ועל פליטת סופריהם

ועל פליטת סופריהם
AND UPON THE ESCAPED (REMNANT) OF THEIR BOOKMEN

These are the Talmidei Chachomim of the generation. They are but a remnant, for in comparison to their numbers in ancient times, like the hundreds of thousands of נביאים who stood twice as many as the people that left Mitzrayim (Megillah 14a), or the 600,000 listeners to the drashos of Yishai the father of David Hamelech (Brachos 58a), today we have only a few.

Furthemore, the יצר הרע, the Evil Inclination, is especially interested in diminishing the numbers of the Talmidei Chachomim – ובתלמידי חכמים יותר מכלם, “The Yetzer Hora puts his eyes upon the Talmidei Chachomim more than anyone else” (Succah 52a). Therefore, the Sages that we possess today are truly an “escaped remnant” which Hashem has especially spared.