Letting go of the guilt

Collive has a post containing an excerpt from Rabbi Dov Ber Pinson's book "Reclaiming the Self."
Fascinatingly, there is not one Hebrew word that accurately defines the sense of guilt. In Biblical Hebrew, there is a word for 'shame', busha and for 'regret', charatah, but there is no word for guilt. Guilt is not a Torah idea. Regret yes, as regret can be a positive emotion if it is focused on a deed done or not done, and coupled with a resolve to amend or alter behavior. But guilt is irredeemable as it seeks to turn the harsh judgment inward upon the doer himself, with no resolve for action. Guilt is a purely a negative feeling in and of itself, with no resulting impetus to do anything about that which makes one feel guilty. When these feelings are not accompanied by a resolve to evolve, this characterizes the static sensation of guilt.
Continue reading: http://www.collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=31863&alias=how-to-let-go-of-guilt


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