Child Molesters

Hi Rabbi, i hope your doing well, this question is kind of a 2 part question,but i was wondering , according to judaism , can molestors and liars\/ decievers\/ falsly persuasive people that unfortunetely acted multiple times on their own bad \/inner dark temptations be ever forgiven by god? And if so , then how would that be? And can such a person actually feel bad for falsely decieving and acting on such bad desires , by false pursuasive action towards any innocent mortal of any age? And can such a person be ever possibly be considered to be good or bad people that have godforbid molested multiple times before in his or her past? Can they possibly be ever considered good ? And Can such a person ever have a chance to return to god and,be fully renewed and restored and forgiven or theres no hope for such sick people? I understand it depends on situation of course . Like for e.g a godforbid child abuser? Can such people ever be forgiven , and can such people have god in them ,and the fear of god in truthfully not lying to oneself and ever? Can such a person be saved from such terrible past experiences, and if so , then how, how can one indiviual seriously be saved from his \/ her cruel dark desires\/ in other words" to be saved from themselves " if something like that is at all possible that is with consideration in accordance of returning to god if theres any hope in such a terrible example?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

As a general rule, one can repent for all sins. In Judaism, there is no such thing as G-d being angry forever. G-d does not want to punish you at all. G-d wants just wants a relationship with you…and it appears you are making these efforts!

We believe that all mankind who has sinned can be cleansed of their sin with prayer and “Teshuva”, meaning, repentance.

We see this, in fact, in the very first chapters of the Torah, where it says that G-d said to Cain: "Why are you upset, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do good [i.e. repent and change your ways], it will be goo for you [that is, you will be forgiven]. But if you don’t do good, sin rests at the door..but you can overcome it!" (Genesis 4:6-7).

Anyone who confesses and regrets their sins and commits not to do such things again will be forgiven for all the wrong they have done.

That being said, a person who poses a risk to society must be reported to the authorities who will deal with the person as the laws requires. There is a full obligation of "lo ta'amod al dam re'acha" which means that we must do whatever we can to prevent people from coming to physical harm. So too, a molester might have the status of a “rodef” – someone who is out to harm people in which cases one may take extreme measures to stop the person.

One should first consult a rabbi to confirm that in the case in question it is permitted to report the individual to the authorities.

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