Was Alexander the great really so great?

[music] A Torah Anytime original series. Alexander the Great was once marching with his army. When he came to a narrow bridge that he would need to cross and right at the front of the bridge, there was a Jewish man who was diving. He was lost in his prayer, completely absorbed. The entire army had to wait because of him. And eventually Alexander's general loses patience and screams, "Move. Don't you see the army is coming?" But the man doesn't budge. And the general screams again louder this time. "Move out of the way." Still nothing. Finally, the general yells, "Do you even realize who's in front of you? This is Alexander the Great. He is so great. He conquered the entire world." The old Jewish man who finished his file, he opens his eyes, calm, unshaken, he says, "You might have conquered the entire world, but I don't need to conquer a thing to know that [music] I'm great, cuz my greatness is innate. It's built in. And I don't need the world's approval [music] to prove it." That's right. There is intrinsic greatness in us. That's who the Jewish people are. We're not measured by fame or power or approval. We're not measured by how many people notice us. Our greatness comes from within, from our souls, from our connection to Hashem. The Jewish people have always been the chase, the hunted, the stepped on. It's not despite our greatness, it's because of it. It's because our worth is intrinsic. We don't need to read your magazines or follow your shows or mimic your trends. We don't need to explore your definition of greatness in your museums and galleries because we aren't self-conscious about our greatness because our greatness is innate. Go ahead, show off. conquer lands, establish empires, amass riches. We aren't intimidated. Our greatness was here long before you and will remain long after you. Our greatness isn't going anywhere because our greatness is innate. [music]