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by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato zt'l
Chapter 22 - The Trait of Humility
with select commentaries
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Abbreviations used in this translation:
SR - Rabbi Yechezkel Sarna (1890–1969) (from hebrewbooks.org/41769)
ER - Rabbi Avraham Erlinger (from hebrewbooks.org/52042) (with author's permission)
SP - Rabbi Yosef Spinner (from hebrewbooks.org/51471) (with author's permission)
CS - Rabbi Moshe Chaim Shalenger (with author's permission)
MB - Mesilas Yesharim im Biruim (with author's permission)
NE - Netiv Eliezer by Rabbi Eliezer Lopian (with author's permission)
NH - Nefesh HaMesilah (with author's permission)
OG - Oros Genuzim by Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Hoffman (with author's permission) download
SO - Shaarei Orah, Vaadim by Rabbi Avigdor Miller (excerpts with book author's permission)
LS - Leket Sichot Mussar by Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Sher (1875–1952) (Vol.2, Kuntras Mesilat Yesharim, with permission of Slabodka Rosh Yeshiva (R.Shmuel Zacks), Bnei Brak. download hebrew original)
- Min - (level 1) for basic commentaries as relating to the plain meaning (Pshat).
- Med - (level 2) elaborates more into the theme.
- Max - (level 3) deeper in, including mystical excerpts from the Orot Genuzim commentary (Sod).
- Max+ - (level 4) more commentaries for those familiar with the text.
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*** CHAPTER 22 - THE TRAIT OF HUMILITY ***פרק 22 - בבאור מדת הענווה וחלקיה
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We already spoke earlier on the disgrace of arrogance, and by inference, we learned on the praiseworthiness of Humility. Let us now explain Humility in a more fundamental manner and arrogance will become clarified by itself. The general matter of Humility is for a person not to attribute importance to himself for any reason whatsoever. This is the exact opposite of arrogance and the effects that result from this are the opposite of those that result from arrogance. |
הנה כבר דברנו למעלה מגנות הגאוה, ומכללה נשמע שבח הענוה, אך עתה נבאר יותר בדרך עיקר הענוה, ותתבאר הגאוה מאליה. הנה כלל הענוה היות האדם בלתי מחשיב עצמו משום טעם שיהיה, וזה הפך הגאוה ממש, והתולדות הנמשכות מזה תהיינה ההפכיות של תולדות הגאוה. |
MB - "the general matter of Humility" - the Ramchal does not state the purpose or benefit of Humility as he does with the other traits in this book. This is because it is a virtue in and of itself, namely, that a person grasps the truth about himself. Therefore it is intrinsically a virtue, not a means or a path to some other purpose. (see also ch.11, where he says arrogance is an inability to recognize the truth)
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When we examine closely, we will find that Humility is dependent both on thought and deed. For at first, a person needs to become humble in his thoughts and only afterwards, can he conduct himself in the ways of the Humble. This is because, if he is not yet humble in his thoughts and he wishes to be humble in his deeds, he will only become as one of the deceitful and evil "humble" men we mentioned earlier (ch.11), who belong to the class of hypocrites, the worst kind of evil men to be found in the world. Let us now explain these divisions. |
וכשנדקדק נמצא שתלויה במחשבה ובמעשה, כי בתחלה צריך שיהיה האדם עניו במחשבתו, ואחר כך יתנהג בדרכי הענוים. כי אם לא יהיה עניו בדעתו וירצה להיות עניו במעשה, לא יהיה אלא מן הענוים המדומים והרעים שזכרנו למעלה, שהם מכלל הצבועים אשר אין בעולם רע מהם. ונבאר עתה החלקים האלה. |
OG - (Kabalistic) on the upper three Sefirot Chachma, Binah, and Daat, the Tikunei Zohar says they are from the aspect of: "the hidden things belong to G-d" (Devarim 29:29). While the lower 7 Sefirot are from the aspect of "but the things revealed belong to us and to our children" (ibid)... This is due to their loftiness in being closer to the Ein Sof, blessed be He. The Zohar compares them to the hidden parts of man, the heart and brain.
In the seven lower sefirot, corresponding to the previous 7 traits, there is great importance also in the physical deeds of a man. For example, the trait of Zeal undoubtedly is about the inner zeal of the soul. But it is proper to first use external zeal of the body to aid in acquiring inner zeal of the soul. However, regarding Humility and likewise for Fear of Sin and Holiness, which receive their influence (hashpa) from the upper 3 Sefirot, the Ramchal states: "at first, a person needs to become humble in his thoughts". And only after he is truly humble in his inner being, can he permit himself to conduct externally in the ways of the humble. Otherwise, there is great danger that he will become one of the deceitful and evil humble, the worst kind of evil men.
