The real function of teshuvah is to put an end to God's exile.
To achieve this, I need to search inside myself and find the core of my existence.
By searching ceaselessly day and night.
I can only encounter God in the depths of my being once I have ridden myself of all the veils, dross, and lies–the lies I tell myself.
In the Psalms, God is called "the strength of my heart and my portion for ever."
We should understand this as meaning that my real strength, the core of my being, is God, forever.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
From The Seven Lights, p. 87, by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz