Beyond the Words
This underscores a very deep point:
Sometimes, there is a person who delivers a beautiful derashah, mamash exceptional. Everyone says that in the last ten years they haven’t heard such a strong derashah. But this speech may fall into the category of the “malchus of the nations of the world.” The kingship of the nations of the world emphasizes the kingship itself! Similarly, these people are impressed by the speech itself and the way in which it was delivered.
Conversely, among Yidden, we don’t concentrate on the derashah itself. The main thing is what happened later! How much yiras Shamayim penetrated the hearts of the listeners? What impression did it leave for later? This is Malchus Yisrael. This is the true power of utilizing Middas HaMalchus, the power of speech.
A Good Speech: How Much Light of Hashem Did It Generate?
The tachlis is not that the speech itself should be beautiful—for the power of speech is just like the levanah; it has nothing in and of itself. The measure of a beautiful levanah is in how much it mirrors the beautiful light of the sun. It’s not the thing itself; it’s measured in how much bittul it brings to the Ribbono shel Olam.
When people say that they were awed and inspired by a speech, they’re reporting what they feel in the moment. Right at that moment, they were overwhelmed by what they heard. It was very pleasant to listen to. This only means that the koach haddibur of the orator was good, but a Yid must understand that the true measure of Middas HaMalchus is in how much it succeeds in bringing down the light of the sun that it reflects.
The moon is merely a mailman—delivering a package from elsewhere. The Malchus Peh doesn’t have any of its own power. It is a middah that the Ribbono shel Olam placed into the creation so there should be light in the world.
The Ikkar Is the Purpose of the Words
In other words, if we want to know whether a derashah was good or not, we can’t know this in its immediate aftermath. If you mean to say that the derashah itself was a masterpiece, this indicates Malchus of the nations of the world. They make a big deal about the delivery.
The true measure of a successful derashah is in a year’s time. Then we can analyze whether it has succeeded in bringing the “light of the sun” into the hearts of the listeners. This is how we know whether it was effective.
