(א) ב,א אֵיזוֹ הִיא תְּשׁוּבָה גְּמוּרָה--זֶה שֶׁבָּא לְיָדוֹ דָּבָר שֶׁעָבַר בּוֹ, וְאִפְשָׁר בְּיָדוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת, וּפֵרַשׁ וְלֹא עָשָׂה מִפְּנֵי הַתְּשׁוּבָה, לֹא מִיִּרְאָה וְלֹא מִכִּשְׁלוֹן כּוֹחַ. כֵּיצַד: הֲרֵי שֶׁבָּא עַל אִשָּׁה בַּעֲבֵרָה, וּלְאַחַר זְמָן נִתְיַחַד עִמָּהּ וְהוּא עוֹמֵד בְּאַהֲבָתוֹ בָּהּ וּבְכוֹחַ גּוּפוֹ, וּבַמְּדִינָה שֶׁעָבַר בָּהּ, וּפֵרַשׁ וְלֹא עָבַר--זֶה הוּא בַּעַל תְּשׁוּבָה גְּמוּרָה. הוּא שֶׁשְּׁלֹמֹה אוֹמֵר "וּזְכֹר, אֶת-בּוֹרְאֶיךָ, בִּימֵי, בְּחוּרֹתֶיךָ" (קוהלת יב,א).
(1) What is complete teshuvah? When a person has the opportunity to commit the same sin, and he possess the ability to do it, but he separates and does not do it because of teshuvah and not out of fear or lack of strength. What is an example? A person who had illicit sex with a woman, and after some time he is alone with her, and he still loves her and possesses his physical power and is in the same country where he committed the sin, but he separates and does not sin – that person is a complete ba’al teshuvah, about whom [King] Solomon said, Remember your Creator in the days of your youth (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
(ג) ב,ג [ב] וּמַה הִיא הַתְּשׁוּבָה--הוּא שֶׁיַּעֲזֹב הַחוֹטֶא חֶטְאוֹ, וִיסִירֶנּוּ מִמַּחְשַׁבְתּוֹ וְיִגְמֹר בְּלִבּוֹ שֶׁלֹּא יַעֲשֵׂהוּ עוֹד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "יַעֲזֹב רָשָׁע דַּרְכּוֹ, וְאִישׁ אָוֶן מַחְשְׁבֹתָיו" (ישעיהו נה,ז). וְכֵן יִתְנַחַם עַל שֶׁעָבַר, שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "כִּי-אַחֲרֵי שׁוּבִי, נִחַמְתִּי, וְאַחֲרֵי הִוָּדְעִי, סָפַקְתִּי עַל-יָרֵךְ" (ירמיהו לא,יח); וְיָעִיד עָלָיו יוֹדֵעַ תַּעֲלוּמוֹת שֶׁלֹּא יָשׁוּב לְזֶה הַחֵטְא לְעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "וְלֹא-נֹאמַר עוֹד אֱלֹהֵינוּ, לְמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ--אֲשֶׁר-בְּךָ, יְרֻחַם יָתוֹם" (הושע יד,ד). וְצָרִיךְ לְהִתְוַדּוֹת בִּשְׂפָתָיו, וְלוֹמַר עִנְיָנוֹת אֵלּוּ שֶׁגָּמַר בְּלִבּוֹ.
(ד) ב,ד [ג] כָּל הַמִּתְוַדֶּה בִּדְבָרִים, וְלֹא גָמַר בְּלִבּוֹ לַעֲזֹב--הֲרֵי זֶה דּוֹמֶה לְטוֹבֵל, וְשֶׁרֶץ בְּיָדוֹ, שְׁאֵין הַטְּבִילָה מוֹעֶלֶת, עַד שֶׁיַּשְׁלִיךְ הַשֶּׁרֶץ; וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר "וּמוֹדֶה וְעֹזֵב, יְרֻחָם" (משלי כח,יג). וְצָרִיךְ לִפְרֹט אֶת הַחֵטְא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "אָנָּא, חָטָא הָעָם הַזֶּה חֲטָאָה גְדֹלָה, וַיַּעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם, אֱלֹהֵי זָהָב" (שמות לב,לא).
