CONFESSION!

The parsha continues discussing the mitzvah to confess one’s sins. If a Jew transgresses against the Torah, he can correct his ways through the mitzvah of doing teshuva, repenting. There are three stages for one to undergo complete teshuva:

1.     Being sincerely regretful for sinning in the past.

2.     Orally confessing what one regrets- Vidui.

3.     Making a firm decision to never repeat that sin.

Pashas Nasso goes into detail about making the oral confession to Hashem, or Vidui.

How does the Torah instruct us to make an oral confession to Hashem?

By saying the following:

“Please Hashem, I sinned and now I am sorry and ashamed of my deed, and I shall never repeat it.”

By presenting ourselves to Hashem, in our own words, we are acknowledging that Hashem punishes us for our sins, and rewards us when we follow His Torah. Moreover, when a person verbally acknowledging that he has sinned and feels deep embarrassment about what he has done, this can prevent him from sinning again in the future, and aid him to continuously to do teshuva.

Hashem tells the Jewish people that when we sin and orally confess that we transgressed, He will forgive us.

That sounds easy, right? Not so fast! Sometimes the hardest part is to admit we did something wrong. Who likes to admit they are wrong? However, by acknowledging our faults and shortcomings, we not only get closer to Hashem, but we become stronger and more committed Jews. By recognizing where our shortcomings are, we can work on developing ourselves and avoid making future mistakes.

The key to growth is finding where our inadequacies lie and changing our ways. In order to make true change within, we must strive to look introspectively within and see exactly what it is that needs change. One should ask himself:  Where I am sinning? How can I apologize to Hashem? By acknowledging that you are sincerely sorry for your shortcomings, then you can come to understand that this process is meant to make you stronger, not weaker.

By confessing our sins to Hashem, with true sincerity, and a desire to change our lives, we can then shed light into who we truly are, Jewish souls that ache to get closer to our source.