In the opening chapter of his Hilchot Teshuva, the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204) establishes the Torah obligation of verbal confession. He writes that anybody who commits a transgression, regardless of its severity and whether he transgressed willfully or unintentionally, must verbally confess his sin as part of the process of Teshuva (repentance). It does not suffice to merely acknowledge in one's mind that he has acted wrongly; he must verbally declare that he has sinned, specify the precise sin he committed, and express his remorse, his feeling of shame, and his resolve never to repeat the given offense.
The Rambam adds that this obligation applies even in contexts where one is required to undertake other measures to rectify the wrong he has committed. In the times of the Bet Ha'mikdash, when sinners in certain situations were required to offer an atonement sacrifice, the sacrifice did not bring atonement in the absence of Teshuva. Only if the individual repented and verbally confessed as he brought the sacrificial offering did the offering have the capacity to earn him atonement. What more, even when the court would administer capital punishment, the sinner's death did not earn him atonement without repentance. Likewise, if a person committed an offense against his fellow that requires monetary compensation, he does not achieve atonement unless he performs sincere Teshuva.
During the times of the Bet Ha'mikdash, the Rambam adds, the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah – the goat sent into the wilderness as part of the annual Yom Kippur service – atoned for all of Benei Yisrael's sins. Even if a sinner did not repent, he earns atonement through the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah for "minor" transgressions – namely, transgressions that are not punishable by capital punishment of Karet (eternal excision from the Jewish people). For this reason, before the Kohen Gadol would send the goat away into the wilderness, he would place his hands upon it and declare confession on behalf of all of Israel's sins. So significant was the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah ritual that it atoned for certain transgressions even in the absence of Teshuva.
Nowadays, the Rambam adds, when we do not have a Mikdash and thus the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah ritual is not performed, we rely solely on Teshuva for earning atonement, and repentance atones for all sins. The Rambam emphasizes that even if a person lived his entire life in sin and then repented, nothing of his wrongdoing remains on his record. This power of Teshuva should encourage and inspire us as we work towards performing Teshuva during the month of Elul. Regardless of what we have done and how grievously we have sinned, we are able to "delete" all our misdeeds by performing sincere and genuine Teshuva.