One who begins in the trait of Humility in order to enter inside the gate of Holiness, must enter within himself and focus almost solely on his inner being. For since these three traits in the gate of Holiness draw their influence from the 3 highest Sefirot which are extremely concealed from us, therefore for these lofty traits we can almost say that they are the opposite of man's nature.
For every person has [at least] a bit of arrogance. This helps him to worry about himself, to protect his property with strength (Gevura) against bad people, thieves or damagers, and it is clear that such strength is obligatory. A man must worry about his body's health, to guard on the little money he earned rightly, in order to support himself and his household. Therefore, proper humility is very difficult to attain, and if the Holy One, blessed be He, does not help him to acquire the trait of Humility, he does not have the power to attain it by himself. For it is so much against human nature.
The hidden Sefira of Daat (knowledge), is what illuminates on a man, powerful lights to know who is the great and awesome G-d, and on the other hand, it rouses a man to sense the truth, just how much he is limited in ability and possibility relative to the all-capable Holy One, blessed be He. So too, the Sefira of Daat bestows on him Chachma (wisdom) and Binah (understanding) to understand and feel that even if he merited to be full of piety and fear of sin, he is still distant from the holiness of the Ein Sof, blessed be He, like the distance between east and west, and even much more than this. Through this knowledge and understanding, a man merits the trait of Humility...
| Humility in thought is for a person to contemplate and come to realize as truth that he is undeserving of praise and honor, and all the more so [unworthy] of being elevated over his fellow men. This is due to what he lacks and also to what [good] he has actually attained. | הענוה במחשבה, הוא שיתבונן האדם ויתאמת אצלו אשר אין התהלה והכבוד ראויים לו, כל שכן ההתנשא על שאר בני מינו, וזה מפני מה שחסר ממנו בהכרח, וגם מפני מה שכבר יש בידו. |
Ohr Layesharim 2:586 - "all the more so [unworthy] of being elevated over his fellow men" - what is the level of humility that it is so important? The humble man does not (necessarily) lower himself. Rather he elevates and regards important all around him. Thus, automatically he learns from every person and from everything. The arrogant man does not (necessarily) elevate himself. Rather, he lowers all around him to the extent that he has nothing to learn from anyone.
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Due to what he lacks: this is evident, for it is impossible for a man, whatever level of perfection he may have reached, to not have many deficiencies, whether due to his nature, or due to his family and relatives, due to certain events that happened to him, or due to his own deeds. For "there is no righteous man on earth who does good and sins not" (Kohelet 7:20). All these are blemishes on a person which allow him no room whatsoever to become haughty. Even if he has attained many virtues, nevertheless these deficiencies are enough to obscure them. That which most brings a person to pride and arrogance is wisdom. For wisdom is a quality in a man himself, in his most noble faculty, namely, his intellect. But, there is no sage that will not make mistakes and that will not need to learn from the words of his peers, and very often, even from his students. How then can he pride himself on his wisdom? One who possesses a straight intellect, even if he has merited to become a great sage and truly distinguished, when he looks and contemplates, will see that there is no room for haughtiness and pride. For behold, he who possesses high intelligence, who knows more than others, merely does what it is his nature to do. He is like a bird which flies upwards because of its nature, or an ox which pulls with its might because of its nature. So too for he who is wise. This is because his nature brings him to this. But for another person who is currently not as wise as him, if he had possessed natural intelligence like him, would also have become just as wise. Hence, there is no room to elevate and pride oneself in this. |
מפני מה שחסר ממנו: פשוט הוא כי אי אפשר לאדם באיזה מדריגה שיהיה מן השלימות שלא יהיו בו חסרונות רבים, או מצד טבעו או מצד משפחתו וקרוביו או מצד מקרים שקרו לו, או מצד מעשיו שאדם אין צדיק בארץ אשר יעשה טוב ולא יחטא (קהלת ז:כ), הן כל אלה מומים באדם שאין מניחים לו מקום התנשאות כלל, אפילו יהיה בעל מעלות רבות, כי כבר עניני החסרונות האלה יספיקו להחשיכם. הנה החכמה היא המביאה יותר את האדם לידי התנשאות וגאוה, לפי שכבר היא מעלה שבאדם עצמו בחלק הנכבד שלו, דהיינו השכל. והנה אין לך חכם שלא יטעה, ושלא יצטרך ללמוד מדברי חביריו, ופעמים רבות אפילו מדברי תלמידיו, אם כן איפוא איך יתנשא בחכמתו? ואמנם מי שהוא בעל שכל ישר, אפילו אם זכה להיות חכם גדול ומופלג, באמת כשיסתכל ויתבונן יראה שאין מקום לגאוה וההתנשאות, כי הנה מי שהוא בעל שכל שידע יותר מהאחרים, אינו עושה אלא שבחק טבעו לעשות, כעוף שמגביה לעוף לפי שטבעו בכך, השור מושך בכחו לפי שחוקו הוא כן מי שהוא חכם הוא לפי שטבעו מביאו לזה, ואילו אותו שעכשיו אינו חכם כמוהו היה לו שכל טבעי כמוהו היה מתחכם כמו שנתחכם הוא, א"כ אין כאן להתנשא ולהתגאות. |
CS - "bird..ox" - it seems Rabeinu brought these two examples to illustrate both a qualitative and a quantitative superiority. The bird has a qualitative superiority over man who is unable to fly, while the ox has a quantitative superiority over man regarding its ability to pull with greater force.
