You're familiar with the famous Gemara in Shabbos פ״ז ע״ב where Chazal darshen that מלמד שכפה עליהם הר כגיגית that we stood not just at the foot of the mountain, but as it were we stood underneath the mountain, and translated literally it says Hakadosh Baruch Hu coerced us into Kabbalas HaTorah. Hakadosh Baruch Hu held the mountain over us as a barrel or something of the sort and said אם אתם מקבלים מוטב, if you'll be mekabel the Torah, that's fine and good, ואם לאו שם תהא קבורתכם. And then the Gemara says מכאן מודעא רבה לאורייתא. Gemara doesn't mean this literally but on some aggadic, non-halachic level, the Gemara says מכאן מודעא רבה לאורייתא that if, if Kabbalas HaTorah was, was only a result of coercion, so is, is it really binding? And then the Gemara famously says that הדור קבלוה בימי אחשורוש, as it says קימו וקבלו היהודים עליהם ועל זרעם ועל כל הנלוים עליהם.
That later there was a totally voluntary acceptance of the Torah bi-ymei Achashverosh. It's a funny, it's a funny way of referring to that tekufah, let's say in Al HaNissim. So we say bi-ymei Mordechai ve-Esther. And we don't, we don't identify that, that period in Jewish history as bi-ymei Achashverosh. So what's happened that the Gemara says הדור קבלוה בימי אחשורוש? It should have been הדור קבלוה בימי בימי מרדכי ואסתר. So perhaps the, the pshat is as follows. What, what does it mean Chazal mean it literally that כפה עליהם הר כגיגית that Hakadosh Baruch Hu uprooted Har Sinai and, and and held it over us? So ke-midumani that there's something in the Maharal along these lines. ke-miduma that it doesn't mean that there was physical coercion. But what it means is that the experience of the gilluy Shechinah which Klal Yisrael had at the time was just so overwhelming that how could we not be mekabel the Torah? The gilluy Shechinah, the, the clarity that we had of Anochi Hashem Elokecha, that kavyachol Hakadosh Baruch Hu split the shivah reki'im and, and kavyachol we saw that השם אחד בעליונים ובתחתונים, obviously not with a physical eye but with the ein hasechel, with the eye of sechel. The clarity was just so, so great that, that it was just overwhelming. There was no, doesn't mean that there was physical coercion, doesn't mean that, that that it was at a gunpoint or or some physical equivalent. But the כפה עליהם הר כגיגית meant the overpowering and overwhelming nature of, of the gilluy Shechinah. So why is that a, why is that a מודעא רבה לאורייתא? It's a מודעא רבה לאורייתא because then we're called upon to keep the Torah in times when we don't have that overwhelming gilluy Shechinah, when Hakadosh Baruch Hu's presence is hidden in the world. There's, there's an idea which different Chassidishe Seforim quote. The Sfas Emes quotes it from his grandfather, the Chiddushei Harim. Meor Einayim has it also. The word in Lashon Hakodesh, what, what's the word in Lashon Hakodesh for world? How do you say world in, in Lashon Hakodesh? Olam, right? Olam, right? Ha-olam, the, the world. So the shoresh of ayin lamed mem, what's the shoresh of ayin lamed mem? What other words do we find there in? Right? He'alem ya'alimu, right? ve-ne'elam me-einei ha-adam, when something is hidden. So how does that shoresh come to denote world? Because the world is a place where Hakadosh Baruch Hu is hidden. Hakadosh Baruch Hu's presence is hidden in the world. So the idea of מכאן מודעא רבה לאורייתא is, is that the circumstances and the conditions in which we were mekabel Torah were not typical of the circumstances and conditions in which we have to implement that kabbalah. הדור קבלוה בימי אחשורוש, bi-ymei Achashverosh was a time of hester, was a time of... of what Hakadosh Baruch Hu's presence was very hidden, right? מניין לאסתר מן התורה? Where is Esther hamalka alluded to in the Torah? ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא. The name Esther alludes to the idea of hester panim, ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא. Again as as we all know the name of Hakadosh Baruch Hu is not mentioned not mentioned in the Megilla. So הדר קבלוה בימי אחשורוש, no Chazal davka say bimei achashverosh because on the surface it wasn't Mordechai and Esther who who reigned supreme. On the surface Achashverosh was molech bikippa, right? The Gemara says in Megilla that there was three three kings who ruled over the entire world. One of them was was Achashverosh. So bimei achashverosh it was when when seemingly this I don't know melech tipesh, melech rasha, whatever this this vulgar rasha ruled the entire world. So it's also a time of a time of when when everything was nistar. So that was the time to to complement to supplement the original kabbalas haTorah. The original kabbalas haTorah was in a time of gilluy shechina. What was in quotation marks missing in that kabbalas haTorah was a kabbala in the in more typical circumstances and conditions that we need to observe Torah that we need to implement that kabbala and that's why הדר קבלוה davka bimei achashverosh when in terms of geopolitics it was the age of Achashverosh in terms of geopolitics it wasn't the age of Mordechai and Esther. We know we know in shamayim in in the ultimate sense it was bimei Mordechai ve'Esther but in terms of geopolitics it was it was bimei achashverosh and davka in those conditions Klal Yisrael was inspired to reaffirm that that kabbala and that that filled in what was missing from from the original from the original kabbala. There is a tremendous mussar haskel within within latent within that idea. Every sensitive aspiring ben Torah and every one of us hopes that that's a a description that we're worthy of to be an aspiring to aspire at least to to be a ben Torah. So we all wonder we all grapple with how does a person develop yiras shamayim? How does a person cultivate yiras shamayim? ראשית חכמה יראת ה'. Yiras shamayim is the basis the foundation for everything. How does a person develop yiras shamayim? There is a very cryptic Gemara in Berachos. Gemara in Berachos comments on a pasuk in Parshas Eikev ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלקיך שאל מעמך. So it sounds from the wording of the Gemara as though right ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלקיך שאל מעמך. What is Hakadosh Baruch Hu asking from you? That that wording suggests that it's going to be something very small. If if you ask someone a small favor which won't tax them too much you say what am I asking from you? Just one little thing. ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלקיך שאל מעמך ki im only liyira. So the Gemara says אטו יראה מילתא זוטרתא היא? milta hi. milta in. לגבי משה מילתא זוטרתא היא. For Moshe Rabbeinu it was it was something small. But the pasuk and the Torah's addressed to all of us and not just addressed to Moshe Rabbeinu. So what does it mean that yira's a milta zutarta? So the perhaps the The answer is as follows. The emes is that yiras shamayim is the most natural reaction and the most natural mindset that can possibly exist, if only we sustain an awareness of reality. The very first Rama Shulchan Aruch quotes from the Rambam at the end of the Moreh that שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד הוא כלל גדול בתורה ובמעלות הצדיקים.
That אין ישיבת האדם ותנועותיו והוא לבדו בביתו ככל ישיבת האדם ותנועותיו והוא בבית המלך.
This is not verbatim, something to this effect, כי ישיבתו ודיבורו ותנועתו והוא בבית המלך. The way a person conducts himself, the way a person lounges on his easy chair, the way a person talks very freely, very garrulously, when he's alone at home together with his closest family, closest intimates, obviously that's not the same way a person conducts himself, it's not the same way a person acts, it's not the same way a person moves, it's not the same way a person speaks when he has a royal audience. You have a royal audience so every word is measured, every movement, every action is disciplined and calculated. Kal vachomer says the Rama quoting from the Rambam, כשישים אדם על לבו, if a person would only maintain an awareness, keep in mind and feel in his heart that הקדוש ברוך הוא מלא כל הארץ כבודו עומד עליו ורואה במעשיו.
