NOTE: Each day from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur I will be posting an inspiring Jewish text along with a few questions for reflection. Feel free to answer and discuss here, or to use these questions for your own reflection/journaling. These texts are also being posted on my Facebook page
TEXT 6 – Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 2:1 (12th century law code by Maimonides)
“What is complete repentance? When one has the opportunity to repeat a transgression but does not repeat it. If a person does not repent until his old age, at a time when they are incapable committing the same act, he/she has repented – even though it is not the highest form of repentance.”
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
- How can you tell if someone’s repentance is sincere? How can you tell if your OWN repentance is sincere?
- Does the intention to do better matter, if you haven’t yet succeeded in changing your ways?
Rabbi Micah Streiffer 