ER - in the Ramban's letter: "With what is there for a person to be proud? if one glorifies himself because of his wisdom: 'G-d removes the speech of the faithful and takes away the wisdom of the elders" (Job 12:20), i.e. the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him his wisdom and if He wishes, removes it. Thus one has no reason to be proud.
| Rather, if he possess great wisdom, behold, he is under duty to teach it to those in need of it, similar to the statement of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai: "if you learned much Torah, do not take credit for yourself since for this you were created!" (Avot 2:8). | אלא אם יש בו חכמה רבה הוא מחויב ללמדה למי שצריך אליה, וכמאמר ריב"ז (אבות ב:ט): אם למדת תורה הרבה אל תחזיק טובה לעצמך כי לכך נוצרת. |
ER - "duty to teach" - when a person is asked to teach Torah, then he tries to escape with claims of humility that he is not so wise. But regarding this, it is proper for him to recognize his wisdom because of his duty to teach.
| If he is wealthy, he may rejoice in his lot, but it is incumbent upon him to help those who do not have. If he is strong, he must help those who are weak and rescue the oppressed. | אם עשיר הוא ישמח בחלקו, ועליו הוא לעזור למי שאין לו, אם גבור הוא לעזור לכושלים ולהציל לעשוקים. |
CS - these three qualities which cause a man to pride himself are taken from the words of the prophet: "Thus says the L-ord: 'Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the rich man in his riches...'" (Yirmiyahu 9:22).
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To what is this similar? To servants in a household where each one is charged with a matter and it is incumbent on each to stand on his appointed position to uphold the affairs and needs of the house. In truth, there is no place for pride here. Behold, this is the type of examination and contemplation proper for every person whose intellect is straight and not perverse. When this will become clear to him, he may be called a truly humble person, for he is humble in his heart and inner being. This is as David said to Michal: "I was lowly in my own eyes" (Shmuel II 6:22). Our sages, of blessed memory, said (Sotah 5b): "Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Come and see how great are the lowly of spirit, for when the Temple stood, a man brought a burnt-offering and earned the reward of a burnt-offering, a flour-offering and he earned the reward of a flour-offering; but as for him whose mind is lowly, Scripture ascribes it to him as though he had offered every one of the sacrifices; as it is said (Tehilim 51:19): 'The sacrifices of G-d are a broken spirit'." Behold, this is a praise of the lowly of spirit, who are humble in heart and in thought. |
הא למה זה דומה למשרתי הבית, שכל אחד ממונה על דבר מה, וראוי לו לעמוד במשמרתו לפי פקודתו, להשלים מלאכת הבית וצרכיה, ואין בכאן מקום לגאוה לפי האמת. והנה זה העיון והתבוננות הראוי לכל איש אשר שכלו ישר ולא מתעקש, וכשיתברר זה אצלו, אז יקרא עניו אמתי שבלבו ובקרבו הוא עניו, והוא כענין דוד שאמר למיכל (שמואל ב' ז:כב): והייתי שפל בעיני. ואז"ל (סוטה ה ב): כמה גדולים נמוכי הרוח, שבזמן שבית המקדש קיים אדם מקריב עולה שכר עולה בידו, מנחה שכר מנחה בידו, אבל מי שדעתו שפלה עליו מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו הקריב כל הקרבנות כולם, שנאמר (תהלים נא:יט): "זבחי אלהים רוח נשברה", הרי זה שבח של נמוכי הרוח שהם ענוים בלבם ומחשבתם. |
ER - "offered every one of the sacrifices" - according to the Vilna Gaon on Mishlei 21:27, the primary purpose of sacrifices is for a man to break his arrogance and haughtiness and repent to G-d of his evil deeds. According to this, he who attains this virtue in himself is considered as if he brought a sacrifice. And according to the Maharal (Netivot Olam, netiv anava ch.1), offerings are only to make known that G-d is everything and there is nothing besides Him. And when a person's spirit is broken within himself, it is as if he brought all the offerings, which come to teach that all that exists is nothing besides Him.
