated (Proverbs 21:16), 'A man who strays from the path of the intellect will rest in the company of ghosts.' Moreover I have not [even] fulfilled the precept of the animal. Rather I have been lower than that. For the ox knows its master and the donkey the trough of its owner; whereas I have not known and not reflected. And I have sent my soul to be free from its master. So I have tasted my nectar, but forgotten my end. And I have stolen and extorted and trampled upon the indigent. I have not remembered the day of death, upon which nothing will remain before my soul besides my corpse and my dirt." And this matter that we have explained is that which Jeremiah, peace be upon him, had spoken, "No one regrets his wickedness and says, 'What have I done?'"

The second principle is leaving the sin: That he should leave his evil ways and decide with all of his heart that he will not continue to return this way again. And if he did evil, he shall not do [it any] more, like the matter that is stated, (Ezekiel 33:11), "Return, return from your evil ways"; and [likewise] stated (Isaiah 55:17), "Let the wicked give up his ways." But know that [in the case of] one who sins by happenstance because he had a desire and his impulse overpowered him and attacked him, whereas his ideas and senses did not rescue him when he encountered it; so they were not quick to rebuke him in the sea of desire, to dry it up - hence the impulse dragged him into its nets and he fell into its snares at that particular time and instant, at the time that the spirit of the evil impulse kicked him down, but not because of his [own] desire and will to find his iniquity and to do like this afterwards: The beginning of the repentance of this man is regret; to place sorrow into his heart about his sin, to have his soul be afflicted and bitter like wormwood. Afterwards, he should increase the fear of sin in his heart every day, and put the dread of God into his heart at all times, until his heart becomes steady in the trust of God. As if the impulse comes across him again - like it does from time to time - and his desire become fanned like the first case, his heart will not be seduced by it and he will abandon its path. [This is] as it is stated (Proverbs 28:13), "but one who confesses and abandons [them] will find mercy" - it mentions "confesses" first, about the regret and the confession; and afterwards, "abandons." However [in the case of] one who is constantly positioned on the path that is not good, and the man who treads on his sins every day and repeats them in his foolishness; and who runs after it many times in his race, loves his evil all the time, places the trap of his iniquity in front of his face - meaning his desire and impulse - and his craving is his occupation; he does not prevent himself from doing anything that he wants to do: For such a man, the beginning of his repentance is to abandon his evil way and thoughts, and to agree, resolve and accept upon himself to not continue sinning. Afterwards, he should regret and return to God, as it is stated (Isaiah 55:7), "Let the wicked give up his ways, the sinful man his plans; let him turn back to the Lord, and He will pardon him." And the parable for this is about one who holds a sherets (an impure crawling animal) and comes to immerse and become pure. For he must first leave the sherets, and then immerse and become purified. But all the time that the sherets is in his hand, his impurity is still with him and the immersion is ineffective. And behold that leaving the thoughts of sin is [equivalent to] throwing out the sherets; and the regret of that which he sinned, the confession and the prayer are in place of the immersion. And when afflictions and aches come upon the evildoer for whom all of his plans are to continue with his crimes, he is first afflicted. And then he repents from the evil thoughts that he thought and cuts off the actions from his hands. And the parable for this is about a calf which they hit with a cow prod to direct his [work on the] furrows. So is one who is positioned on a path that is not good. He should take the chastisement first, to abandon the ways of death and to walk in a straight path - as it is written (Jeremiah 31:18), "I can hear Ephraim lamenting, 'You have chastised me, and I am chastised like a calf that has not been broken.'" And it is further stated after it (Jeremiah 31:19), "Now that I have turned back, I am filled with remorse." [This] means to say, "After you chastised me, and I was chastised and returned from my evil ways; I was filled with remorse afterwards and regretted what occurred with my iniquities." So behold that all of this matter that we have explained has been clarified for you.

The third principle is grief: His conscience should darken as he thinks about the great evil of one who rebels against his Maker. He should magnify the grief in his heart, experience a storm in his thoughts and sigh with a bitter heart. For it is possible for him to regret all the sins that he did and find them to be bad in his eyes, yet not fill his measure in this. For even the loss of a dinar or an isar (a small coin) is difficult in the eyes of a man. However, if he lost [all of] his wealth in a bad way and was cleaned out of possessions, his soul would [actually] mourn and his sighing would be heavy. And likewise is his pain infinite and his grief daily for many and frequent troubles. And more than [about] these is it fitting to be distressed and constantly sigh for one who rebelled against God, may He be blessed, was destructive, performed disgusting acts in front of Him; and who did not remember his Maker who created him ex nihilo, did kindness with him, placed His hand upon him at every instant and guards his spirit at all times - how could he have the temerity to bring anger in front of Him? And how were the eyes of the sinner shut from seeing; from having his heart understand? And one who understands and has eyes opened will inscribe these words onto his heart, so that they will enter the chambers of his spirit.

And the levels of repentance and their stature is based on the greatness of the bitterness and the power of the grief. And that is repentance that comes by way of the purification of the soul and the purity of its intellect. For according to his intellect and according to that which he opens his eyes will be the grief of his thoughts about his great poverty. As it is stated (Isaiah 57:16), "For I will not always contend, I will not be angry forever; nay, when spirits in front of Me cover themselves, I who create the souls." Its explanation is that according to that which the spirit - which is in front of me - covers itself and is distressed, and the souls which I have made cover themselves; I will not contend and I will not be angry. For how can I not have grace and mercy upon the precious soul that is in front of Me? Therefore the sin will be light according to the weightiness of the service of the sighing about it. For grief comes from the purification of the highest soul. And it is accepted through this more than it would be accepted by many afflictions and aches of the body. And the parable for this is that a king has mercy on his attendants that were born in his household that are close to him and from the respected nobles of the land - and he gives them grace - more than on the distant and smaller ones. And it states, "I who create the souls," due to their closeness to the higher ones, even though the body and everything [else] are the work of His hands. And like this is (Exodus 32:16), "The tablets were God’s work." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, also said (Kiddushin 30a), "There are three partners in a man: His father, his mother and the Holy One, blessed be He." But because the father and mother have no partnership in the soul - therefore, it stated, "I who create the souls," That the matter is as I have explained it, is shown from its stating, "when spirits in front of Me."

