The Rambam says in the first perek of Hilchos Teshuva as follows:
א. כל מצות שבתורה, בין עשה בין לא תעשה, אם עבר אדם על אחת מהן, בין בזדון בין בשגגה, כשיעשה תשובה וישוב מחטאו חייב להתודות לפני האל ברוך הוא, שנאמר: "איש או אשה כי יעשו וגו' והתודו את חטאתם אשר עשו" (במדבר ה, ו-ז), זה וידוי דברים. וידוי זה מצות עשה.
כיצד מתודין? אומר: 'אנא השם, חטאתי, עויתי, פשעתי לפניך ועשיתי כך וכך, והרי נחמתי ובושתי במעשי, ולעולם איני חוזר לדבר זה'. וזהו עיקרו של וידוי. וכל המרבה להתודות ומאריך בענין זה, הרי זה משובח.
וכן בעלי חטאות ואשמות, בעת שמביאין קרבנותיהן על שגגתן או על זדונן, אין מתכפר להן בקרבנם עד שיעשו תשובה ויתודו וידוי דברים, שנאמר: "והתודה אשר חטא עליה" (ויקרא ה, ה).
וכן כל מחוייבי מיתות בית דין ומחוייבי מלקות, אין מתכפר להן במיתתן או בלקייתן עד שיעשו תשובה ויתודו.
וכן החובל בחבירו והמזיק ממונו, אף על פי ששילם לו מה שהוא חייב לו, אינו מתכפר עד שיתודה וישוב מלעשות כזה לעולם, שנאמר: "מכל חטאות האדם" (במדבר ה, ו).
ב. שעיר המשתלח, לפי שהוא כפרה על כל ישראל, כהן גדול מתודה עליו על לשון כל ישראל, שנאמר: "והתודה עליו את כל עונות בני ישראל" (ויקרא טז, כא).
שעיר המשתלח מכפר על כל עבירות שבתורה, הקלות והחמורות, בין שעבר בזדון, בין שעבר בשגגה, בין שהודע לו, בין שלא הודע לו, הכל מתכפר בשעיר המשתלח.
והוא שעשה תשובה. אבל אם לא עשה תשובה, אין השעיר מכפר לו אלא על הקלות.
ומה הן הקלות ומה הן החמורות? החמורות הן שחייבין עליהם מיתת בית דין או כרת, ושבועת שוא ושקר, אף על פי שאין בהן כרת, הרי הן מן החמורות. ושאר מצות לא תעשה ומצות עשה שאין בהן כרת הם הקלות.
ג. בזמן הזה שאין בית המקדש קיים, ואין לנו מזבח כפרה, אין שם אלא תשובה.
התשובה מכפרת על כל העבירות. אפילו רשע כל ימיו, ועשה תשובה באחרונה, אין מזכירין לו שום דבר מרשעו, שנאמר: "ורשעת הרשע לא יכשל בה ביום שובו מרשעו" (יחזקאל לג, יב)
ועצמו של יום הכפורים מכפר לשבים, שנאמר: "כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם" (ויקרא טז, ל).
הלכה ד[עריכה]
אע"פ שהתשובה מכפרת על הכל, ועצמו של יוה"כ מכפר, יש עבירות שהן מתכפרים לשעתן, ויש עבירות שאין מתכפרים אלא לאחר זמן. כיצד?
עבר אדם על מצות עשה שאין בה כרת ועשה תשובה, אינו זז משם עד שמוחלין לו. ובאלו נאמר: "שובו בנים שובבים ארפא משובותיכם" (ירמיהו ג, כב).
עבר על מצות לא תעשה שאין בה כרת ולא מיתת בית דין ועשה תשובה, תשובה תולה ויום הכפורים מכפר. ובאלו נאמר: "כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם" (ויקרא טז, ל).
עבר על כריתות ומיתות בית דין ועשה תשובה, תשובה ויוה"כ תולין, ויסורין הבאין עליו גומרין לו הכפרה. ולעולם אין מתכפר לו כפרה גמורה עד שיבואו עליו יסורין. ובאלו נאמר: "ופקדתי בשבט פשעם ובנגעים עונם" (תהלים פט, לג).
