In Ps. 146, which we read as a part of Pesukei D’Zimra, we find the following: G-d “brings justice to the oppressed and provides food for the hungry. The Lord frees the bound, the Lord gives sight to the blind, G-d raises those bowed down, G-d loves the just.”
The highly regarded Rabbi Yitzchak Sender, z”l, addresses this question: why is “G-d loves the just,” obviously an estimable status, included in a list of unfortunate individuals suffering from a variety of infirmities? He refers to the midrash that says that when we were all standing at Mt. Sinai, G-d healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, allowed the lame to walk, etc. Why? So that when the people of Israel accepted the Torah, it would be unconditional and free of all constraints. It was not “a desperate nation of miserable and needy souls grasping at any means of salvation.” Instead the Torah was accepted by free men and women, in complete control of their persons, who could then serve G-d wholeheartedly.
The implications of this go far beyond the words of the siddur. The unfortunate reality is that most of us engage in things Jewish—prayer, congregations, Israel—when we are under pressure. We pray when there is a crisis, we join together in congregations when there is anti-Semitism, we support Israel when it is under attack. All of this is in response to negative stimuli. Would that we did the opposite: join together in prayer because of the fullness of our hearts with love, gratitude, and awe; join together in congregations for the joy of being together and sharing with people we love and admire; and support Israel because it is there that the full glory of a Jewish society is being revealed in our time.
Research indicates that for American Jews, the single most essential Jewish characteristic is “remembering the Holocaust.” Although I wholeheartedly agree that remembering the Holocaust is important (to say the least), keeping Shabbat, davening (especially with a minyan), studying Torah are infinitely more important. It is entirely understandable, after the horrors of the 20th century, that we are all hypersensitive about anti-Semitism. We would be fools if we weren’t. But we have all too often been living a Judaism of weakness, rather than taking our rightful place on the world stage with a Judaism of strength.