And King David, peace be upon him, stated (Psalms 38:10), "O Lord, all my desires are in front of You; my groaning is not hidden from You." Its explanation is [that] that all of my desire is revealed to You - that it is only for Your service. And You know that my sighing is not about matters of the world and finite things; but about my sins and the limits of my reach in Your service. And one of the supplicators said, "Examine His worth: My sighing is from Your fear - remove my sighing from me; I worried from the limits of my reach in Your service - remove my worries from me."

The fourth principle is pain in [his] actions, as it is stated (Joel 2:12), "'Yet even now' - says the Lord - 'Turn back to Me with all your hearts, and with fasting, weeping, and lamenting." And they, may their memory be blessed, said (Yerushalmi Berakhot 1:4), "The heart and the eyes are the two intermediaries of sin." And so is it written (Numbers 15:39), "and you shall not go astray after your hearts and after your eyes." Hence with this will the sin of the intermediaries be atoned - with the measure of repentance according to the measure of the affliction. For the iniquity of the heart is atoned by its bitterness and sighing - with the brokenness with which it is broken, as it is stated (Isaiah 57:16), "when spirits in front of Me cover themselves." And it is [also] written (Psalms 51:19), "God, You will not despise a contrite and crushed heart." And the parable about this is from the [impure] vessels - when they are broken, they are purified, as it is stated (Leviticus 11:35), "an oven or stove shall be smashed." And the iniquity of the eyes is atoned by tears, as it is stated (Psalms 119:136), "My eyes shed streams of water, because they do not obey Your Torah ." It does not state, "because I do not obey Your Torah," but rather states, "they do not obey"; since they were what caused the sin - therefore, I shed streams of waters.

The fifth principle is worry: As he will worry and fear from the punishment of his iniquities. For there are iniquities for which the repentance has the atonement depend upon cleansing afflictions, as it is stated (Psalms 38:19), "I acknowledge my iniquity; I am fearful over my sin." The content of grief is about the past, whereas the content of worry is about the future. And he will also doubly worry - maybe he is falling short in his obligation of repentance with pain, bitterness, fasting and crying. And even if he has multiplied the pain and multiplied the crying, he should crawl and fear - maybe corresponding to this had he multiplied his guilt; so that all of his affliction and having his soul cry in its fast did not fill his measure. And one who examines the greatness of the service to the Creator upon his creatures and that there is no end to the evil of one who rebels against His word [will know that even with] all of what he adds to his service and in the ways of repentance, is it not small? Behold it is like a little in his eyes. And King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 14:16), "A wise man is afraid and turns away from evil." And its explanation is that even though a wise man turns away from evil with all of the efforts of his ability, he should crawl and fear - maybe he did not complete his measure, and he was not careful according to the standard of what needs to be done. And like this is (Proverbs 28:6), "than a rich man whose ways are crooked" - even though he is rich. And likewise did our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, say in Yilamdeinu (Tanchuma, Lech Lecha, 15), "Do not explain [it as] 'A wise man is afraid and turns away from evil'; but rather, 'A wise man turns away from evil and is afraid.'" And the end of the verse (Proverbs 14:16) proves this - "but a fool rushes and is confident." He states abut the traits of a fool, that they are the opposite of the traits of a wise man. For a fool rushes, but is nevertheless confident that iniquity and damage will not come to him. Yet the angry person is given to sins and open to damages, as it is stated (Proverbs 29:22), "A hot-tempered man commits many offenses." And it is [also] stated (Proverbs 25:28), "Like an open city without walls is a man whose temper is uncurbed."

And the penitent should also worry lest his impulse overpower him. [It is] like they, may their memory be blessed, said (Avot 2:4), "Do not trust in yourself until the day of your death" - all the more so, a man whose heart has already vanquished him. For it is fitting to guard oneself every instant from the ambushing impulse; and to add fear of God to himself every day. And it will [then] be a fortress when all of the breakers of the impulse that renew themselves in the future pass upon him.

And King Solomon, peace be upon him, spoke about the matter of repentance and specified this topic. And he surely opened his words and said (Proverbs 28:12), "When the righteous exult there is great glory, but when the wicked rise up, men will be sought." The explanation [of this] is that the righteous will exalt and honor people about all the good traits that are found with them; but the wicked seek peoples' blemishes and their mistakes, to put them down - even when they have already left these actions and returned in repentance. Afterwards he said (Proverbs 28:13), "He who covers up his faults will not succeed; but he who confesses and gives them up will find mercy." For even though a penitent should not reveal his iniquities to people - as is to be understood from that which is stated, "but when the wicked rise up, men will be sought" - he is obligated to confess them [privately], like the matter that is stated (Psalms 32:5), "Then I acknowledged my sin to You; I did not cover up my guilt." And it is [also] stated (Jeremiah 2:35), "Lo, I will bring you to judgment for saying, 'I have not sinned.'" But the Sages of Israel, may their memory blessed, explained (Yoma 86b) [that] there are times when he who covers up his faults will not succeed - like with sins between a man and his fellow. As he does not attain atonement until he returns what was stolen, extorted or taken unjustly; and until he asks to be pardoned for that which he annoyed him, embarrassed him or spoke evil speech about him. [Likewise must he not cover up his] sins between a man and the Omnipresent that have become known to people. For one who sins publicly desecrates [God's] name (but Rashi, may his memory be blessed, in the Chapter [entitled] Yom HaKippurim, understands it in a different way. See there.) So he is obligated to grieve and mourn about it in front of people to sanctify [God's] name. And this is [the meaning of] that which is written (Jeremiah 31:19), "Now that I have turned back, I am filled with remorse; now that I am made aware, I strike my thigh." The meaning of, "I am filled with remorse," is regret and pain. For the essence of repentance is bitterness of the heart, as we have explained. And [the meaning of,] "now that I am made aware, I strike my thigh," is after people have been made aware and my iniquities have been publicized, I mourned with actions that were visible to people. [This is] like (Ezekiel 21:17), "strike the thigh"; and it is [also] stated (Job 33:27), "He declares to men, 'I have sinned; I have perverted what was right.'"