במה דברים אמורים? בשלא חילל את השם בשעה שעבר. אבל המחלל את השם, אע"פ שעשה תשובה, והגיע יום הכפורים והוא עומד בתשובתו ובאו עליו יסורין, אינו מתכפר לו כפרה גמורה עד שימות. אלא תשובה, יוה"כ ויסורין - שלשתן תולין, ומיתה מכפרת, שנאמר: "ונגלה באזני ה' צבאות אם יכופר העון הזה לכם עד תמותון" (ישעיהו כב, יד).
1. If a person transgresses any of the mitzvot of the Torah, whether a positive command or a negative command - whether willingly or inadvertently - when he repents, and returns from his sin, he must confess before God, blessed be, He as [Numbers 5:6-7] states: "If a man or a woman commit any of the sins of man... they must confess the sin that they committed."
This refers to a verbal confession. This confession is a positive command.
How does one confess: He states: "I implore You, God, I sinned, I transgressed, I committed iniquity before You by doing the following. Behold, I regret and am embarrassed for my deeds. I promise never to repeat this act again."
These are the essential elements of the confessional prayer. Whoever confesses profusely and elaborates on these matters is worthy of praise.
Those who bring sin offerings or guilt offerings must also [confess their sins] when they bring their sacrifices for their inadvertent or willful transgressions. Their sacrifices will not atone for their sins until they repent and make a verbal confession as [Leviticus 5:5] states: "He shall confess the sin he has committed upon it."
Similarly, those obligated to be executed or lashed by the court do not attain atonement through their death or lashing unless they repent and confess. Similarly, someone who injures a colleague or damages his property, does not attain atonement, even though he pays him what he owes until he confesses and makes a commitment never to do such a thing again as implied by the phrase [Numbers, loc. cit..], "any of the sins of man."
2. Since the goat sent [to Azazel] atones for all of Israel, the High Priest confesses upon it as a spokesman for all of Israel as [Leviticus 16:21] states: "He shall confess upon it all the sins of the children of Israel."
The goat sent to Azazel atones for all the transgressions in the Torah, the severe and the lighter [sins]; those violated intentionally and those transgressed inadvertently; those which [the transgressor] became conscious of and those which he was not conscious of. All are atoned for by the goat sent [to Azazel].
This applies only if one repents. If one does not repent, the goat only atones for the light [sins].
Which are light sins and which are severe ones? The severe sins are those for which one is liable for execution by the court or karet. False and unnecessary oaths are also considered severe sins even though they are not [punished by] karet. [The violation of] the other prohibitions and [the failure to perform] positive commandments that are not punishable by karet are considered light [sins].
3. At present, when the Temple does not exist and there is no altar of atonement, there remains nothing else aside from Teshuvah.
Teshuvah atones for all sins. Even a person who was wicked his whole life and repented in his final moments will not be reminded of any aspect of his wickedness as [Ezekiel 33:12] states "the wickedness of the evil one will not cause him to stumble on the day he repents his wickedness."
The essence of Yom Kippur atones for those who repent as [Leviticus 16:30] states: "This day will atone for you."
4. Even though Teshuvah atones for all [sins] and the essence of Yom Kippur brings atonement, [there are different levels of sin and hence, differences in the degree of atonement.] There are sins that can be atoned for immediately and other sins which can only be atoned for over the course of time. What is implied?
If a person violates a positive command which is not punishable by karet and repents, he will not leave that place before he is forgiven. Concerning these sins, [Jeremiah 3:22] states: "Return, faithless children! I will heal your rebellious acts."
If a person violates a prohibition that is not punishable by karet or execution by the court and repents, Teshuvah has a tentative effect and Yom Kippur brings atonement as [Leviticus, loc. cit. states "This day will atone for you."
If a person violates [sins punishable by] karet or execution by the court and repents, Teshuvah and Yom Kippur have a tentative effect and the sufferings which come upon him complete the atonement. He will never achieve complete atonement until he endures suffering for concerning these [sins, Psalms 89:33] states: "I will punish their transgression with a rod."
