the company manager in los angeles hired a trucker to bring a very important shipment from new york
four days later the trucker arrived
the manager asked him how it went
he said great!
i drove very carefully, never once going over the speed limit
i made sure to sleep the amount required by law
i always kept on the alert
i did everything i was told to
good, so wheres the merchandise?
oh i forgot to bring it.
we were not given the wondrous opportunity to come to this world merely to obey all the laws (though that is of course necessary)
we are here to come closer to Hashem, to praise and thank him in our words and in our actions, in what we do and where we go and how we live and what we are interested in. we are told over and over in the Chumash, Csuvim, Neviim, the Gemorrah, we are an Am Kodesh. we are a SEPARATE people, a people alone, a singular nation dedicated to Hashem alone.
we are in golus, scattered among the nations to see, will we remain an Am Kodesh, a separate Nation, or will we let the interests and values of the goyim become ours. will we let the Yetzer Hora tell us whats the harm? whats the big deal? you can dress and act and do the same things the goyim do and still deliver the merchandise. will we listen?