"But he who confesses and gives them up will find mercy" (Proverbs 28:13): The explanation is that even though there are three foundations of repentance - regret, confession and leaving the sin - (and here it only appears like two,) regret and confession are [both] included in "he who confesses." For one who confesses, regrets. But there is no repentance without these three - as one who regrets and confesses but does not leave the sin is like one who immerses with a sherets in his hand. However, "he who confesses and gives them up will find mercy" - for he is a penitent. [This is the case,] even though there are many levels of repentance, as we have explained.

He said after this (Proverbs 28:14), "Happy is the man who is always afraid, but he who raises his heart falls into misfortune." [Its] explanation is, even though he "confesses and gives them up," he should always be afraid [that] maybe he has not filled the [required] measure of repentance. For it requires many levels, so he should increase his fortitude every day to attain [these] levels. He should also be afraid [that] maybe his impulse will return to him. So he should guard against it every instant, always add fear of God to his soul and always pray to God to help him towards repentance and to save him from his impulse. "But he who raises his heart falls into misfortune": One who says in his heart, "I have filled my measure of repentance," and does not always make efforts to acquire [higher] levels of repentance and to add fear to his soul will be punished for this. For he is of a raised heart and does not recognize the deficiency of his spirit. And if he does not recognize the greatness of his obligation to refine his ways with great refinement, he will also not guard himself from his impulse, which always ambushes him. Hence he will fall into the hands of his impulse.

The sixth principle is shame, like the matter that is stated (Jeremiah 31:19), "I am ashamed and also humiliated, for I bear the disgrace of my youth." As behold that a sinner would be very ashamed to do transgressions in front of people; and he would be humiliated if people sensed and noted his transgressions. So how is it that he would not be ashamed in front of the Creator, may He be blessed? And this is only from the Holy One, blessed be He, being distant from his [feelings]. Hence he is ashamed towards the creatures, but he is not ashamed towards the Creator, may He be blessed. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 28b) that at the time of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's death, his students "said to him, 'Our teacher, bless us.' He said to them, 'May it be His will that the fear of Heaven shall be upon you like the fear of flesh and blood.' His students said, 'To that point and not beyond?' He said to them, 'Would it only be so! Know that when one commits a transgression, he says to himself, "I hope that no man will see me."'"

And the highest level in this is that one would be humiliated by all of his iniquities in front of God, may He be blessed. And the content of humiliation is the feeling of shame and change in the radiance of his face, like the matter that is stated (Psalms 59:8), "shame covers my face." And you will see that in every place, humiliation is mentioned after shame - as it is more than shame: "Be ashamed and humiliated" (Ezekiel 36:32); "I am ashamed and humiliated"(Jeremiah 31:19). And when the sinner sees that God, may He be blessed, passes over his transgression, is patient with him, does not pay him back, does not do to him according to His sins and does not pay him back according to his iniquities, he has greater shame in his heart. For does not one who sinned against a king of flesh and blood and was treacherous to him, yet is forgiven by him, feel shame towards him? Accordingly is it written (Ezekiel 16:63), "Thus you shall remember and feel shame, [...] when I have forgiven you for all that you did." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 12b) that someone who does something and is ashamed by it has all of his iniquities forgiven. And so do we find with Saul, who said (I Samuel 28:15), "and He no longer answers me, either by prophets or in dreams," but did not mention the Urim and Thumim. For he was ashamed to mention them, since he killed [the inhabitants of] Nov, the city of priests. So Samuel said to him (I Samuel 28:19), "Tomorrow your sons and you will be with me" - with me in my section [of the world to come]." And one acquires the level of shame by meditating to think about the greatness of God, and how evil is the one who rebels against His words; and in always remembering that God sees his deeds, examines his [feelings] and looks into his thoughts.

And the seventh principle is whole-hearted submission and lowliness. For the one who knows his Creator knows how one who transgresses His words is crooked and lowly - so he is lowered in his worth, like the matter that is stated (Psalms 15:4), "for whom a contemptible man is abhorrent." And it is [also] stated, (Job 15:16), "What then of one loathsome and foul man, who drinks wrongdoing like water"; [and] (Jeremiah 6:30), "They are called rejected silver." Therefore he will be submissive and lowly in his [own] eyes. And when King David, peace be upon him, confessed after Nathan the prophet came to him, he said at the end of his words (Psalms 51:19), "True sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God, You will not despise a contrite and crushed heart" - "a contrite spirit" is a lowly spirit. From this we have learned that submission is from the principles of repentance, since this psalm is wholly founded upon the principles of repentance. And with submission, a man is acceptable to God, as it is stated (Isaiah 66:2), "To the poor and brokenhearted." And it is stated about the matter of repentance, (Isaiah 57:14-15), "[The Lord] says, 'Build up, build up a highway, etc.' For thus said He who high aloft forever dwells, whose name is holy, 'I dwell on high, in holiness; yet with the contrite and the lowly in spirit - reviving the spirits of the lowly, reviving the hearts of the contrite." We learn [also from here] that submission is from the principles of repentance. And likewise does the entire remainder of this section speak about penitents: "For I will not always contend, etc. For their sinful greed I was angry, etc. I see their ways, and I will heal them and I will guide them, etc." (Isaiah 57:16-18). Its explanation is, I see that their ways are [grounded] in submission, as it stated, "yet with the contrite and the lowly in spirit"; and with bitter-heartedness, as it stated (Isaiah 57:16), "when spirits in front of Me cover themselves"; "and I will heal them," as I will forgive his iniquity, like [in] (Hosea 14:5), "I will heal their affliction," [and in] (Isaiah 6:10), "and repent and save itself"; "and I will guide them" - I will help him to leave the sin, and give him strength against his impulse.