If only we would be able to yasim al libo, if only we could keep that basic ultimate reality of existence in mind, that we live in the presence of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, so then מיד הוא נעשה ענו וירא שמים and has a sense of busha and hachna'ah. So what is the Rama telling the Rambam? That the avodah is not to develop yiras shamayim. That comes naturally. Rama says מיד יגיע אליו היראה, מיד, it happens immediately, it happens instantaneously, מיד יגיע אליו היראה, Rama says. It's a natural reaction. They tell a story that a chasid once came to the Kotzker Rebbe and said to him, Rebbe, teach me to have yiras shamayim. I don't have yiras shamayim, teach me to have yiras shamayim. So the Kotzker, as the story goes, answered, says did you ever have the following experience? Or if you didn't have it, can you imagine it? Were you ever walking through a forest and all of a sudden set upon by a lion? You encounter a lion. Or were you ever walking through the forest in the dead of night and all of a sudden found yourself surrounded by a band of bandits? If you ever had the experience, or if you haven't had the experience, then do the thought experiment. Imagine that experience. Would you have to pull your cell phone out of your pocket, I'm not sure if the Kotzker used those words exactly, would you have to pull your cell phone out of your pocket and call someone and say teach me to be afraid? No, it would be an instinctive reaction. Ad kan devarav. So clearly what the Kotzker was telling him is yiras shamayim is an instinctive reaction. The reason we find ourselves lacking in yiras shamayim is because we're mesiach da'as, because we're distracted from what we know. We don't have an awareness of what we know. We know that we know there's a Ribbono Shel Olam. We know מלא כל הארץ כבודו. We know that Hakadosh Baruch Hu sees everything we do, hears everything we say. דע מה למעלה ממך עין רואה ואזן שומעת וכל מעשיך בספר נכתבים.
We know that. When we learn that mishnah in Avos. There's no chiddush in that mishnah. Not telling us anything we don't know. We know it but we're not aware of it. If only we would be aware of it, so then yiras shamayim is an instinctive reaction. So the avodah, our avodah rabosai, is not to work on yiras shamayim. Our avodah is to overcome hesach hada'as. Our avodah is to maintain an awareness. Our avodah is to try to have, again, a mental image in front of our eyes of שויתי ה׳ לנגדי תמיד, of that phrase from Sefer Tehillim, of שויתי ה׳ לנגדי תמיד. If a person is aware of that, שויתי ה׳ לנגדי תמיד, again, let's say there are certain words in our vocabulary which are not so refined. So when the Rebbe is in the room, we don't use those words. We use those words on other occasions, when the Rebbe's, when the Rebbe's not in the room. Let's say a person has a short fuse and is prone to anger. Some people's presence is inhibiting, and actually the person is able to control and not let, not let that short fuse blow. So we're capable of, again, even if there are words in our vocabulary that shouldn't be there, we're capable of not using them. And even if you have a short fuse, we're capable of controlling it when we feel a healthy inhibition. What's the healthy inhibition? The Rebbe is in the room. Maybe there's someone else that I would be embarrassed to blow my top in front of. So there are sources of healthy inhibition. It's not that we can't control these things. We can control them. So if only we weren't mesiach da'as, right? That's what the Rema says, quoting the Rambam, כל שכן שישים האדם על לבו. כל שכן שישים האדם על לבו.
