Chovos HaLevavos On Teshuvah

Chovos HaLevavos states that the essence of teshuvah is a person’s return to the service of Hashem, attaining the status he lost when he strayed. How is this to be accomplished? Chovos HaLevavos explains that the nature of the teshuvah necessary is dependent upon the nature of the sinful behavior. He illustrates with an analogy: Two people are ill, both because they were not eating properly. However, while one simply was not eating enough, the other was consuming unhealthy foods that were affecting his health in a negative way. For the first, the remedy is straight forward; he must simply begin to eat the right foods and receive proper nutrition. There is nothing that he must now cease to eat. The remedy for the second person, however, involves two stages. First, he must stop eating the foods that are injurious to him, and then he must replace them with an equal amount of healthy foods. If he persists in his unhealthy eating, eating healthy foods in addition will not cure him.

So too, says Chovos HaLevavos, it is with sinners. Someone who has become lax in his mitzvah observance and is not doing what he should, need only concentrate upon performing his mitzvos with greater zeal; this is his teshuvah. But if one has done aveiros as well, then it does not suffice for him to perform virtuous acts; he must desist from his evil ways as well.

Chovos HaLevavos lists seven things of which a sinner must be cognizant if he is to attain true teshuvah. (1) He must be regretful and ashamed of his evil behavior. (2) He must know that the deed was wrong, and recognize the wickedness of his act. (3) He must know that Hashem is aware of his misdeed, and that punishment (without forgiveness) is inevitable. (4) He must understand that teshuvah is the cure that he requires. (5) He should make an accounting of all the good that Hashem has done for him. (6) He must contrast this with his own disobedience, and use it as a spur to his resolve not to sin further. (7) He must take concrete steps to avoid sinning again. One who undertakes to satisfy these requirements can attain true teshuvah.

This is an excerpt from the Daily Dose of Torah, an 18-minute-a-day learning program.
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