And know that there are many degrees of submission as will be explained in the Chapter on Humility (no longer extant), with God's help. But the highest level that is necessary for the path of repentance is that one aggrandize Torah and enhance it and not claim any benefit for himself. For it will all be small in his eyes compared to what he is obligated to do for the service of God. Therefore he will be submissive and serve with humility, and not desire honor for his honorable actions, nor glory for his glorious deeds. So he will conceal them [from his companions] according to his ability.

And this matter of this principle of repentance is made clear by the words of the prophet, peace be upon him, as it is stated (Micah 6:6), "With what shall I approach the Lord, do homage to God on high?" Its explanation is, "With what shall I approach the Lord" for all of his kindnesses - as he mentioned some of God's kindnesses above in this section - and with what will I "do homage to God on high," for my many sins. And it mentions, "God on high," to teach and make known to what extent it is fitting for one who rebelled against the One who is above everything, to do homage and submit. And it explained the matter afterwards (Micah 6:6-7): "Shall I approach Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriads of streams of oil," with which I should approach Him for his great kindnesses? "Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression" - to show my submission and my great subordination for my many sins, as I recognize the greatness of my transgression. For it would be fitting to give my firstborn as a sacrifice on account of my transgressions, for they are many and great. "The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul" - it mentioned "my firstborn" for the transgression, and the fruit of my body for the sin. For transgression (pesha) is rebellion, as our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Yoma 36b) - and that is more than sin. And the answer was (Micah 6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you - only to do justice and to love goodness," for this is superior to burnt-offerings and meal-offerings with which to approach God for His kindnesses; "and to walk humbly with your God" - this is the essence of your submission and your subordination: To serve God with humility. For this shows your submission, that you do not desire honor for your honorable actions, nor for the virtues that the Maker does not [even] desire in His creations - for one should not glory in them - such as wealth and strength and types of wisdom, but rather only for understanding and knowing God, may He be blessed, as it is stated (Jeremiah 9:22), "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, etc."

And the penitent is also obligated to submit, because he is obligated to remove from himself the traits that cause him to sin and to do rebellious deeds.

And pride causes several transgressions and amplifies the impulse of a man's heart against him, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 8:14), "And your heart grow haughty and you forget the Lord your God." And it is [also] stated (Proverbs 21:4), "Haughty looks, a proud heart - the tillage of the evildoers' sin." Its explanation is: Pride is the tillage of evildoers, for the sins grow from it; as it was stated, "And your heart grow haughty and you forget." And it is [also] stated (Psalms 10:2), "The wicked in his arrogance hounds the lowly." And it is [further] stated (Psalms 31:19), "that speak haughtily against the righteous with arrogance." And it is [also] stated (Ezekiel 32:24), "who struck terror in the land of the living." And just like people make a tillage in the field in order to plant seeds and to harvest much produce, so do the evildoers make pride into a tillage in their hearts, and seed it with their evil thoughts to produce and to grow sins. Metaphorically speaking, these are the fruit of their thoughts - like the prophet stated (Hosea 10:4), "this judgment springs up like poison weeds, etc." And the explanation of "sin" (above in Proverbs 21:4) is, the tillage of the evildoers is the tillage of sin. And all [mention of] sin is [actually] plural, like (in Jeremiah 17:1), "The sin of Judah." Or (alternatively), its explanation is "and sin," like in (Habakkuk 3:11), "Sun, moon" (which means, sun and moon). And the understanding is - beyond [the fact] that pride causes sins, the trait itself is a sin, as it is stated (Proverbs 16:5), "Every haughty person is an abomination to the Lord." And a proud person will be given over to his impulse; for God does not help him, since he is "an abomination to the Lord."

And the penitent is also obligated to be submissive and to fulfill and follow the path about which our Rabbis, may there memory be blessed, said (Avot 4:10), "Be of humble spirit before all men." And from this, he will acquire that he will not get angry at - or be exacting with - his fellows; and he will also not pay attention to everything that he hears and will forego his reckonings. And from this, all of his sins will be [forewent to be] atoned, as our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Rosh Hashanah 17a), "Whoever forgoes his reckonings [with others, the heavenly court, in turn,] forgoes all his sins" - measure for measure. And this is a very glorious opening for hope. And it is stated (Lamentations 3:29-30), "Let him put his mouth to the dust - there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to the smiter; let him be surfeited with mockery."

The eighth principle is submission in [his] actions - such that one should be accustomed to [giving] a gentle response, as it is stated (Proverbs 15:1), "A gentle response allays wrath." For this is the way of lowliness, as it is stated (Isaiah 29:4), "And you shall speak from lower than the ground, your speech shall be humbler than the sod" - the opposite of that which is stated about a rich man who is proud: "The rich man’s answer is harsh" (Proverbs 18:23). And he should not be occupied with the beauty of clothing and jewelry, as it is stated (Exodus 33:5), "and now take off your finery." And it is stated about Ahab, (I Kings 21:27), "he fasted and lay in sackcloth and walked about subdued." And God, may He be blessed, said about this (I Kings 21:29), "Have you seen how Ahab has submitted?" And the matter of "walked about subdued," is the opposite of the way of kings, who walk with many soldiers and the din of a troop. And he should always lower his eyes, like the matter that is stated, (Job 22:29), "for He saves those who lower their eyes." And signs of submission - like a gentle response, a soft voice and lowered eyes - remind him to have a submissive heart.