(5) Among the ways of teshuvah are for the penitent to constantly shout before God with crying and pleading; and to do tzedakah according to his ability; and to distance himself very far from the thing in which he sinned; and to change his name, meaning to say “I am someone else and I am not the same person who did those things;” and to change all of his actions for good and onto the straight path; and to go into exile, because exile atones for sins since it forces him to bow and to be humble and of low spirit.
MLB Rule 21d
Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible.
Pete Roses' Reckless Gamble
Ryan Rodenberg, Aug 22, 2014
But he didn’t bet on the Reds to win every game.
What do you mean?
Rose’s betting slips, written in his own handwriting, as well as other evidence, indicate that he only bet on certain Reds’ games.
Why does that matter? He may not have been betting on all the games, but he still wanted to win every game.
It matters for two reasons. First, when Rose did not bet on the Reds, his inaction was a signal to his bookies that he wasn’t very confident in that game. Those bookies may have used this inside information to place a bet against the Reds. This doesn’t mean the game was fixed, but is reflective of Rose’s state of mind. He was compromised. Second, his wager on certain games, but not others, may have influenced the way he made decisions as a manager.
What do you mean?
If he had a wager on that night’s game, he could be more inclined to burn through his bullpen in a less-than-optimal way. He may have used pinch hitters and pinch runners differently. In an all-out-effort to win a single wagered-upon game, he could, in turn, be sacrificing the team’s chances in a number of future games. Similarly, in games where he didn’t bet at all, he may rest certain players so they are fresh in the next game, when he was wagering on the Reds.
Let’s just assume he did wager on each and every game. Then what he did is okay, right?
No, it’s still problematic from an integrity standpoint. Even if Rose were to have bet on every game throughout the entire season, he probably didn’t always wager the exact same amount on each game.
All of this was 25 years ago. Isn’t that long enough? Rose has recanted and apologized.
He has, but it took a while. He spent 15 years denying he ever bet on baseball. In an effort to sell his 2004 book, Rose finally admitted that he had. His August 23, 1989 agreement with MLB allowed him to apply for reinstatement after a one-year period.
Keith Olbermann on Pete Rose
"If anybody else of Pete Rose's stature had done what he did, there would have been severe punishment and eventual forgiveness. This is still not the America of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Black Sox. Say you're sorry and odds are awfully good that the rest of us will say 'Ahh, ok.' "
"What happened last time?" Olbermann said. "The 1999 All-Century Team event, sponsored by a credit card company with ballots at a chain of discount stores, and Pete Rose — officially banned from baseball, who once got the Reds organization in trouble just by going on the field of one of their minor league farm clubs — persona non grata, banned for life, Pete Rose was trotted out as if nothing had ever happened. Because the credit card company wanted the whole All-Century Team there. Even him."
Pete Rose, 25 years later
ESPN 30 for 30, 8/24/14
There was something missing other than the game competition. I had to do something else. I had 25 sons, I had so much confidence in them. I would love to erase the whole past, I wish I could, I just can’t. I wish I never did it. We all make mistakes, I made a big mistake.
There was something missing from me. The competitive spirit. You are worrying about something that happened in 1987, it is 2014. Get over it.
Mr. Commissioner: I just want you to know that I am appreciative as a fan of the influence you have had on the game. I want to apologize to you for making your job difficult because of the things I did. I was 100% wrong and I wish it did not happen. I wish there was some way in your heart you could give my a second chance. If you don’t I am still going to sell baseball.
I have been led to believe that America is a forgiving country. If you do the right things eventually you will get a second chance. If you have a skeleton in the closet, get it out there as quick as you can, that is when the healing starts