After I returned, I regretted, and after I was informed, I smote on my thigh… (Jeremiah 31:18) Meaning to say, if I did teshuva, I was comforted,⁴, can mean either “I regretted” or “I was comforted.” for G‑d certainly accepts the teshuva of the repentant, and His right hand is outstretched to receive them. “And after I was informed…” – after I knew this – “I had doubts.”⁵ – is homonymous with the word “doubt” – safek. I feel into doubt as to whether my teshuva was accepted. “On my thigh” – for I saw that I still had “sins of the thigh.”⁶ That is, I had fallen into impurity. Migdal Dovid, Hagohos

footnotes: ⁴ The Hebrew word used here, nechamti ⁵ The word “smite” – sofak ⁶ Sins of improper seminal emmission (i.e. from the male organ close to the thigh), that cause spiritual impurity.