If a person would only keep in mind and take to heart constantly, perpetually, that המלך הגדול הקדוש ברוך הוא אשר מלא כל הארץ כבודו עומד עליו ורואה במעשיו,
so then we would be transformed by that awareness, completely, totally transformed by that awareness. That's what the avodah of Purim is. Again, it was אסתר מן התורה מנין from anochi hasteir asteir. Things weren't overt. The neis of Purim, what was a neis nistar? The name of Hakadosh Baruch Hu is not mentioned in the Megillah. In terms of geopolitics, if you would have read the political analysis of the day, it was bimei Achashveirosh. It was the era of Achashveirosh. But a person has, when he makes a concerted effort, concerted, consistent effort, a person can, we are capable of gradually building and ultimately sustaining that awareness of שויתי ה׳ לנגדי תמיד and then benefiting from its transformative effect. What happened to inspire us to that kabbalas hatorah of bimei Achashveirosh? הדר קבלוה בימי אחשורוש. Rashi in Shabbos says mipnei ahavas haneis, the love of the miracle. I don't know if what we're about to suggest can fairly be attributed to Rashi. Maybe it's close to something Rashi means, but yitachen, based on a couple of Rambams, one in particular, maybe we can understand how it is that Klal Yisrael was inspired to this second, this reaffirmation of קבלת התורה בימי אחשורוש. When Hakadosh Baruch Hu in Parshas Yisro the Torah records, Hakadosh Baruch Hu offers the Torah to Klal Yisrael, ועתה אם שמוע תשמעו בקולי ושמרתם את בריתי והייתם לי סגולה מכל העמים כי לי כל הארץ.
The Torah is a bris. The Torah represents a covenant. A pact between Hakadosh Baruch Hu and the Jewish people. Between Hakadosh Baruch Hu and Knesset Yisrael. A bris. But we read in Parshas Mishpatim, ויקח את ספר הברית. Sefer Habris refers to the Sefer Torah. The Torah represents a bris, a pact between Hakadosh Baruch Hu and Klal Yisrael. So a pact is bilateral, right? When two nations, lehavdil, make, enter into a pact, so it means that there are bilateral obligations that they pledge to each other's security. Right? All the NATO countries will defend each other against an attack because there's a pact between them. So kavyachol, within, within the pact that Hakadosh Baruch Hu entered into with us, so we have obligations to Him. But as incredible as it sounds, the reality is even more incredible. Hakadosh Baruch Hu accepted upon Himself obligations to us, to people, to mortals, to His creatures. Because that's what it means to have a bris. A bris means that it's bilateral. It means that there are reciprocal obligations. What's our half of the bris? What's our half of the bris? Our half of the bris is to keep Torah mitzvos. To keep Torah mitzvos. To live by the Torah. To learn Torah. To live by the Torah. To be medakdek beTorah mitzvos. That's our half of the bris. What's Hakadosh Baruch Hu's half of the bris? So the Ramban quotes a Mechilta. V'kach amru b'Mechilta, v'atem tihiyu li, kavyachol, איני מעמיד ואיני משליט עליכם אלא אני. V'chein hu omer הנה לא ינום ולא יישן שומר ישראל. One more time, rabbosai. V'kach amru b'Mechilta, this is what Chazal say in the Mechilta. V'atem tihiyu li, you will be Mine. What does that mean? So the Mechilta is explaining that kavyachol, you will be exclusively Mine. That I will exercise a special hashgacha pratis on Klal Yisrael and Klal Yisrael won't be subjected to other forces. איני מעמיד ואיני משליט עליכם אלא אני. V'chein hu omer הנה לא ינום ולא יישן שומר ישראל. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the Shomer Yisrael and He watches over us 24/7. הנה לא ינום ולא יישן שומר ישראל. So the deal that we cut with Hakadosh Baruch Hu, as it were, at Ma'amad Har Sinai was that we committed ourselves to Torah mitzvos. And He, incredibly, mah she'ein, what we would have thought is sacrilegious, what we would have thought is heretically presumptive, and He committed Himself to us. To take care of us, to exercise a special hashgacha pratis, a hashgacha pratis that ensures the eternity of Klal Yisrael. But a special hashgacha pratis. So that's, those are the mutual obligations of this bris. You with me, rabbosai? Now, if you go to Parshas Va'eschanan at sheni, there's a sort of cryptic sequence of pesukim. Re'ei limadeti eschem, Moshe Rabbeinu speaking in the first person. Re'ei limadeti eschem ראה למדתי אתכם חקים ומשפטים כאשר צוני ה' אלהי לעשות כן בקרב הארץ אשר אתם באים שמה לרשתה.
