A Torah principle states that God is not a vatran, one who concedes and surrenders the requirements of justice. In other words, God would never say, “Forget it, your misdeeds don’t matter.” God’s compassion in judgment is like an easy lay-away plan—He lets us pay off our debts over time. Judaism teaches that if God were to overlook our wrongdoings this would damage our self-respect and self-esteem. Justice is the ideal. Judaism teaches that God created the world based on the principle of pure justice—where everyone gets what he or she deserves. However, He saw that the world would not last under such strict conditions. Therefore, He added compassion to the recipe. In other words, if we don’t deserve something, God may give it to us in such a way that we can earn it and deserve it later. We can pay over time. However, strict justice is still the ideal, because it establishes our full sense of self. Think back to the example of giving tzedakah. When we get something that we do not earn and don’t deserve, we lose a bit of our self-worth. However, because of God’s great love for us, He may sometimes temporarily override His judgment. He then patiently and compassionately guides us, but His goal is to enable us to eventually fulfill the ideal of justice and truly earn our keep. Because God loves us, He orchestrates a way for us to work off our debts in increments over time and merit what He gives us. It is only fitting that we end this request acknowledging the purpose of our statehood—that God be abundantly manifest as a lover of justice and judgment through the example of His kingdom, the state of Israel, built upon Torah values and ideals: “Blessed are You, YHVH, the King who loves justice and judgment.”