In sefer Daniel (Ch. 3) there is a description of the mesirus nefesh of Chananya, Misha’el and Azarya, when Nevuchadnezzar the king of Bavel warned them that if they did not bow down to the golden idol, he would order them cast into a furnace. Despite the warning, Chananya Misha’el and Azarya were firm in their refusal, and indeed, the evil Nevuchadnezzar ordered them to be cast into the fire – but miraculously, they emerged unscathed.
Chazal (Pesachim 53b) relate that a great person named Todous, of Rome, would explained: "What did Chananya, Misha’el and Azaraya see that to make them be moser nefesh al Kiddush Hashem?" Where did they learn that they should be doing this? "They draw a kal v’chomer for themselves form the frogs." When the frogs were ordered to invade the homes of the Egyptians, they jumped unhesitatingly into the burning ovens, even though they are not commanded in the mitzvah of kiddush Hashem. If so, Chananya, Misha’el and Azarya extrapolated a kal v’chomer that they are commanded in the mitzvah of kiddush Hashem so how much more so were they obligated to do this.
Throughout the generations, members of our nation have been moser nefesh on the altar of their faith, without hesitation. The stories of mesirus nefesh are woven into the history of our people throughout the generations. It has been brought down by seforim and sofrim that in the heart of every single Jew, there is a strong power to be able to be moser nefesh for kiddush Hashem.
The source of this strength to be moser nefesh al kiddush Hashem is the emunah peshutah, which supersedes common sense and knowledge. And because the emunah is built into the heart of a person, one piece after another, through the power of answering amen, it is only natural that being moser nefesh is alluded to in amen, as is brought down in the seforim that amen is an acronym for אני .מוסר נפשי
When a person answers amen with kavanah, he declares his faith that Hashem Yisbarach is the "K-l Melech ne’eman" (Shabbos 119b). Through this, he establishes the faith in his conscience, and then, the declaration of "ani moser nafshi" bursts forth from his heart.
Based on this, we can understand what the Semichas Chachamim, whose yahrtzeit falls this Erev Shabbos, says that one who answers amen with kavanah "kadosh yikarei" (Sefer Hatzava’ah 26). When a person answers amen with kavanah and declares his agreement to be moser nefesh al kiddush Hashem, and to fulfill the mitzvah of "Venikdashti besoch Bnei Yisrael" (Vayikra 22:33), he is counted among the tzaddikim who were moser nefesh al kiddush Hashem through the generations, and merited to be described as "kedoshim."
I have no doubt that a person who treats answering amen like a declaration of mesirus nefesh for his faith, will not give it up easily, and will also rise early each day to answer amen after the Birchos Hashachar of another person, with dveikus and dedication.
Good Shabbos
Yaakov Dov Marmurstein
ת.ד 102 בני ברק | פקס : 03-5055919
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