Teshuvah (Return, or Repentance) is a generous gift from G-d, which allows us to erase our improper actions through a four-step process (see below).

The Torah tells us that no matter how far we stray or how many times we sin, G-d will wait for us to return to him through Teshuvah.
There are four basic parts to Teshuvah:

1. Leaving the Sin
2. Regret
3. Confession Before G-d
4. Acceptance for the Future

1. Leaving the Sin
Leaving the sin consists of stopping the commission of the sinful act. One cannot do Teshuvah if one continues to do the sin, even if he or she were to perform the next three steps perfectly.

2. Regret
Regret consists in sincerely regretting one’s wrong action. One must be genuinely ashamed and embarrassed over one’s sins.

3. Confession Before G-d
Acceptance for the future consists of resolving in one’s heart never to commit the sin ever again.

4. Acceptance for the Future
Confession before G-d consists of an oral confession spoken out loud, in which one formulates in words the commitments and attitudes one has reached in his or her heart. One should say, “I have sinned, I have done such and such; I deeply regret my actions, and I declare before G-d, Who knows my innermost thoughts, that I will never do this sin again.”