“See, I have taught you decrees and ordinances, as Hashem, my G-d, has commanded me, to do so in the midst of the Land to which you come, to possess it. You shall safeguard and perform them, for it is your wisdom and discernment in the eyes of the peoples, who shall hear all these decrees and who shall say: Surely a wise and discerning people is this great nation! For which is a nation that has a G-d Who is close to it, as is Hashem, our G-d, whenever we call to him?” (Devarim 4:5-8)
“Then all the peoples of the earth will see that the Name of Hashem is proclaimed over you, and they will fear you” (ibid. 28:10)
Rabbeinu Bachya offers the following analogy: One who is enslaved to a servant of the king is not as great as one who serves the king himself. The servants of the king fear the king. Conversely, the peoples of the earth, who are under the jurisdiction of the stars, will see that the Name of Hashem, the One Who rules over all destinies, is proclaimed over Bnei Yisrael, His Chosen Ones. The natural outcome will be that the nations will fear Bnei Yisrael.
The Ohr Hachaim writes that as long as a person abstains from sin, all creatures, man and beast alike, fear him. On the other hand, if one acts abominably, his G-dly imaged is removed from him, and he becomes easy prey for hunters.
The Sifri (Beha’alotcha 84) quotes the pasuk (Bamidbar 10:35), “Let those who hate You flee.” Can a person hate the One Who created the world? We learn from here that whoever hates Am Yisrael is considered to hate Hashem.
The Torah Temimah (Shir Hashirim 7:3) offers an analogy to describe the distinction between Am Yisrael and the gentiles vis-à-vis their positions in this world: Straw, chaff, and bark were involved in a heated argument. They each claimed that the field was created for their sake alone. Then the wheat spoke up, “Let us wait until we arrive at the threshing-floor. Then we will discover which of us is superior.”
When they reached the threshing-floor, the master came to winnow his stalks. The chaff was thrown to the wind, the straw was pounded on the ground, the dry chaff was burnt, and the wheat was preserved in a pile.
The nations of the world and Am Yisrael both claim that the world was created for their sake. Then Am Yisrael says, “Let us await the day that Hashem reveals for whom the world was created.” This is the day referred to by the Navi (Malachi 3:19) as, “burning like an oven.” Yeshayahu Hanavi (41:16) says about the nations, “You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them.” But regarding the Jewish nation, the pasuk says (ibid.), “You will rejoice in Hashem, in the Holy One of Israel you will find glory.”
Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen MiLublin (Pri Tzaddik L’Chag HaShavuot) relates that the holy Rebbe of Berdichev, zt”l, once skipped the berachah “That He did not make me a gentile” in the Morning Blessings. When asked about this, he explained, “When I woke up this morning, I was extremely depressed. I could not find anything to bring me out of my depression. Finally, I realized that I have the glorious merit of being a part of the holy nation, Yisrael.” Then and there, he recited the blessing, “That He did not make me a gentile” with unbridled joy. In this manner, his spirit was revived.
From the time that the Torah was given, the neshamot of Am Yisrael and those of the gentiles became intrinsically different. The neshamah of the Jew derives from a most exalted treasury of sanctity. Whoever has an innate connection with the treasury of these neshamot will inevitably be selected for goodness.
