Security versus threat

Under their own sovereignty, Israel's sons could take power for granted and focus on the limits of power; in exile, where their power was severely compromised, the Jewish people had to be constantly pre-occupied with the issues of power and how to gain it. It distorted the perspective of the Jewish people into an obsession with power issues and how to wield it to greatest effect because they were constantly under threat. 

Rather than knowing and learning the challenges of living with security, the Jewish people became experts in the challenges of living under constant threat.