"Judaism does not believe that we are made better by forgetting our own capacity for wrong. Gossip that wounds others, cruel speech, theft, callousness — these are daily transgressions; ignoring the hurt they cause does not make us uninhibited, just inhuman.

The insensitive person feels less pain himself and inflicts more on others. Remorse is not a waste, but an acknowledgment of another's feelings and fragility. We should not morbidly dwell on our faults — to do so is less a moral trait than a character disorder. Equally, however, an inability to feel guilt, to admit what one has done to another, is a spiritual sickness. As the high holidays approach we should remember that the beginning of repentance is regret."

-Rabbi David Wolpe, from his weekly "Off the Pulpit."