Q&A: Repentance for a Religious Person
Repentance for a Religious Person
Question
As Yom Kippur approaches, and just before the onset of this awesome day, I would like to ask in order to sharpen the point: what place is there for repentance in the life of a person who observes Torah and commandments? How can a religious Jew connect to the wording of the prayer, when he does keep the Torah, and what does he need to repent for?
Answer
A strange question. You are probably confusing a ba’al teshuvah with someone who repents. See column 367.
Discussion on Answer
I don’t know what you feel, but in practice your claim is very unlikely. There is no person who hasn’t violated something over the course of an entire year. At most, you can say that you don’t know of any, and that probably comes from lack of knowledge or lack of attention. So first of all, repent for that itself, and try to increase your knowledge and attentiveness. Beyond that, it is also possible and appropriate to do a general repentance for unknown sins.
Meaning, I feel like I have no sins. I know that sounds strange, and if I said it out loud people would think I’d gone crazy or that I’m arrogant, but that’s how I see things right now. I don’t get what the pressure is… everything’s fine with me, I don’t commit sins.