Racial Justice and Teshuvah (Repentance)

... The mishna teaches that Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Gudgeda further testified about a stolen beam that was already built into a building and said that the injured party receives the value of the beam but not the beam itself. With regard to this, the Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta, Bava Kamma 10:5): If one robbed another of a beam and built it into a building, Beit Shammai say: He must destroy the entire building and return the beam to its owners. And Beit Hillel say: The injured party receives only the value of the beam but not the beam itself, due to an ordinance instituted for the sake of the penitent. In order to encourage repentance, the Sages were lenient and required the robber to return only the value of the beam. The mishna was taught in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel. §

(1) What is complete repentance? A person who once again had the power to repeat a violation, but separated himself/herself/themselves from it, and did not do it because of repentance, (not out of fear or lack of strength.)

(9) Neither repentance nor the Day of Atonement atone for any save for sins committed between a person and God, for instance, one who ate forbidden food ... but sins between one person and another, for instance, one injures his/her/their neighbor, or curses his/her/their neighbor or plunders, or offends in like matters, is ever not absolved unless s/he/they make(s) restitution of what s/he/they owe(s) and begs forgiveness of the harmed party. And, although s/he/they make restitution of the monetory debt, s/he/they must pacify the harmed party and to beg his/her/their forgiveness. Even if the offense was in words alone, s/he/they must appease him/her/them and implore until the harmed party forgives. If the neighbor refuses to forgive, the one who sinned should bring a group of three witnesses to implore and beg forgiveness. If the harmed party still refuses, the sinner should bring a committee a second and third time, and if the harmed party still does not forgive, the sinner may move on, and the sin then rests upon the one who refuses to forgive...