In this session, we will introduce the inspiration and context of this beautiful poem that introduces the communal Confession in Ashkenazi services on Yom Kippur. The poem offers twelve different metaphors/descriptions of the relationship between God and Israel, and we will spend the bulk of the session on one that might seem the most familiar: parent and child. What does it mean to think of God as our Father and ourselves as His children? What are we really saying when we appeal to Him in these terms on Yom Kippur?
