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Prostitution and adultery
#5
Lihot Wrote:My questions are: I am very, very sorry for my sins.  How can I know that I am forgiven by G-d?

Sincere personal repentance is always accepted by G-d, but depending on the seriousness of the sin, the former transgressor may have to reach deeper and deeper into his or her heart to touch the core of sincerity that will bring the forgiveness that is requested.

The acceptance of sincere personal repentance is a Divine covenant with mankind that was established after the Flood, when the world was transformed by G-d to have a new receptivity to spiritual connection with G-d. This is explained in this Chassidic discourse:

https://asknoah.org/essay/the-covenant-of-the-rainbow

It is not enough to "only" have feelings of contrition. One also needs to verbally pray to G-d Himself to ask for forgiveness, and to verbally  confess to Him the sins that were done, and one's determination that the sins will not be repeated. This is because it was the person's physical body that was the actual instrument through which the sin against G-d was committed, and therefore the physical body must be the instrument for achieving the forgiveness from G-d. The physical movement of the tongue, mouth and lips is the participation of the body in the process of repentance. An explanation of what needs to be included in the prayer is included on this page:

https://asknoah.org/faq/repentance-and-bedtime-prayers
Quote:According to Torah, there is a three-step formula for "repentance" (teshuva = returning to G-d by returning to the proper path). Quoting from Mishneh Torah by the Rambam (Maimonides):

"And what is repentance? It is when the sinner abandons his sin, removing it from his thoughts [i.e. he will from now on push out from his mind any idea to do or to imagine doing this sin], and is completely resolved not to do it again.

Consequently, he [verbally] regrets what has happened in the past [i.e. what he thought, said or did] and [verbally] accepts G-d, the Knower of secrets, as his witness that he will never return to such a sin again.

And he needs to confess verbally and state the resolutions that he made in his heart."

One should also demonstrate that one has truly returned to G-d, by striving to faithfully observe all of one's commandments. For a Gentile these are the Seven Noahide Commandments, and their offshoots which comprise the general Noahide Code of the Torah, as codified in the series of books which we have titled "The Divine Code" (the upcoming Volume II will include the precepts related to the prohibition of adultery):

https://asknoah.org/books/the-divine-code

In particular, if you are ever again faced with the desire and the opportunity to commit that particular sin, you should pass that Divine test of your sincere repentance, by refusing to repeat the sin.

Lihot Wrote:In a case that could have required the death penalty, how can any amount of my repentance alter the sentence?

Until the future World to Come, every human being is destined to die. This may happen at one's natural time, or before one's natural time, as G-d may decree. Righteous courts and the punishments or penalties they apply serve one purpose in G-d's plan. In this world, most sinners are never brought before a righteous court, and their judgment from the Heavenly Court may be applied in this world, or delayed until the soul leaves the body. (See our Forum thread, "Biblical Gehinom":
https://asknoah.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=11 )

If a sinner's repentance is complete, there will be no need for the cleansing of the soul in the spiritual realm. If it is not complete, but the person returned to the righteous path, the soul can be granted a period of cleansing, which will make it fit to then receive it's spiritual reward for the good that the person did during his or her physical life. And if a Gentile decides, and actually does become a faithful Noahide, observing the Noahide Code as one's obligation within the Torah of Moses as given by the One True G-d, then one merits to be granted a place in the eternal World to Come.

Lihot Wrote:Also, I had committed to marrying the woman with whom I had been committing adultery after our divorces.  There is no way to reconcile her previous marriage, nor is there any way to reconcile mine.  Our children by our marriages receive us as a couple, expect us to marry, and have forgiven us after all the pain we have caused.  For she and I to split up now would only cause more emotional disruption in our families.  Is there anyway that a civil marriage between us could be sanctioned by G-d, or should we part and perhaps someday remarry with other partners?

I referred this question to Rabbi Moshe Weiner of Jerusalem, author of "The Divine Code." He replied that there is no prohibition for a Gentile man who committed adultery to later marry that woman after she is divorced; therefore if he and she feel truly committed to each other after she is divorced, they may marry.
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Messages In This Thread
Prostitution and adultery - by ProudNoachide - 06-26-2007, 05:29 AM
RE: Prostitution - by rabbiyitz - 06-26-2007, 05:57 AM
RE: Adultery - by noahidecanada - 11-17-2008, 12:48 AM
RE: Prostitution and adultery - by Avraham26 - 12-12-2014, 08:35 PM
RE: Adultery - by Director Michael - 11-28-2008, 04:37 PM
RE: Adultery - by Daniel2 - 05-12-2009, 06:44 AM
RE: Prostitution and adultery - by ahivarn - 11-26-2009, 09:09 PM
RE: Prostitution and adultery - by Daniel2 - 12-19-2009, 12:52 PM

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