The Rambam says (Hilchos Teshuva 6:1-2) that some sins bring about a judgement of punishment that will pertain to the person\u2019s body or his possessions, or his young children, some sins bring about a judgement of punishment that will take place only in the next world, and there are some sins that bring about a judgement of punishment both in this world and in the next. However, says the Rambam, that is only if the person did not do teshuva, but if he did teshuva then the teshuva is like a shield that blocks the negative consequences. One of my talmidim asked me, how does this statement fit with the Gemara that discusses the four categories of atonement? The Gemara clearly says that there are some aveiros for which teshuva alone does not suffice, and the person will have to endure some form of suffering in order to gain full atonement? The answer to this question is that puranus and yissurim are two different things. Puranus is the punishment that is the result of the sin. Indeed, in Maseches Makos (13) it is clear that if one does teshuva, one will not get punished. However, that does not mean that the sin is fully atoned. He still is in need of atonement. Some sins are of a severity that he can only gain full atonement if he endures some form of yissurim (suffering) \u2013 not as a punishment, but as a vehicle of atonement.\u00a0(From Reb Avraham Twersky)<\/p>\n
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