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What Does the Mitzvah of Teshuvah Entail? 

Although widely translated as repentance, teshuvah is more correctly translated as returning—returning to Hashem. Teshuvah encompasses numerous steps: azivas hacheit (abandoning the sin), charatah al he’avar (regretting one’s past actions), kabbalah al le’haba (making a resolution for the future), and viduy (verbally confessing one’s sins to Hashem). In case one wronged another person, bakashas mechilah (asking for forgiveness) is required as well. If applicable, one must make right the misdeed they committed; if one stole, for example, they are not forgiven unless v’heishiv es hagzeilah (they return the stolen object). Whereas all of the above are components of teshuvah, and they are important in terms of achieving complete atonement, they are not part of the actual mitzvah of teshuvah. Fasting and self-imposed afflictions may also be of help, but neither is a component of doing teshuvah. The core principal of teshuvah is returning to Hashem. This is achieved through azivas hacheit and kabbalah al le’haba alone—abandoning the negative behavior and resolving not to sin again. In Sefer HaTanya, the Alter Rebbe puts forth a novel concept: it is not sufficient to resolve not to repeat a particular sin, but one is also required to resolve not to rebel against Hashem’s Kingship again, and to keep all of Hashem’s mitzvos in the future.  #381