“…and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.” (Devarim 26:5)

I once heard the following from one of the mashgichim of Beis Medrash Gevoha of Lakewood: During Magid at the Seder we say gadol atzum – to teach us that the Jewish people were exceptionally strong, as highlighted in the above verse. He explained that in every era, Jews excelled in whatever was valued by society, whether it was boxing in the early 20th century, when many top boxers were Jewish, or the fact that 22% of Nobel Prize winners are Jewish. This verse suggests that Jews have always stood out in the societies they were in. However, we must understand whether this prominence is a blessing or a challenge for Jews in the Diaspora??

We must recognize that excelling in worldly pursuits is not our mission in this world. When we mistake these achievements for our purpose, they can become our undoing, as seen in the above verse. A famous medrash states that klal Yisrael were redeemed from Egypt because they didn’t change their speech, clothing or names. The question is obvious; if klal Yisrael sinned, even worshipped idols and committed other sins like their Egyptian masters, why did maintaining these three distinctions merit their salvation?

The answer that I saw this week is profound: People may act in certain ways for a variety of reasons, but their actions do not always reflect their essence. The Nefesh Hachaim (Chaim of Volozhin 1749 –1821) asks a related question: If a gentile steals, he is put to death, whether the action was intentional or accidental. For a Jew, however, intent matters – stealing accidentally is handled differently than stealing deliberately. Given this, why didn’t the Gentiles accept the Torah? Those prone to stealing would seem to be better off as Jews than as Gentiles?  The answer is in the difference between how a Jew relates to the Torah and how a Gentile relates to the 7 Noahide mitzvos. Jews accept the Torah and follow the mitzvos, understanding that this is the right way to live, and will keep the world going. The Torah is our “Mission Statement”. Whereas Gentiles follow the 7 Noahide laws to avoid punishment, not because they accept a framework of “right and wrong,” but prefer to fulfill their obligations without adopting them as a mission statement.

Growing up, I had neighbors who believed in Torah and mitzvos as I did, but remained “conservative” because they couldn’t fully act on their beliefs. American culture swept them away, yet their core beliefs were the same as those who were shomer Torah and mitzvos. Similarly, in Egypt, klal Yisrael committed the same sins that the Egyptians did, but their essence – reflected in their speech, dress and names – remained unchanged.

As we approach Rosh Hashanah and reflect on our accumulated sins, we must keep in mind that even if we sin, as long as we do not believe that the sin is the right thing to do, we retain hope for a favorable judgement, because our essence remains intact. During the week, many of us may walk into a Beis Medrash intending to learn the entire time, yet we may fall into casual conversation. As long as we recognize this as wrong and aspire to be learning all the time, Hashem sees that our essence is unchanged, so we still have the opportunity to correct our ways.

The best way to strengthen our essence is through consistent practice. May we merit to improve our kiyum hamitzvos, thereby strengthening our core to the point that we will be blessed with a kesiva vechasima tova.