Page:משנה תורה דפוס ווארשא-ווילנא כרך ראשון 1.pdf/119

  1 Which is complete repentance? One who had the same opportunity as when he sinned, and it is possible for him to do so, and he withdrew and did not do it because of his repentance; not from fear and not from weakness of strength. How? One who came unto a women in sin, and afterward in time he was secluded with her, and he remains in his love of her and in the strength of his body and in the province in which he sinned, and he withdrew and did not sin – this is a man of complete repentance. This is what Solomon said: "And remember your Creator in the days of your youth". And if he only repented in the days of his old age, and in a time that he it is not able to do what he has done – although it is not superb repentance, it is helpful for him and he is a repentant. Even if he sinned all of his days, and he repented on the day of his death, and he died with his repentance, all of his sins are forgiven, as it says: "As long as the sun will not darken, and the light and the moon and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain" - which is the day of death - which implies that if he remembered his Creator and repented before he will die, it is forgiven for him. 2 And what is repentance? It is that the sinner should leave behind his sin, and should remove it from his thought, and should determine in his mind that he shall not do it again, as it says: "The wicked shall leave behind his way, and the man of evil his thoughts". And so shall he regret on that he committed as it says: "For after my repentance, I regreted", and He Who Knows secrets should testify upon him that he shall never return to this sin, as it says: "And we will no longer say 'our god' for the work of our hands". And he has to confess with his lips and say these things that he determined in his heart. 3 Whoever confesses with words and did not determine in his heart to leave behind, is likend to one who immerses and a creeping animal is in his hand, that the immersion doesn't help him until he'll throw away the animal. And so it says: "And he who admits and leaves behind will be compassioned". And he has to detail the sin as it says: "Please, this nation sinned a big sin and they made for themselves a god of gold". 4 It is from the ways of repentance that the repentant should constantly shout out before God