And the ninth principle is the breaking of physical desire. One should put into his mind that desire causes harm to his soul - to sin and to be pulled after iniquity for worthless vanities. So he should make a vow to protect the path of repentance: He should separate from pleasures and not be drawn after his desire - even with things that are permissible - and follow the path of asceticism. So he should only eat to satiate his spirit and preserve his body, like the matter that is stated (Proverbs 13:28), "The righteous man eats to the satiation of his spirit." And he should not approach a woman except to fulfill the commandment of being fruitful and multiplying; or the commandment of the set time [for his wife]. For anytime that a man pursues desire, he is drawn after the effects of the physical and is distanced from the path of the reasoning soul; and then his impulse will overpower him, like the matter that is stated (Deuteronomy 32:15), "And Jeshurun waxed fat and rebelled." And it is [also] stated (Proverbs 30:9), "Lest, being sated, I renounce." And they, may their memory be blessed, said (Sukkah 52b), "There is a small limb in a man - [if] he satiates it, it is hungry; [if] he starves it, it is satiated."

And behold that the desire placed in the heart of man is the root of all of his actions. Therefore, if he refines the desire - instead of all the limbs serving it, he will draw them after the intellect. So they will accompany him and serve him; and all of his actions will be proper, as it is stated (Proverbs 21:8), "but he is pure and straight in his actions." (And it appears to me that he is understanding, "but he is pure," [as] meaning to say, that he is pure from desire; "and straight in his actions," [as] all of his actions are assumed to be refined and straight. And that is something that can be learned from its [context], as its opposite is written after it - "The desire of the wicked is set upon evil" [Proverbs 21:10].) And it is [also] stated (Proverbs 13:19), "Desire niheyeh is sweet to the spirit." Niheyeh [here] is like broken, as [its usage in] (Daniel 8:27), "I was broken (niheyeti), and languished." It is stating that when a man breaks his desire - even for things that are permissible - it renders his spirit successful. So this trait is sweet to it. For the intellect raises its hand and is victorious. "But to turn away from evil is abhorrent to the stupid" (Proverbs 21:8): The stupid, who do not break their desire but rather always pursue the desires of people - when their desire confronts them [to do a] sin or any bad thing, they will not veer from it. And they are called stupid because of [their] pursuit of pleasures - as it is stated (Proverbs 21:20), "and a stupid man will swallow them." And it is stated (Isaiah 5:11-12), "Ah, those who chase liquor from early in the morning, etc. Who have lyre and lute, etc.; but who never give a thought to the plan of the Lord, etc." And it is [also] stated (Proverbs 13:25), "but the belly of the wicked is empty." And it is [further] stated (Malachi 2:3), "and I will strew dung upon your faces, the dung of your festivals." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Shabbat 151b), "These are people for which all their days are like festivals." And it states (Proverbs 18:1), "He who isolates himself pursues his desires; he disdains all competence." Its explanation is, one who seeks to go after his desire and his will, will be isolated from any friend or countryman. As admirers and companions will distance themselves them from him, since the desires and measures of people are [all] different - the will of this one is not like the will of that one. However if he will follow the path of the intellect, many friends will join themselves to him and his admirers will be many. And they said regarding ethics, one who [insists] upon his measures will have many [against] him. And it is possible to explain, "He who isolates himself pursues his desires," about this matter itself: A man is isolated from every brother and friend, by the desire that he seeks. And since he seeks to go after his will - because of that, his companions distance themselves from him. [It is] like the matter [of], "but a poor man loses his friend" (Proverbs 19:4). "He disdains all competence": One who follows his desires will not only sin in one thing. Rather he will disdain every thing in the Torah, since he will transgress all of it - like the wording (of Proverbs 20:3), "but every fool disdains."

And there is another benefit to his breaking his physical desire: That if his desire asks him for something wicked and sinful, he will say to his heart, "Look, I do not fulfill my desire with the permissible; so how could I reach my hand out for the forbidden?"

And you will also find [another] big and great benefit in breaking desire: For he will reveal his true heart and goodly desire for repentance. As he is disgusted by the nature that caused him to sin. And through this, he will become acceptable to God, may He be blessed, and find favor in His eyes. And it is accordingly written (Psalms 51:19), "True sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God, You will not despise a contrite and crushed heart." The contrite spirit is a lowly and submissive spirit; and a broken heart is [speaking] about the breaking of physical desire - for desire is placed into the heart, as it is stated (Psalms 21:3), "You have granted him the desire of his heart." And this verse (51:19) is stated in the psalm of repentance. And from its stating, "You will not despise a contrite and crushed heart," we learn that a penitent becomes acceptable to God, through the breaking of his physical desire, and that this is from the principles of repentance. And it is also stated about the matter of repentance (Isaiah 57:15), "reviving the spirits of the lowly, reviving the hearts of the contrite."

And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, stated (Avot 5:19), "Whoever possesses these three things, he is of the disciples of Abraham, our father [...] A good eye, a humble spirit and a moderate appetite." And the meaning of a humble spirit is that he does not follow his physical desire even with permissible things. [This is] like we find that Abraham stated (Genesis 12:11) "Behold I know what a beautiful woman you are" - as he had not stared at her until that day, to contemplate the character of her beauty. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, stated (Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 2:3) about that which is written (II Samuel 20:3), "and they remained in seclusion until the day they died, in living widowhood" - that each day David would command that their heads be beautified and that perfumes be given to them to adorn them in order to provoke his desire and to [then] subdue it, when he would conquer his impulse for them, in order to atone for himself about the matter of Bathsheba.

The tenth principle is to improve one's actions with that which he was wanton: If he stared at those sexually forbidden, he should accustom himself to lower his eyes. If he sinned with evil speech, he should occupy himself with Torah [study]. Likewise with all the limbs with which he sinned, he should attempt to fulfill the commandments with them. And so our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said that the righteous ones become acceptable with the very thing with which they sin. And they also said (Leviticus Rabbah 21:5), "If you have done piles of sins, do piles and piles of commandments that correspond to them: Feet that ran to do evil shall run to the matter of a commandment; a false tongue, his palate should utter truth, he should open his mouth with wisdom and have the Torah of kindness on his tongue; hands that spilled blood, let him surely open his hand to his poor brothers; haughty eyes, let him be subdued and lower his eyes; a heart that seeks thoughts of injustice, let his heart mull words of Torah and the meditation of his heart be understanding; if he creates arguments between brothers, let him seek peace and pursue it."