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They further said (Chulin 89a): " 'It was not because you were greater than any people that the L-ord desired in you and chose you' (Devarim 7:7) - the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, 'My sons, I desire you because even when I bestow greatness upon you, you humble yourselves before Me. I bestowed greatness upon Avraham, yet he said to Me, 'I am but dust and ashes' (Gen.18:27); Upon Moses and Aharon, yet they said: 'And we are nothing' (Ex.16:7); upon David, yet he said: 'I am but a worm and no man' (Tehilim 22:7)" All this because the man possessing a just heart does not allow himself to become seduced by any virtue which he comes to. This is due to truly knowing that because of this virtue, he does not emerge out of his lowliness, due to other defects inevitably within him. And furthermore, even in those mitzvot themselves which he attained, he certainly has not arrived at their ultimate goal. |
וכן אמרו עוד (חולין פ"ט א): "לא מרובכם מכל העמים" (דברים ז:ז) אמר להם הקב"ה: בני, אני חושק בכם שאפילו כשאני משפיע לכם גדולה אתם ממעטין עצמכם לפני, נתתי גדולה לאברהם אמר ואנכי עפר ואפר (בראשית יח:כז), נתתי גדולה למשה ואהרן אמרו ונחנו מה (שמות טז:ז), נתתי גדולה לדוד אמר ואנכי תולעת ולא איש (תהילים כב:ז). כל זה ממה שאין הלב הישר מניח עצמו להתפתות משום מעלה אשר יבואהו בידעו באמת שכבר לא מפני זה יוצא מידי שפלותו, מצד החסרונות האחרות שאי אפשר שלא יהיו בו. ועוד שאפילו באותם המצות עצמם שהשיג לא הגיע ודאי לתכלית האחרון. |
CS - "a just heart does not allow himself to become seduced" - Rabeinu's words implies that humility is natural in a man possessing a straight heart.
| Furthermore still, even if he had no other deficiency than of being flesh and blood, born of woman, this would be more than enough of a lowliness and inferiority, so that he will not find it at all befitting to pride himself. For any virtue he attains is nothing but a kindness of G-d on him, who wants to favor him (to give him a free gift - CS) despite that by his nature and physicality, he is extremely lowly and insignificant. Therefore, he must only thank He who is so gracious towards him and always humble himself more and more. | ועוד אפילו לא יהיה בו חסרון אחר, אלא היותו בשר ודם ילוד אשה, די לו זה והותר לפחיתות וגריעות, עד שלא יאות לו ההנשא כלל, כי הרי כל מעלה שהוא משיג, אינו אלא חסד אל עליו, שרוצה לחון אותו עם היותו מצד טבעו וחומריותו שפל ונבזה עד מאד, על כן אין לו אלא להודות למי שחננו וליכנע תמיד יותר. |
SP - "born of woman" - not that being born of woman obscures his virtues, rather since he is of flesh and blood, born of woman, this is cause for him to realize that the virtues he has are only a kindness of G-d (i.e. he is a created being), and therefore automatically: "any virtue he attains is nothing but a kindness of G-d..."
| To what is this analogous? To a destitute pauper who receives gifts as a kindliness and cannot help not feeling shame. The more kindness he receives, the more shame he feels. So too is this matter analogous for every man whose eyes are opened. He will view himself in the same way when he attains virtues from G-d, blessed be He. This is as king David said: "what shall I repay G-d for all His kindliness to me?" (Tehilim 116:12). | הא למה זה דומה לעני ואביון שמקבל מתנה בחסד שאי אפשר לו שלא יבוש, כי כל מה שירבה החסד שיקבל, כך ירבה הבושת שיבוש כן הדבר הזה בכל אדם שעיניו פקוחות לראות את עצמו בהיותו משיג מעלות טובות מאת השם יתברך, וכענין שאמר דוד המלך (תהלים קטז:יב): "מה אשיב לה' כל תגמולוהי עלי". |
CS - "what shall I repay G-d for all His kindliness to me?" - do I have any ability to repay G-d for all the good He has bestowed on me?