Ushmartem va'asisem. You should observe all the mitzvos, כי היא חכמתכם ובינתכם לעיני העמים אשר ישמעון את כל החקים האלה ואמרו רק עם חכם ונבון הגוי הגדול הזה.
They'll see that there's something special about the Jewish people. Am chacham venavon hagoy hagadol hazeh, this great people, this great nation, they're wise, they're discerning. Now, let's pay special attention now to these next two three psukim rabosai, כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלהים קרובים אליו כה' אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו.
What great nation is there, again, even the umos haolam will recognize that there's something uniquely, singularly great. Hagoy hagadol hazeh, this great people, this great nation. Now, the Torah continues, כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלהים קרובים אליו כה' אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו.
And two, ומי גוי גדול אשר לו חקים ומשפטים צדיקים ככל התורה הזאת אשר אנכי נתן לפניכם היום. רק השמר לך ושמר נפשך מאד פן תשכח את הדברים אשר ראו עיניך ופן יסורו מלבבך כל ימי חייך והודעתם לבניך ולבני בניך.
So the singularity of this goy gadol, the psukim amplify, is reflected in two things. Number one, כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלהים קרובים אליו כה' אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו.
What does the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah use that pasuk for, rabosai? כה' אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו. You remember the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah asks a stira in psukim. The pasuk in Yeshayahu, it's the haftarah for a taanis, דרשו ה' בהמצאו קראהו בהיותו קרוב, sounds like there are certain times, there's a certain season when Hashem is behimatzo, when Hashem is to be found, there are certain times, there's a certain season, you have to have the, there's the office hours, bihyoso karov, when Hakadosh Baruch Hu is karov. And the Gemara, Chazal juxtapose that to this pasuk in Va'eschanan, כה' אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו. No, you can pick up the phone anytime and call on Hakadosh Baruch Hu, כה' אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו, anytime, anytime. So what does the Gemara answer? כאן ביחיד כאן בצבור, right? That betzibur Hakadosh Baruch Hu always, always, always, always answers. Betzibur kol zman, the way the Rambam paraphrases it in Hilchos Teshuva, when they're כל זמן שעושין תשובה וצועקים בלב שלם הם נענין. Hakadosh Baruch Hu, Hakadosh Baruch Hu responds. So one aspect of goy gadol is כה' אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו, right? One aspect of the singularity, the uniqueness, one expression of the fact that we're this goy gadol is כה' אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו. What's the second aspect of the goy gadol? The second aspect of the goy gadol is ומי גוי גדול אשר לו חקים ומשפטים צדיקים ככל התורה הזאת,
is that we have Torah mitzvos. So what are the two aspects? Exactly the two sides of the bris, right? One side of the bris is Hakadosh Baruch Hu taking care of us, which is expressed and epitomized by כה' אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו. And the other expression, the other reflection of the goy gadol is chukim umishpatim tzaddikim, and that's the, then the Torah segues to say, don't forget Ma'amad Har Sinai. Rak hishamer lecha, according to the Ramban, this is a mitzvas lo sa'aseh to be in, to be included in the minyan taryag, not to forget Ma'amad Har Sinai. רק השמר לך ושמר נפשך מאד פן תשכח את הדברים.
So now it's like this. If you take a look in the Rambam's hakdama to the Yad HaChazaka, to Mishneh Torah, the first the Rambam has a hakdama where he sort of describes the shalsheles hamesorah and basically gives you context for his chibur of Mishneh Torah. Then he lists the taryag mitzvos and after listing the taryag mitzvos, the Rambam writes as follows. He says, אלה הם שש מאות ושלוש עשרה מצות שנאמרו למשה בסיני.