And the eleventh principle is examining one's ways, as it is stated (Lamentations 3:40), "Let us search and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord." And he should do this for three [reasons]: The first is in order that he remembers all of the things about which he sinned and confess them all. For confession is one of the principles of atonement. And the second is in order for him to know how many iniquities and sins he has, and enhance his submission. And the third is that even though he takes on himself to leave the sin - he must know the things about which he sinned in order to make fences for them and to greatly safeguard his spirit from them; from the ambush of the impulse, since his spirit is prone to them, as they have become light in his eyes and his impulse has taken control over them. And behold that his soul is sick from his actions. And when a sick person begins healing, he needs to be careful about many matters, so that he will not have a relapse of his sickness.

The twelfth principle is that one needs to examine, know and recognize the greatness of the punishment for each one of his iniquities - for which of them is there lashes, for which of them is there a liability for excision, for which of them is there a death penalty from the court - in order that he know the greatness of his iniquity when he confesses it, and cry bitterly about that which bitterly angered [God. This is also] in order that he will enhance his submission and in order that he will fear from his iniquities. For [with] weighty sins, repentance only suspends their atonement whereas afflictions absolve them. And so is it written, (Jeremiah 2:23), "Look at your deeds in the valley, consider what you have done!" And this principle will be explained in the third chapter.

The thirteenth principle is that the light sins should be weighty in one's eyes from four angles: The first is that he should not look at the smallness of a sin, but rather at the greatness of the One who commanded it. The second is that the impulse is in control over the light sins, and that may be a cause to do them constantly. And then they will also be considered like weighty ones - when the punishment of all of the times [it is committed] are combined. And they compared it to a silk thread that is loose and weak; but when you combine it many, many times, it becomes a strong rope. And the third is that from his constantly doing the sin, it becomes like something permissible; and he will remove its yoke from upon him. So he will not protect himself against it and he will be considered from those that remove the yoke and are heretics for one thing. And the fourth is that if he defeats the impulse with something small, he will defeat it tomorrow with something big - as our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Shabbat 105b), "Anyone who breaks vessels in anger should be in your eyes as if he worships idolatry. For this is the way of the evil impulse: Today it says to you thus, on the morrow, it tells you, 'Go worship an idol.'" And it is stated (Genesis 4:7), "Is it not that if you do right, there is uplift, etc." Its explanation [starting with the end of Genesis 4:6] is: "Why has your face fallen? Is it not that if you do right" actions and repent to Me, "there is uplift" - like the usage (in Job 11:15), "Then, free of blemish, you will uplift your head." And it can be understood as an expression of forgiveness. "But if you do not do right, sin couches at the door" (Genesis 4:7): But if you do not repent from that which you sinned, it is not only this iniquity that will lay with you; but rather the impulse crouches at the door to make you sin in all that you do. And it will always defeat you, since it defeated you and trapped you [now] and it also caught you, and you did not repent. "And its urge is toward you," to lead you astray and it ambushes you at every instant. "Yet you can be its master," if you want to overpower it. Therefore you will be punished for the sin, since I gave you the ability to conquer your impulse.

And King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 13:13), "He who disdains a precept will be injured thereby; and he who fears a commandment will be rewarded." He said this about one who disdains [concern about] light sins. For he will be injured from the angles that we mentioned. "And he who fears a commandment" - to [make efforts not to] negate (fail to perform) a commandment, like he fears from a weighty sin - "will be rewarded": He is destined to receive the full reward [for it]. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Avot 2:1) "And be careful with a light commandment as with a weighty one." And they also said (Avot 4:2), "For the payment for performing a commandment is another commandment and the payment for committing a transgression is a transgression."

The fourteenth principle is confession, as it is stated (Leviticus 5:5), "and he shall confess that wherein he has sinned." And he must mention his iniquities and the iniquities of his fathers. For he is punished [for them] - if he holds on to the actions of his fathers. And likewise is it written (Leviticus 26:40), "and they shall confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers."

And the fifteenth principle is prayer: A man should pray to God and request mercy to atone for all of his iniquities, as it is stated (Hosea 14:3), "Take words with you and return to the Lord; say to Him. 'Forgive all guilt and accept the good; and we will pay with the bulls of our lips'" - this is the matter of confession. "Say to Him. 'Forgive all guilt and accept what is good'" - this is the matter of prayer. And its explanation is, "accept the good" - the good actions that we did. For they, may their memory be blessed, said (Sotah 21a), "Sin extinguishes [the merit of] a commandment." But at the time of repentance, the iniquities will be atoned; so the merit of the commandment will arise, and its merit will shine. For before repentance, its light did not shine forth. And so it is written (Job 8:6), "If you are blameless and upright, He will now awaken [your merit] for you and grant well-being to your righteous home." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed said (Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 1:3), "It does not say, 'If you were blameless and upright,' but rather 'If you are blameless and upright' - since you have repented." "He will now awaken [your merit] for you" - now after the repentance that you have done, "He will now awaken" all of the righteousness that you had done before, and that which your home was wide open and you 'planted a tamarisk' for lodging, as it is written (Job 31:32), "I opened my doors to the road." But before your repentance, your righteousness did not protect you. However, after your repentance and [when] your iniquity was removed, "He will awaken [your merit] for you and grant well-being to your righteous home." "And we will pay with the bulls of our lips" - our confession will be considered like the bulls of sin-offerings, for our acceptance in front of You. And it mentions bulls, because the bull sin-offering was inside [the chamber] and they would sprinkle from its blood on the curtain and on the golden (incense) altar.

