Hilchos Teshuva (2:3) - Talk is Cheap

~Thoughts on Mishna Torah~

Hilchos Teshuva

Perek 2 : Halacha 3

Talk is Cheap

Co-authored by: Yehuda Feinberg and Daniel Listhaus

כל המתודה בדברים ולא גמר בלבו לעזוב הרי זה דומה לטובל ושרץ בידו שאין הטבילה מועלת לו עד שישליך השרץ וכן הוא אומר ומודה ועוזב ירוחם וצריך לפרוט את החטא שנאמר אנא חטא העם הזה חטאה גדולה ויעשו להם אלהי זהב:

The Rambam emphasizes that although a verbal confession is required for the teshuva process, it is not an item that is easy to check off the list. The verbal confession must honestly reflect the person’s true feelings. The sinner must resolve within himself to stop continuing the sin(s), otherwise it is compared to a person who tries to become pure by immersing himself in a mikvah (ritual bath), while holding on to a sheretz (literally translated as a lizard – something which contaminates) at the time of immersion. As vital as going to the mikvah is for the process of becoming pure, it is obvious that it cannot work if one is still holding onto the very thing that made him impure. The same is true when we work on purifying ourselves from our sins. We cannon dip in the proverbial mikvah by starting the teshuva process and verbally confessing our sins if we are still holding on to the very aveiros which we are claiming to feel bad about doing. Talk is indeed cheap unless it is backed by a genuineness and motivation to get on the right track. Only when we are ready to throw away the sheretz are we ready to immerse in the mikvah.