“Repentance really is about coming to terms with who we really are. That’s true in a couple of senses: both in terms of claiming our own mistakes, not running from them, not hiding them, but actually claiming them – knowing that they’re true and owning them; and also owning the fact that deep down, our core essence is ultimately good. God created us with a pure soul. Doing repentance, doing teshuvah, is about returning to the purity and wholeness that’s your original nature. And in that sense, it’s about honesty and truthfulness. It’s about being true to who we really are.”

–Louis Newman, On Being interview with Krista Tippett