Q&A: Repentance
Repentance
Question
According to your approach, the formal commandment of repentance is confession, and that also includes regret and acceptance for the future.
If someone confesses but does not regret and does not undertake for the future, is he still fulfilling a commandment? And conversely, if someone regrets and undertakes for the future but does not confess, has he still fulfilled the commandment? (The first case is a bit unrealistic in practice, because anyone who confesses presumably regrets, but the second case is definitely possible.)
Answer
There is no confession without regret and acceptance for the future. Confession is an inner mental process expressed verbally, not mere lip movement.
Repentance without confession is not the full fulfillment of repentance, but it does have value for atonement. See Minchat Chinukh, commandment 364, who discusses this at length.