Megillah 15B

בפרוזבוטי. אמר רב פפא: וקרו ליה עבדא דמזדבן בטלמי.

as one with the heritage of a poor man [perozeboti], as Mordecai had been Haman’s slave master and was aware of Haman’s lowly lineage. Rav Pappa said: And he was called: The slave who was sold for a loaf of bread.

״וכל זה איננו שוה לי״⁠ — מלמד שכל גנזיו של אותו רשע חקוקין על לבו, ובשעה שרואה את מרדכי יושב בשער המלך, אמר: כל זה איננו שוה לי.

Haman’s previously quoted statement: “Yet all this avails me nothing” (Esther 5:13), teaches that all the treasures of that wicked one were engraved on his heart, and when he saw Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate, he said: As long as Mordecai is around, all this that I wear on my heart avails me nothing.

ואמר רבי אלעזר אמר רבי חנינא: עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא להיות עטרה בראש כל צדיק וצדיק, שנאמר: ״ביום ההוא יהיה ה׳ צבאות לעטרת צבי [וגו׳]״. מאי ״לעטרת צבי ולצפירת תפארה״⁠ — לעושין צביונו ולמצפין תפארתו. יכול לכל ⁠— תלמוד לומר: ״לשאר עמו״, למי שמשים עצמו כשירים.

And R' Elazar further said that R' Ḥanina said: In the future, God will be a crown on the head of each and every righteous man. As it is stated: “In that day should YHWH of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, to the residue of His people” (Isaiah 28:5). What is the meaning of “for a crown of glory [tzevi], and for a diadem [velitzefirat] of beauty”? A crown for those that do His will [tzivyono] and a diadem for those that await [velamtzapin] His glory. One might have thought that this extends to all such individuals. Therefore, the verse states: “To the residue of his people,” to whoever regards himself as a remainder, i.e., small and unimportant like residue. But whoever holds himself in high esteem will not merit this.

״ולרוח משפט״⁠ — זה הדן את יצרו. ״וליושב על המשפט״⁠ — זה הדן דין אמת לאמתו. ״ולגבורה״⁠ — זה המתגבר על יצרו. ״משיבי מלחמה״⁠ — שנושאין ונותנין במלחמתה של תורה. ״שערה״⁠ — [אלו תלמידי חכמים] שמשכימין ומעריבין בבתי כנסיות ובבתי מדרשות.

Apropos the quotation from Isaiah, the Talmud explains the following verse, which states: “And for a spirit of justice to him that sits in judgment and for strength to them that turn back the battle to the gate” (Isaiah 28:6). “And for a spirit of justice”; this is referring to one who brings his evil inclination to trial and forces himself to repent. “To him that sits in judgment”; this is referring to one who judges an absolutely true judgment. “And for strength”; this is referring to one who triumphs over his evil inclination. “Them that turn back the battle”; this is referring to those that give and take in their discussion of halakha in the battle of understanding the Torah. “To the gate”; this is referring to the Torah scholars who arrive early and stay late at the darkened gates of the synagogues and study halls.