So we begin to understand now, just with these few examples, the tragedy of a Jew who remains at the level of mechanical observance, of not utilizing the mitzvos for what they were given. He hangs a mezuzah and he keeps the dinim of Shabbos and kashrus and everything else. And we love him for that; he’s a ben Olam Haba; absolutely! But he's not yet fulfilling the will of Hashem because lifnim mishuras hadin is actually part of the mitzvah. The mitzvah has a purpose that can be fulfilled only if you do beyond the mere line of duty.
And therefore right away, right before the Torah was given, Hakadosh Baruch Hu taught us this function of the Am Yisroel. Because it’s not a minor thing to not go beyond the line of duty. The purpose of the Jewish people is to be a nation of idealists who live with a certain awareness of the mind! It means that the purpose of the Jewish people is to be a nation of lifnim mishuras hadin – a nation of not only ה∆ׂ ֲ̆ﬠַּמַה but also of ןּוׂ ֲ̆ﬠַי ר∆ׁ ֲ̆‡.