Ohr Yahel vol.3 pg.22 - he whose heart is whole and his understanding eye is open will see all matters of this world as they truly are. In whatever he receives during his stay in this world, he knows and recognizes that he does not have the power to take anything unless it is given to him. He recognizes and knows that this world is not his. He recognizes and knows his puny worth and recognizes and knows the lofty greatness of his Creator - the Creator of the Universe, that everything is from His hand. On the bit of water and piece of bread, he blesses out loud the Giver of his bread and water...
Alei Shur - the Ramban writes in his letter: "whoever becomes proud is rebelling against the majesty of G-d, because he is adorning himself with G-d's garment, as it is written 'G-d reigns, He attires Himself with pride'". Thus only to the Creator does pride apply. A created being is unable to be proud, for all that he possesses is received. He has nothing of his own. This is the fundamental sin of man - that which he wants to forget his createdness. The moment he forgets his createdness, whether through feeling his self (yeshut) or through attributing importance to his deeds, at this moment he makes himself into an idol... Thus arrogance is forgetting one's createdness. Only a believer has the ability to not be arrogant. A non-believer perforce contains haughtiness for he does not recognize his createdness (i.e. that he owes He who created him) ....
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We have already learned about some men of great piety who, despite all of their piety, were punished for attributing credit to themselves. On Nechemia ben Chachalya our sages, of blessed memory, said: "why was his book not called by his name? Because he claimed credit for himself" (Sanhedrin 93b). Likewise Chizkiyahu said: "to peace it is bitterness for me" (Isaiah 38:17) since the Holy One, blessed be He, answered him: "I will defend this city to save it, for My sake and for the sake of My servant David" (Isaiah 37:35). This is as the statement of our sages: "whoever makes his request depend on his own merit, is shown that it was dependent on the merit of others" (Berachot 10b). This demonstrates that a person should not even take credit on his good deeds. How much more so, should he not feel proud and haughty for them. However, all this is what is proper to set in one's heart for he who would be like Avraham, like Moshe, like Aharon, like David, and the other Chasidim we have mentioned. But as for us who are orphans of orphans, we do not need all of this, for we have such an abundance of deficiencies. One does not need a great examination to see our lowliness and to realize that all of our wisdom is considered as nothing. For the greatest sage among us is no greater than one of the disciples of the disciples of the early generations. It is proper for us to truly understand and know this, so that our hearts should not become proud for nothing. Rather, we must realize that our understanding and intellect is extremely weak. Foolishness is strong by us and error is prevalent. What knowledge we possess is but a tiny bit of a tiny bit. Hence, certainly it is not proper for us to pride ourselves in the least but rather to feel shame and lowliness. This is obvious. |
וכבר ראינו חסידים גדולים שנענשו על שהחזיקו טובה לעצמם עם כל חסידותם: נחמיה בן חכליה אמרו ז"ל (סנהדרין צ"ג ב): מפני מה לא נקרא ספרו על שמו? מפני שהחזיק טובה לעצמו. וכן חזקיה אמר (ישעיה לח:יז): הנה לשלום מר לי מר, לפי שענהו הקב"ה וגנותי על העיר הזאת להושיעה למעני ולמען דוד עבדי, וכמאמרם ז"ל (ברכות י): כל התולה בזכות עצמו תולין לו בזכות אחרים. הרי לך שאין לאדם אפילו להחזיק טובה לעצמו על טובותיו, וכל שכן שלא יתנשא ויגבה בהם. ואמנם כל זה הוא ממה שראוי להשיב על לבו מי שיהיה כאברהם, כמשה, כאהרן, כדוד, ושאר החסידים שזכרנו, אבל אנחנו יתומי יתומים, אין אנו צריכים לכל זה, כי כבר יש ויש אתנו חסרונות רבות שאין צריך עיון גדול לראות פחיתותנו וכל חכמתנו כאין נחשבת. כי היותר חכם גדול שבינינו אינו כי אם מן תלמידי התלמידים אשר בדורות הראשונים. וזה מה שראוי שנבין ונדע באמת, ולא יזוח עלינו לבנו חנם, אלא נכיר שדעתנו קלה ושכלנו חלש עד מאד, הסכלות רב בנו והטעות גוברת, ואשר נדע אותו אינו אלא מעט מן המעט, אם כן ודאי שאין ראוי לנו ההנשא כלל אלא הבושת והשפלות וזה פשוט. |
Daat Chachma U'Mussar 1:300 - "orphans of orphans" - when we contemplate the level of the early generations of which our sages said (Eruvin 53):
Rabbi Yochanan said: "the hearts of the ancients were like the door of the Ulam (20 cubits wide), that of the last generations was like the door of the Hekal (10 cubits wide), but ours is like the eye of a fine needle". Abaye said: "we are like a peg in the wall in respect of Gemara". Rava said: "we are like a finger in wax as regards logical argument".