The aforementioned, the foregoing, these are the taryag mitzvos given to Moshe Rabbeinu at Har Sinai and befeiirush nitnu. And then the Rambam says in addition to mitzvos de'oraisa there are also mitzvos derabbanan. And mitzvos derabbanan were also obligated חייבים אנו לקבלם ולשמרם. We have to, A, acknowledge the authority of Chazal to have instituted these mitzvos and B, we have to practically observe the mitzvos, practically comply. Why? Why don't derabbanans violate bal tosif? Right? The Torah has in two places in Parshas Va'eschanan and Parshas Re'eh you're not allowed to add to the mitzvos hatTorah. So why don't mitzvos derabbanan constitute bal tosif? So the Rambam explains: על מה הזהירה תורה להוסיף ולגרוע שלא יהיה נביא רשאי לחדש דבר ולומר שהקדוש ברוך הוא ציווהו במצוה זו להוסיף על מצות התורה או לחסר אחת מאלו השש מאות ושלוש עשרה מצות. אבל אם הוסיפו בית דין עם נביא שיהיה באותו הזמן מצוה דרך תקנה או דרך הוראה דרך גזירה אין זו תוספת שהרי לא אמרו שהקדוש ברוך הוא ציווה לעשות עירוב ולקרוא המגילה בעונתה ואילו אמרו כן היו מוסיפין על התורה אלא כך אנו אומרים שהנביאים עם בית דין תיקנו וציוו לקרוא המגילה בעונתה כדי להזכיר שבחיו של הקדוש ברוך הוא ותשועות שעשה לנו והיה קרוב לשווענו כדי לברכו ולהללו וכדי להודיע לדורות הבאים שאמת מה שהבטיחנו בתורה כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלהים קרובים אליו כה' אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו.
So the Rambam says as follows: How is it that Chazal in introducing mitzvos derabbanan steered clear of bal tosif? How do you reconcile the Torah's authorizing Chazal to make mitzvos derabbanan with the Torah's prohibition bal tosif? So the Rambam says Chazal had to and did comply with two conditions. Number one, they had to clearly delineate that this is derabbanan. They couldn't try to pass it off as a de'oraisa much less falsely attribute it directly to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. So first of all, every derabbanan has to be identified as such and has to be delineated as such. But the Rambam says that's not enough. Chazal also have to tell you what it is in the Torah that this derabbanan is coming to protect, what it's coming to reinforce, what it's coming to facilitate, what it's coming to foster. There's no such thing as just adding a mitzvah. The Ribbono Shel Olam thought 613 mitzvos was enough but we think he'd be better off with a few more? Rachmana litzlan, that would be kefirah. But if Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us 613 mitzvos and he gave us basic core beliefs and it's our job to bolster that, it's our job to facilitate that, it's our job to foster that, so here's a mitzvah derabbanan and this is what it's oriented towards protecting, upholding, fostering in the Torah. And the Rambam says let me give you a for instance. And the for instance he says is let me explain to you what the rationale for krias haMegillah is. Krias haMegillah is a mitzvah derabbanan. So A, Chazal had to identify it as such, right? It had to be clearly identified as a derabbanan. But B, what in the Torah is krias haMegillah coming to uphold? What in the Torah is krias haMegillah coming to foster? So listen to what the Rambam says, especially the last part of it because that's what relates directly to what we're trying to talk about. כך אנו אומרים שהנביאים עם בית דין תיקנו וציוו לקרוא המגילה בעונתה.
No, they're not attributing the tzivui to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. No. נביאים עם בית דין, it was Mordechai u'beizdino. Mordechai was a Navi. It was Mordechai u'beizdino. They were the ones who decided to introduce the mitzvah of krias haMegillah. Why? כדי להזכיר שבחיו של הקדוש ברוך הוא to mention, to recount the praises of Hakadosh Baruch Hu ותשועות שעשה לנו והיה קרוב לשווענו and how Hakadosh Baruch Hu saved us and was close to our outcry. And how he was quick to respond to our cries, karov l'shua'seinu, k'dei l'vorchu u'lehallo. Now listen to this next line. It has a mekor in Chazal, in the Gemara in Megilla. U'k'dei l'hodia, listen to this, rabbosai, וכדי להודיע לדורות הבאים שאמת מה שהבטיחנו בתורה כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלוהים קרובים אליו כהשם אלוקינו בכל קראנו אליו.
