The Essence of Teshuva

He was known to say, 'What do you think a baal teshuva is? Do you think a baal teshuva must put on sackcloth? A baal teshuva does not need to put on sackcloth. When a witness stands under the chuppah he must be a kosher witness. How is this done? The rov says to the witness, 'You must do teshuva.' And what does the Jew do? He turns to the side and says: 'I regret the past and request [Heavenly assistance] for the future.' And that is what teshuva is all about, with no chochmos or odd exterior trappings. A person who knows that he is lacking in a certain area must work on himself to rectify this. No more. That is teshuva.' "