A "finger in wax", i.e. it merely scrapes off a little bit of dust from the wall, and from this dust came Abaye and Rava. From here, we can already get a glimpse for what is this "door of the Ulam", and we can awaken to recognize what was the colossal level of the early generations, of the Tannaim and the men of the great assembly, etc. until Moshe Rabeinu, and even so their lofty level is only the level of the Adam Hashalem.
We should not wonder why we emphasize so much the greatness of man. For our sages, of blessed memory, said: "precious is man, for he was created in the image of G-d" (Pirkei Avot 3), and we explained earlier that the "image of G-d" is the connection the Creator has with man, for the "image" is the supernal chariot (merkava elyona). Thus a man by himself is already boundless.
Let us now contemplate the descent of the generations regarding the low level of wisdom and other lofty virtues, until by us, wisdom has been lost completely. With what words can we describe our level when at the time of Abaye and Rava, our sages of blessed memory already said: "like a finger in wax".
The Vilna Gaon said on his level "maybe like the Ramban", thus he was countless levels below "a finger in wax", yet in our eyes, he was like an angel of G-d. Likewise for the later generations, do we not see the tremendous descent from day to day? Rabbi Yisrael Salanter testified on his generation that he does not suspect any Rabbi (moreh horah) to rule Halacha without knowing a source in the Talmud. It is known that his teacher, Rabbi Hirsh of Salant, would derive all his rulings from the words of Tosfot. Our generation has come to the point that despite all the books, despite the Mishna Berura, we don't know halacha properly. If so, what is our level relative to the level of "Adam Hashalem", whereby Abaye and Rava did not see themselves as being on the level of man, just "like a finger in wax"?
If so, our level is not even a tiny remembrance of the level of man. When we compare further and look at man at the beginning of his creation and we contemplate the level of man before the sin, and the descent level after level until he comes to the present level after nearly 6000 years, behold, we will get a tangible feel for just how much destruction comes due to sin...
All this was the destruction we notice from the spiritual. The destruction wreaked on the physical also sticks out no less. Our sages said:
"from the day the temple was destroyed.. the flavor has departed from fruits.. the fatness was removed from the fruits" (Sotah 48a).
And "the grains of wheat came up as large as kidneys and the grains of barley like the stones of olives.. and they stored specimens of them for future generations in order to make known unto them the effects of sin" (Tanit 23a).
Who cannot see what sin does. How sin has corrupted and filled the whole world, knocking out the light of the world, from inanimate objects and plants, to animals and humans. There is nothing which has not been struck by sin. The entire creation has been destroyed from its very foundation.
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HUMILITY OF DEED We have spoken until now on Humility of thought. We will now speak on Humility of deed. This area divides into four parts: conducting oneself in lowliness, bearing insults, hating Rabbanut (authority over others) and fleeing honor, and granting honor to everyone. Conducting oneself in lowliness: it is proper for this to be in one's speaking, walking, sitting and all of one's movements. In one's speaking: our sages, of blessed memory, said: "one should always speak with other people in a gentle manner" (Yomah 86a). This is stated explicitly in scripture: "the words of the wise are heeded [when spoken] gently" (Kohelet 9:17). One's words should be of honoring [others] not of belittling them. Likewise scripture says: "he who belittles his fellow lacks sense" (Mishlei 11:12), and "when the wicked comes, there also comes contempt" (Mishlei 18:3). |
והנה דברנו עד הנה מענוות המחשבה, ונדבר עתה מענוות המעשה, והיא תתחלק לד' חלקים: בהתנהג עצמו בשפלות, בסבול העלבונות, בשנוא הרבנות ובורח מן הכבוד, בחלוק כבוד לכל. האחד הוא בהתנהג בשפלות וזה ראוי שיהיה בדבורו, בהליכתו, בשבתו ובכל תנועותיו. בדבורו, אז"ל (יומא פ"ו א): לעולם יהיה דבורו של אדם בנחת עם הבריות, ומקרא מלא הוא (קהלת ט:יז): דברי חכמים בנחת נשמעים, צריך שיהיו דבריו דברי כבוד ולא דברי בזיון, וכה"א (משלי יא:יב): "בז לרעהו חסר לב", ואומר (משלי יח:ג): "בבוא רשע בא גם בוז". |
CS - "gentle manner" - without raising one's voice and without harsh words.