According to the Rambam, krias hamgilla was introduced to reinforce, to strengthen our emuna in this yesod of כהשם אלוקינו בכל קראנו אליו. Because what we're supposed to hear when we read the megilla, what we're supposed to understand is, how does everything turn around? Klal Yisrael chas v'shalom was on the brink of of extinction, right? Haman had his genocidal plans and they were totally, totally helpless to in any way resist his his genocidal plan. And what when do things change? How do things turn around? לך כנוס את כל היהודים. Daven. Tzumu alai. Fast. And what do you do when you're fasting? You have an atzeres t'filla. Go, tzumu, and when you're fasting daven. The whole nes of Purim happens in response to t'filla b'tzibbur. Krias hamgilla, what we're supposed to be hearing when we read the megilla, says the Rambam, we're supposed to be hearing, we're supposed to be seeing how that havtacha in the Torah played out in in our history. מי כמי גוי גדול אשר לו אלוהים קרובים אליו כהשם אלוקינו בכל קראנו אליו.
That's that's what saved us again. עם אחד מפוזר ומפורד. Totally helpless. Totally helpless. And it was all because כהשם אלוקינו בכל קראנו אליו. So now it's like this, rabbosai, hafla v'felle. Now it's like this. The pesukim in Parshas Va'eschanan, when they tell us about the goy gadol, that Klal Yisrael is this unique great nation. We're unique, we're a great nation because we're the am hanivchar. But the am hanivchar represents a bris, right? And a bris has the bilateral obligations in any bris, any pact. No nation is interested in no nation enters a one-sided pact. That's not a pact. A bris is something which is bilateral. We have our obligations to hakadosh baruch hu and incredible, incredible as it is, hakadosh baruch hu committed himself to us, committed himself to us. What's our obligation to hakadosh baruch hu? Our obligation to hakadosh baruch hu is Torah mitzvos, chukim u'mishpatim, to observe the chukim mishpatim tzaddikim. What obligation did hakadosh baruch hu accept upon himself? Hakadosh baruch hu accepted upon himself again, Ani lo shanisi, הנה לא ינום ולא יישן שומר ישראל. So what happened? What happened in the nes of Purim? In the nes of Purim, so Klal Yisrael saw, yeah, it was taki b'hester. What did Klal Yisrael see? They saw hakadosh baruch hu is upholding his half of the bargain. In the nes of Purim what happened? What happened when the nes of Purim happened? So what what did we see? What did we understand? Hakadosh baruch hu is upholding his his half of the bargain. What happened here? Haman had this rose to to power like a like a meteor. His power was was unlimited, unbounded power. And then his precipitous downfall. What happened? כהשם אלוקינו בכל קראנו אליו. Hakadosh baruch hu is upholding his half of the bargain, his half of the bris. If that's the case, then Klal Yisrael was inspired, then how can we do less? How can we not uphold our half of the bris? If we see the מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלוהים קרובים אליו כהשם אלוקינו בכל קראנו אליו,
we saw that so incredibly demonstrated in the nes of Purim, so then, then we understood, so now it's our job to recommit and to reaffirm the מי גוי גדול אשר לו חוקים ומשפטים צדיקים ככל התורה הזאת ורק הישמר לך ושמור נפשך מאוד.
So Purim is a time, the krias hamgilla reminds us of the... כהשם אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו. The Krias HaMegillah reminds us that הנה לא ינום ולא יישן שומר ישראל, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is perfectly consistent in his half of the bris, in upholding his half of the bris, and as it did bimei Achashverosh, it's supposed to inspire within us that reaffirmation to pledge ourselves and recommit ourselves to upholding our half of the bris of the מי גוי גדול אשר לו חוקים ומשפטים צדיקים and the השמר לך ושמור נפשך מאוד. Okay, very big guys, any questions? We'll have the question answers until Mincha. Mincha is at 1:20, is that right? There don't have to be any questions, it's okay for no questions, that's also good.