And the penitent should also pray to God to erase his transgressions like a fog, and his sins like a cloud; and that He desire him, accept him and listen to him as if he had not sinned - like the matter that is written in the words of Elihu about a penitent after [he has suffered] afflictions (Job 33:26), "He prays to God and is accepted by Him." For it is likely for the iniquity to be forgiven and he be redeemed from all afflictions and from all decrees, but God [still] not desire him and not want to accept an offering from him. And it is the desire of the righteous from [their] successes, to incline God's will towards them and that He should desire them. And his will is [for] real everlasting life and for the great light that includes all of the pleasant things - like the matter that is stated (Psalms 30:6), "when He is pleased there is life." And it [also] stated (Psalms 80:20), "O Lord, God of hosts, restore us; shine Your countenance that we may be delivered" - and our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed said "(Midrash Tehillim 80), "We have nothing besides the shining of Your countenance." And that is the matter of [His] desire - and we have already mentioned this and explained it. Therefore you will see in the prayer of David at the time of [his] repentance after he said (Psalms 51:4), "Wash me thoroughly of my iniquity, and purify me of my sin," [that] he prayed further about the desire - that God's desire, may He be blessed - for him to be like before the sin. So he said (Psalms 51:13), "Do not cast me out of Your presence, or take Your holy spirit away from me." Afterwards he prayed and said (Psalms 51:14), "Let me again rejoice in Your salvation" - that the miracles of God and His salvation be found with him, and that the spirit of God would come upon him as at first. And afterwards he [continued], "and a generous spirit sustain me." Its explanation is - behold I have been lessened because of my transgressions and am not fitting to be a prince, and for Your holy arm to be revealed upon Me. And even if you have lifted (forgiven) the iniquity of my sin, I am not worthy to be beloved and acceptable as in earlier times. Yet sustain me with a generous spirit; for there is no end to Your generosity and Your goodness. And [the word,] spirit, comes lacking a [letter,] bet (in front of it, which would mean, with the spirit), like [in] (Genesis 27:37), "sustained him grain and wine" (which is to be understood as if grain was preceded by a letter bet, meaning "with grain, etc."). And Hosea, peace be upon him, said about this matter (Hosea 14:5), "I will heal their affliction, I will take them back in generous love." The matter of generous love is like the matter that David said, ["and a generous spirit] sustain me."

And the penitent should also constantly pray to God that He help him towards repentance, as it is stated (Jeremiah 31:18), "receive me back, let me return; for You, O Lord, are my God."

The sixteenth principle is the rectification of that which is twisted, in as much as one is able to rectify it - as the matter is stated (Jonah 3:10), "God saw what they did, how they were turning back from their evil ways." And it is stated (Jonah 3:8), "Let everyone turn back from his evil ways and from the extortion that is their hands." For with things that are between a man and his fellow - such as robbery and extortion - his iniquity is not atoned until he returns what was robbed. And likewise, if he pained his fellow, harassed him, whitened his face (from embarrassment) or spoke evil speech about him, he is not given atonement until he requests forgiveness from him. And likewise did our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, say (Bava Kamma 92a) that even though he gave him the money of the embarrassment and the pain of the strike - the pain and the embarrassment of the strike are not forgiven until he requests forgiveness from him, as it is stated (Genesis 20:7), "Therefore, restore the man’s wife - since he is a prophet, he will intercede for you - to save your life."

And it is fitting for a penitent to do this before the confession, so that he can be accepted with his confession. And at the time of [his] repentance, King David, peace be upon him, did this before the confession, as it is stated (Psalms 51:6), "Against You alone have I sinned, and done what is evil in Your sight; so that You are just in Your sentence, and right in Your judgment." The explanation [of this] is that I am only considered a sinner to you, and I need nothing besides your forgiveness; and if I sinned to a person, I have requested forgiveness from him and I have made amends with him. And similar to it is (Genesis 44:32), "I shall stand guilty before my father forever" - for this sin, I will be considered a sinner to my father forever, as he will never forgive me for it. And its translation (Onkelos), is "and I will be a sinner to father." Or (alternatively) the explanation [in the verse in Psalms above] is, "Against You alone have I sinned" - I have not sinned to a person and I have not said extra words about him, nor have I taken anything from a person; that I should require his forgiveness and return his stolen goods. So my atonement is only dependent upon You. "So that You are just in Your sentence, and right in Your judgment" - in order to show Your charity and the greatness of Your forgiveness to the nations, on the day of Your speech and Your judgement at the time that You judged me. And the expression, "so that," is [to mean] that the greatness of the sin is the reason to make known the greatness of Your charity in Your forgiveness. Therefore the thing is compared to the head of sin, in order that God's kindness can be revealed - as well as His charity in His forgiveness - on the day of [David's] judgement. And like it is [the usage of, so that] (in Hosea 8:4), "of their silver and gold they have made themselves images, so that it will be cut off." For their making the images is the reason for the cutting off of their silver and their gold - the thing was compared, as if they made the images in order that they would be cut off. Or its explanation (in Psalms) is, because of this, You will be justified in Your word about the judgement and the repayment (meaning to say that he is justifying His judgement, may He be blessed). And likewise (in Hosea), "so that it will be cut off," [can be understood] as, because of this will it be cut off.

And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, explained - according to the first approach - in Midrash Tehillim 51 about this, "There is a [relevant] parable about a physician who examined a wound and said, 'This is a great wound.' The patient said [back] to him, 'Was I not struck with a severe wound in order to show the sagacity of your healing and in order to show you your strength?'" And we will still add a teaching about this principle in the fourth chapter (4:18-19).