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In one's walking: Our sages, of blessed memory, said: "They sent word from Israel, Who is destined for the world to come? He who is meek, humble, stooping on entering and on going out.." (Sanhedrin 88b). One must not walk in an overly erect posture nor with excessive heaviness, heel to toe, rather as one going to his occupations. Likewise our sages, of blessed memory, said: "If one walks with an overly erect posture even for four cubits, it is as if he pushes against the feet of the Divine Presence" (Berachot 43b), and it is written: "and those of lofty height will be cut down" (Isaiah 10:33). |
בהליכתו, אמרו ז"ל (סנהדרין סח ב): שלחו מתם איזהו בן עולם הבא ענותן ושפל ברך שייף עייל שייף נפיק.
ולא ילך בקומה זקופה, ולא בכבדות גדול עקב בצד גודל, אלא כדרך כל הולך לעסקיו, וכן אז"ל (קידושין לא א): כל ההולך בקומה זקופה כאילו דוחק רגלי השכינה, וכתיב (ישעיה י:לג): ורמי הקומה גדועים. |
MB - "rather as one going to his occupations" - this clarifies the root of the matter: one who walks in an overly erect posture or with heaviness is as if there is nothing in the world pushing him and he is free of every yoke. The opposite is to walk like a man who has an occupation and responsibilities and is not at all free. This explains why he pushes against the feet of the Shechina because it is like a declaration that he has no one to submit to in the world as one pushing against the revelation of G-d's presence (gilui k'vodo) from the world, which is termed here the "feet of the Shechina").
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In one's sitting: that one's place be among the lowly and not among the prominent. This is likewise stated explicitly in scripture: "Do not glorify yourself before a king, and do not stand in the place of great men; for it is better that he say to you, 'Come up here', than to humble you before a prince.." (Mishlei 25:6-7). Likewise our sages of blessed memory said: "distance two or three places from your [proper] place and sit until you are told 'come forward!', rather than to go up until they tell you 'move back!'" (Vayikra Raba 1:5). Regarding those who diminish themselves, our sages of blessed memory, said: "whoever diminishes himself for the sake of Torah in this world is made great in the World to Come" (Bava Metzia 85b). And corresponding to this they said (Yalkut Shimoni Yechezkel 361): " '[So said the L-ord G-d:] I shall remove the turban and lift off the crown.. [the humble will be uplifted, and the high will be humbled]' (Yechezkel 21:31) - whoever is great in this world will be small in the World to Come". We also learn the opposite: if one is small in this world, his time of greatness will be in the World to Come. And our sages of blessed memory said: "Man should always learn from the wisdom of his Creator; for behold, the Holy One, blessed be He, ignored all the mountains and heights and caused His Shechinah to abide upon Mount Sinai" (Sotah 5a). This was because of Mount Sinai's lowliness. Likewise they said: " 'for the remnant of His inheritance' (Michah 7:18) - for him who makes himself a mere remnant" (Rosh Hashana 17b). |
בשבתו, שיהא מקומו בין השפלים, ולא בין הרמים, והוא גם כן מקרא מלא (משלי כה:ו): "אל תתהדר לפני מלך ובמקום גדולים אל תעמוד וגו'", וכן אז"ל (בויקרא רבה פ"א): הרחק ממקומך ב' וג' מקומות ושב עד שיאמרו לך עלה ואל תעלה שיאמרו לך רד. ועל כל המקטין עצמו אז"ל (ב"מ פ"ה ב): כל מי שמקטין עצמו על דברי תורה בעולם הזה נעשה גדול לעולם הבא. וכנגד זה אמרו (יל"ש יחזקאל שסא): "הסר המצנפת והרם העטרה" (יחזקאל כא:לא) כל מי שהוא גדול בעולם הזה קטן בעולם הבא, ומינה להפך מי שהוא קטן בעולם הזה זמן גדולתו לעולם הבא. ואמרו (סוטה ה א): לעולם ילמד אדם מדעת קונו, שהרי הניח הקב"ה כל הרים וגבעות והשרה שכינתו על הר סיני וזה מפני שפלותו. וכן אמרו (ר"ה י"ז א): "לשארית נחלתו" (מיכה ז:יח) למי שמשים עצמו כשירים. |
