Yoma 8:8-9

Yoma 8:8

A sin offering and a definite guilt offering effect atonement for their respective offenses. Death and Yom Kippur effect atonement in conjunction with repentance. Repentance alone effects atonement for failure to perform positive obligations and for violating prohibitions that can be corrected through positive mitzvos (like returning an object that one stole). In the case of more serious violations, repentance suspends punishment until Yom Kippur arrives and effects atonement.

Yoma 8:9

If a person plans to sin and later repent, he is not given the opportunity to repent. If he intends to sin relying on Yom Kippur to effect atonement, Yom Kippur will not effect atonement. Yom Kippur only atones for sins a person commits against God. If a person sinned against another human, Yom Kippur will not atone until he has appeased the victim. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah derived this from Leviticus 16:30: “you will be cleansed of all your sins before God.” Yom Kippur only atones for sins between man and God; for sins between one person and another, Yom Kippur does not atone until the offender appeases his victim. Rabbi Akiva said that the Jews should rejoice that they are cleansed by God Himself, as per Ezekiel 36:25, “I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be cleansed.” Also, Jeremiah 17:12 calls God “mikvei Yisroel” – “the hope of Israel” – but that can also be read as “mikveh Yisroel” – “the mikvah of Israel.” Just as a mikvah purifies the ritually unclean, so too does God purify the Jews.