Q&A: Repentance
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Repentance
Question
Not long ago, Rabbi Uri Sherki said regarding his son—who came out of the closet and said he wanted to start a family (let’s assume he meant with a male partner)—that he needs to repent.
Should one repent for the inclination itself? Maybe a person really does bear responsibility to suppress his inclinations as much as possible.
If a person wants to start a family with a man, does he need to repent for that desire? That is, perhaps he should somehow work on changing his desire, or is the desire itself not significant?
Answer
I assume he too did not mean repentance for the inclination. One neither does nor needs to repent for facts and inclinations, but for forbidden actions.
Rabbi Sherki also distinguished between lust/drive (inclination) and love (intimacy with a woman).
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