The seventeenth principle is to seek [to do] actions of kindness and truth, as it is stated (Proverbs 16:6), "Iniquity is atoned by kindness and truth; and evil is shunned through fear of the Lord." And now reflect upon the secret of this verse. For surely if the sinner has not repented to God, his sin will not be atoned by doing kindness - as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:17), "who shows no favor and takes no bribe." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, explained (Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 947) that [this means] that He will not take the bribe of [the fulfillment of] a commandment, to forgive and pass over iniquities. And they also said (Bava Kamma 50a), "Anyone who states that the Holy One, Blessed be He, is forgoing will have his life foregone." Rather He is slow to anger. But if they do not obey, he measures [the punishment] of their actions into their laps. Rather [regarding] that which King Solomon, peace be upon him, said, "Iniquity is atoned by kindness and truth" - he was speaking about a penitent. For there are sins that repentance and Yom Kippur suspend, but afflictions absolve, as will be explained in the fourth chapter. But behold that kindness protects the sinner from afflictions, since it also surely saves him from death, as it is written, (Proverbs 10:2) "but righteousness (tsedekah, which can also mean, charity) saves from death." However there is yet an iniquity - and that is the iniquity of the desecration of [God's] name - which repentance and afflictions suspend but death absolves, as it is stated, (Isaiah 22:14), "This iniquity shall never be forgiven you until you die." But behold when a person makes efforts to support the truth, follow it through, be aroused by its words, present its light in the eyes of people, strengthen the hands of the men of truth and uplift their heads and to denigrate the circles of falsehood and bring them to the dirt - behold, these are the ways of sanctification of [God's] name, of majesty and beauty to His faith and worship in the world and of strength and splendor to the holiness of his Torah. Therefore in the increase of his actions to sanctify God, to arouse the truth and to set it up and assist it, he is forgiven the iniquity of the desecration with his repentance - with his placement of the truth across from the sin of the desecration, the measure of his repentance corresponding to the measure of his sin. This is the explanation of, "Iniquity is atoned by kindness and truth."

The eighteenth principle is that the his sin always be in front of him. For it is fitting that the soul of the sinner always remember its content and not neglect (forget) them to the end of days. And he should not grab them away from his heart until his relief comes - like the matter that is stated (Psalms 51:5), "For I recognize my transgressions, and am ever conscious of my sin." And this principle will be explained in the third chapter (4:21).

The nineteenth principle is leaving the sin when it chances upon him and he is still at the height of his desire. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Yoma 86b), "Who is the penitent whose repentance reaches the Throne of Glory? When he is tested and comes out clean at the same time in the same place and with the same woman." [This is] meaning to say, when the sin avails itself to him, he is at the height of his impulse and his might is in the muscles of his belly like the first moment when he sinned; but he conquered his impulse and escaped from the iniquity due to his fear of God and the greatness of his fright. But for the one to whom it has not availed itself in this manner, he should augment his fear of God on a daily basis all of his days. And when he has reinvigorated the strength of his fear enough to conquer his impulse with this strength and his power over the power of the desire - does not the Examiner of hearts understand and the Fashioner of his soul know that if a test would come to him and it be like the first [situation], that he would save himself from his impulse? So behold that in front of God he is on the highest level of repentance. And that which King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 16:6), "Iniquity is atoned by kindness and truth; and evil is shunned through fear of the Lord" - its explanation is, and with fear of the Lord, to shun evil if it should chance upon him. And the word, shun, is an infinitive [here]; and the confirmation of this explanation is that it does not say, and shun (which would make shun a command). And that which is stated (Psalms 34:15), "Shun evil and do good"; [and] (Job 1:8), "who fears God and shuns evil" - its sense is that he should shun evil if it should chance upon him. For they do not say, shun the deed, but rather [shun] that which he comes close to doing. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Kiddushin 39b), "If one sits and does not transgress, he receives a reward as one who performs a commandment [...] - it is speaking of a case where an opportunity to commit a sinful act presents itself to him and he is saved from it."

The twentieth principle is to cause the many to repent from iniquity to the extent of one's ability - as it is stated (Ezekiel 18:30), "Repent and make repent from all your transgressions." We learn [from this] that it is from the principles of repentance. And it is stated (Leviticus 19:17), "you shall surely reprimand your countryman and not bear sin because of him." We learn [from this] that if he does not rebuke him, he will be punished for [the other's] sins. And King David, peace be upon him, said in the psalm of repentance (Psalms 51:15), "I will teach transgressors Your ways, that sinners may return to You."

Behold we have completed the explanation of the principles of repentance. And now pay attention to the things that obstruct repentance. This means to say that the repentance is difficult for one who removes his yoke and stumbles constantly in one of them. If you have constantly stumbled in one of them, be strong and of good courage to pour out your speech [to God] and to augment [your] prayer and supplication; gird your strength to fulfill every matter of the principles of repentance; and increase [your] understanding about them from the paths that will be explained in the fourth chapter - and you will find grace and be given mercy.

I will mention what our Rabbis spoke about this. Our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said, "There are twenty-four things that obstruct repentance and these are them: Talebearing and evil speech; one who is an angry person; one who has thoughts of evil; one who befriends an evildoer; one accustomed to [eating from] a meal that is not sufficient for its owners; one who stares at those sexually forbidden; one who shares [stolen property] with a thief; one who says, 'I will sin and [then] I will repent' (and they accordingly said in the Mishnah [Yoma 85b], 'one who says, "I will sin and I will repent," [Heaven] does not provide him the opportunity to repent [...], "I will sin and Yom Kippur will atone for my sins," Yom Kippur does not atone.'); one who glorifies himself by the embarrassment of his neighbor; one who separates from the community; one who scorns his ancestors; one who scorns his teachers; one who curses the many; one who obstructs the many from doing good acts; one who sways his fellow from a proper path to an improper path; one who uses the pledge of a poor person; one who takes a bribe in order to sway judgement on others in court, one who finds a lost object but does not return it to its owner; one who sees his son [involved] in wayward conduct and does not reprove him; one who eats from the plunder of the poor, the orphans and the widows; one who opposes the words of the Sages; one who suspects proper people [of forbidden acts]; one who hates rebuke; and one who mocks the commandments."