When does the above apply: When the desecration of God's name is not involved in the transgression. However, a person who desecrated God's name, even though he repented, Yom Kippur arrived while he continued his repentance, and he experienced suffering, will not be granted complete atonement until he dies. The three: repentance, Yom Kippur, and suffering have a tentative effect and death atones as [Isaiah 22:14] states: "It was revealed in my ears [by] the Lord of Hosts, surely this iniquity will not be atoned for until you die."
FASCINATING!! The entire perek doesn't mention almost one word about a person's personal teshuva journey!! No distinction is made as to whether he was שוגג or מזיד. The operative word is כפרה [which I bolded in order to accentuate this] - atonement. Kapara is an almost entirely impersonal achievement, meaning simply to ‘wipe away’ ones sin. At a later point in Hilchos Teshuva we will learn how to achieve selicha and mechila, pardon and forgiveness, which are both profoundly personal. Kapara is to CLEAN UP THE MESS!!
Bereshis 32, 21 describes Yaacov's preparations for his showdown with his estranged brother Eisav. Yaacov sends waves of gifts to Eisav, hoping that they will ‘appease his anger’. Rashi comments: אכפרה פניו - I will appease his anger: Heb. , I will do away with his anger (Targum Onkelos). Similarly (Isa. 28:18):“And your treaty with death shall be nullified (וכפר)” ; (ibid., 47:11) “you shall not be able to rid yourself of it (כפרה ) .” This is Aramaic, and there are many instances of it in the Talmud, e.g. (B.M. 24a):“and he wiped (וכפר ) his hands” ; (Gittin 56a): “He wishes to wipe (לכפורי ) His hands on this person.” In biblical Hebrew also, the sacred sprinkling basins are called כפורי זהב (Ezra 1:10) because the Kohen wipes his hands on them at the edge of the sprinkling basin.
So the primary and most basic function of Teshuva is to restore REALITY. It is not about me and my own personal desire for good health, lots of money, fulfilling relationships, a place in the world to come, eternal bliss, or anything else about me. It is not even about my desire to grow as a person, which, while praiseworthy, also contains an egotistical element to it. ["I want to be the greatest I can be"].
The reality is that when one sinned - regardless of why one sinned - he or she created havoc in the cosmos and that must be cleaned up - כפרה. Forget ME and clean up the mess. People always want to be better and are always trying to improve themselves but this isn’t Teshuva! Teshuva is defined here by our responsiveness to reality rather than our dreams for ourselves, and becomes the process of getting out of one’s mind, of looking at reality objectively. From this perspective the moment that one would cry out to Hashem asking for forgiveness for a sins one could imagine Hashem responding saying “isn’t it bad enough that you are a sinner – and now you want me to help you as well?! If you have problems so call a psychiatrist! I want you to acknowledge reality and for you to sort your problems out yourself.”
There is only one time that mechila (forgiveness) is mentioned in this chapter which is in paragraph 1.4 with the words ‘If a person violates a positive command which is not punishable by kares and repents, he will not leave that place before he is forgiven.’ While one can be considered to have harmed existence by violating a negative prohibition, the same cannot be said about the simply not performing a positive command. No act has been performed and no harm has been done. However the fact that one is a person who does not perform positive commandments itself harms the world, and therefore in being forgiven one achieves atonement and a restoration of existence.
This third perek begins with the introduction of the concepts of merits and transgressions, and the idea that we are judged. It is amazing that the Rambam believes that we didn’t need to know this up to this point. The implication is that when we learned that we should address the wrong that we have brought into the world, we do so because we realize that we need to fix the world, not because we know that we are going to be judged for our actions.
Why should one do Teshuva? First and foremost - to fix the world!!! [מפי השמועה]
This third perek begins with the introduction of the concepts of merits and transgressions, and the idea that we are judged. It is amazing that the Rambam believes that we didn’t need to know this up to this point. The implication is that when we learned that we should address the wrong that we have brought into the world, we do so because we realize that we need to fix the world, not because we know that we are going to be judged for our actions.
Why should one do Teshuva? First and foremost - to fix the world!!! [מפי השמועה]
