No one need despair on account of his or her sins, for every penitent sinner is graciously received by God. Jewish doctrine holds that it is never too late, even on the day of death, to return to God with sincere repentance for "as the sea is always open for every one who wishes to cleanse himself, so are the gates of repentance always open to the sinner". Jewish doctrine states that the hand of God is continually stretched out to receive a sinner. One view in the Talmud holds that a repentant sinner attains a more exalted spiritual eminence than one who has never sinned. It is a sin to taunt a repentant sinner by recalling their former sinful ways.