No Regrets

My father told me a story that has some relevance to Yom Kippur. A while ago, a TV show featured an interview with an ex-con. This ex-con was a well known bank robber who had been in an out of jail many times. (Apparently, he knew how to "work the system".) At the time of the interview, he was "turning over a new leaf" and had recently written a book about his experiences in and out of jail. During the entire interview, he lodged many a complaint about the system. It seems that being in jail was not exactly a pleasant experience. (Big surprise there.) My father noticed something interesting about the interview. During the entire interview, not once did he express regret for what he did. My father commented at the time that they should keep their eye on him. Sure enough, the ex-con who supposedly turned over a new leaf, was back robbing banks and found himself incarcerated again. One of the first steps towards teshuvah is to express regret over one's actions. A repeat offender who does not even do this basic step is almost guarenteed to continue in their old ways.