Have you ever done wrong, ever sinned? Such a question! Of course, you have! If you're honest, you'll admit it, confess it, at least to yourself. And hopefully, you'll have done something to try to put things right, if possible. Judaism is very concerned that we should go through these steps when we do wrong. We call this process teshuvah, repentance.

But have we done enough? Rabbi Simchah Bunam of Pshische (1765-1814) seems to suggest that we have not. Just like a good doctor who does not merely treat the patient's symptoms, but instead tries to find the cause of the disease, so we too should seek out the cause of our sin.

Numbers 5:5-10 deals with various offerings, plus restitution required for those caught stealing. The guilty party does not just make restitution, he or she must also confess their sin, as stated in verse 7 quoted above.

Simchah Bunam noticed something odd about this verse. The phrase "superfluous. The verse need only have said "and they shall confess their sin". Why the extra words?

The Pshische Rebbe says they are there to teach us that we have to seek out the sin that led us to sin; specifically, in the case brought by the Torah, the covetousness that led us to steal, and back beyond that, the envy that led us to covetousness in the first place.

When we become aware of our envy, he implies, we may learn to gain some control over it, and not allow ourselves to graduate to coveting and stealing. And the same goes for other sins, too.

We may not need psychiatrists and psychologists to help us do this. What is required is what is nowadays called "mindfulness", awareness of the psychological processes that go on inside ourselves.