The Structure of A Confession
Maimonides, in his book Mishneh Torah writes in Hebrew:
כיצד מתודין? אומר: 'אנא ה' חטאתי עויתי פשעתי לפניך ועשיתי כך וכך הרי נחמתי ובושתי במעשי ולעולם איני חוזר לדבר זה' וזהו עיקרו של וידוי וכל המרבה להתוודות ומאריך בענין זה הרי זה משובח --Mishneh Torah: Hil. Teshuvah Chapter 1, Law 2Translation:
How does one confess? says: 'Please God! I have intentionally sinned, I have sinned out of lust and emotion, and I have sinned unintentionally. I have done and I regret it, and I am ashamed of my deeds, and I shall never return to such a deed.' That is the essence of confession, and all who are frequent in confessing and take great value in this matter, indeed is praiseworthy.
- For an explanation of the three types of sins recognized by Jewish theology, see halacha.
Read more about this topic: Confession In Judaism
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