Faith After Failure: How Judaism Teaches That G-d Never Gives Up on You

In our journey through life, it's not uncommon to stumble in our observance of Torah, and possibly even in serious transgressions such as violating Shabbat, forbidden sexual behavior, or similar sins. In such instances, a person may feel disgusted with themselves, believing they are now hated by G-d, rejected and hopeless. At the very least, they may assume that immediately after the sin, G-d’s loyalty to them has vanished.

Is it realistic to expect a person not to sin at all? Could G-d have created us without taking into account that we are bound to stumble? The Torah itself records G-d’s testimony: “For the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21). And in our prayers we say: “For He knows our inclination; He remembers that we are but dust.”

If G-d knew this from the beginning, why did He invest so much in us? Why did He choose us as a nation, redeem us from Egypt with signs and wonders, split the sea, give us the Torah at Sinai, sustain us in the desert for 40 years with manna, miraculous water, and divine clouds of glory, and help Joshua conquer the land of Israel against powerful giants? Did He not know we would one day sin?

Even though G-d knew we would falter, even with serious sins, He still wanted us, because there is always a path back. In His infinite wisdom, G-d created a solution before He even created the world: teshuvah (repentance). The Sages teach that teshuvah was created before the world itself, because logically, rebellion against a king should leave no room for return.

Trust in G-d Even When We Fall

If we allow ourselves to believe that G-d withdraws His love in our lowest moments, we bring upon ourselves the most dangerous trial of all. Sin is inevitable, but if we feel rejected and hated by G-d in those moments, how can we ever return to Him? How could we dare ask for His forgiveness or help? That sense of abandonment would only push us further away, possibly forever.

If the members of the Great Assembly, who established our prayer services, knew we might sin even moments before reciting the afternoon prayer (Mincha), and still obligated us to pray, it must be they understood that G-d’s loyalty to us is not shattered by sin. Teshuvah is always available, and we must therefore believe that even immediately after sinning, G-d still wants to hear our prayers.

Furthermore, even before we begin to repent, G-d waits for us to simply turn to Him and ask. Why? Even a request for our personal needs can lead us to remember our dependence on Him, which can awaken the desire to return.

The Father Who Waits for His Child

We often struggle with this idea. We tend to compare it to a worker who has betrayed his boss—insulted him, violated the rules—and then dares to ask for a raise or special favor. It seems absurd, and so we assume the same about our relationship with G-d: “How can I pray or ask for anything after what I did?”

Jewish law says otherwise. If a person sins and then the time for Mincha (afternoon prayer) arrives, are they exempt from prayer? Certainly not. Why?

Because the correct analogy is not to a worker and a boss, but to a son and his father. Imagine a son who ran away, strayed from the right path, surrounded himself with negative influences, and insisted he no longer needed his father. What does that father want most? That his son will hit a moment of need, feel his dependence, and reach out. And the moment the son picks up the phone and asks to come home, the father says: “I’ve been waiting for this call day and night. Of course I’ll take you back.”

This is how our faith must be. When we sin, G-d’s “concern” is not that we disappointed Him, but that we might abandon Him completely out of despair. When we finally remember Him again, even if only because of our own needs, He rejoices. Through that small opening and reconnection, the relationship can begin to heal.

Tanna D’vei Eliyahu (ch. 31) teaches: "Heaven and Earth bear witness: More than a wife waits for her husband, or a father for his son, G-d waits for the sinner to return." G-d sits and waits, yearning for the moment we will come back—no matter the path, no matter the reason—as long as we return.

The great Rabbi Chaim Palagi testified that when he read this teaching, he wept, overwhelmed by the thought that G-d waits so eagerly for us, while we hesitate.

Teshuvah is not merely an apology. It has the power to transform a person from rejected to beloved, and from distant to close. The Rambam writes that through teshuvah, a sinner becomes “dear, beloved, a friend, and cherished” by G-d. That knowledge alone gives us hope to keep returning. If we were to believe that G-d despised us in our moment of sin, or was indifferent to our fate, we would fall into despair.

As the verse says: “Zion said, ‘G-d has abandoned me; my Lord has forgotten me’” (Isaiah 49:14). In truth however, when we fall, G-d worries about us, searches for ways to bring us back, and even protects us from falling further—because His love and watchfulness never cease, even over those who rebel.

When we internalize this, we will believe in the power of teshuvah, and we’ll know that if G-d wants us to return, we will succeed.