By referring to us as His “children,” G‑d let it be known that He would never sever His relationship with us, and that we can never sever our relationship with Him – just as parents can never sever themselves from their children, and children can never sever themselves from their parents. The relationship between parents and their children is so essential, so strong, that no matter how seriously it may be tested, in the final analysis it will always overcome any behavior that might seem to threaten it.
It is therefore pointless to try to hide or flee from this relationship, and senseless to think that it can ever be forfeited. G‑d’s love for us is infinitely stronger than anything we may have done to weaken it.1
Today is Yom Kippur, I imagine the long faces that the hours of fasting provoke with the resulting sombre mood. I think everything I could say would be meaningless, so, and very much on my own, I'm going to review the silent prayer, the Amidah.