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BEARING INSULTS The second division of humility is in bearing insults. Behold, our sages, of blessed memory, explicitly said: "Who is forgiven iniquity? He who overlooks transgression" (Rosh Hashana 17b). They further said (Shabbat 88b): "Those who are insulted but do not insult back, hear themselves insulted but do not answer back... of them scripture says: 'But they who love Him shall be as the sun when it goes forth in its might' (Shoftim 5:31) ". Our sages told us about the great humility of Bava ben Buta saying: "A certain Babylonian went up to Israel and took a wife [there]. 'Cook for me two hooves', he requested, [misunderstanding his language] she boiled him two lentils, which made him angry. The next day he said, 'Boil me a lot', so she boiled him a huge amount. 'Go and bring me two small pumpkins'; so she went and brought him two candles. 'Go and break them on the head of the Baba (threshold)... So she went and broke them on the head of Baba ben Buta. He said to her, 'What is the meaning of what you have done?' - She replied, 'Thus my husband commanded me.' He said to her: 'You have fulfilled your husband's will, may the Almighty grant you two sons like Baba ben Buta" (Nedarim 66b). Our sages told us about the great humility of Hillel saying: "Our Rabbis taught: A man should always be humble like Hillel..." (Shabbat 30b). Rabbi Abahu, despite his great humility, found that he had not yet reached the point where he may be fittingly called a humble person, as our sages told: "Rabbi Abahu said: At first I used to think that I was humble; but when I saw R. Abba of Akko offer one explanation and his interpreter offer another [to the audience] and he was not bothered, I considered that I was not humble" (Sotah 40a). |
החלק הב' הוא סבילת העלבונות, והנה בפירוש אמרו ז"ל (ר"ה י"ז א): למי נושא עון למי שעובר על פשע. ואמרו עוד (שבת פ"ח ב): הנעלבים ואינם עולבים שומעים חרפתם ואינם משיבים עליהם הכתוב אומר ואוהביו כצאת השמש בגבורתתו (שופטים ה:לא). וספרו מגודל ענוותו של בבא בן בוטא ז"ל (נדרים ס"ו ב): ההוא בר בבל דסליק לא"י נסיב אתתא, א"ל בשילי לי וכו' עד זיל תברי יתהון על רישא דבבא הוה יתיב בבא בן בוטא ודאין דינא, אזלת ותברת יתהון על רישיה, א"ל מה הדין דעבדת? א"ל כך צוני בעלי, אמר עשית רצון בעלך, המקום יוציא ממך שני בנים כבבא בן בוטא. והלל כמו כן ספרו מרוב ענותנותו (שבת ל ב): זה לשונם: ת"ר לעולם יהא אדם ענותן כהלל וכו'. ור' אבהו אחרי רוב ענותו מצא שעדיין לא הגיע להיות ראוי לקרא עניו, זה לשונו (סוטה מ' א): א"ר אבהו מריש הוה אמינא ענותנא אנא, כיון דחזינא לר' אבא דעכו דאמר איהו חד טעמא ואמר אמוריה חד טעמא ולא קפיד, אמינא לאו ענותנא אנא. |
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HATING RABBANUT Hating Rabbanut (authority over others) and fleeing from honor: This is an explicit Mishna (Avot 1:10): "love work, hate Rabbanut". They further said: "One whose heart is frivolous in handing down rulings is a fool, wicked and arrogant" (Avot 4:7), and "whoever chases after honor, honor flees from him" (Eruvin 13b), and " 'Do not go out quickly to quarrel (Riv)' (Mishlei 25:8) - do not run after rulership (i.e. do not go out quickly to be a Rav, the word 'Riv' hinting to 'Rav' - SR), Why not? [the verse continues:] 'for what will you do in the end' (ibid), the next day people will put questions to you, and what will you answer them?" (Pesikta Rabati 22:4); Also there "Rabbi Menachem in the name of Rabbi Tanchum: 'whoever takes on himself a position of authority in order to derive benefit from it, is like an adulterer who derives pleasure from the body of a woman". |
שנאת הרבנות ובריחת הכבוד, משנה ערוכה היא (אבות א:י): אהוב את המלאכה ושנא את הרבנות, ואמרו עוד: הגס לבו בהוראה שוטה רשע וגס רוח, ואמרו (כעין זה עירובין י"ג ב): כל הרודף אחר הכבוד בורח ממנו, ואמרו עוד (פסיקתא רבתי): אל תצא לריב מהר, (משלי כח:ח) לעולם אל תהי רץ אחר השררה למה פן מה תעשה באחריתה, למחר באים ושואלים לך שאלות מה אתה משיבם. עוד שם רבי מנחמא בשם רבי תנחום כל המקבל עליו שררה כדי ליהנות ממנה אינו אלא כנואף הזה שהוא נהנה מגופה של אשה. |
CS - "body of a woman" - which is not pertinent (shayich) to him. So too, rulership which is for the benefit of the ruler is not pertinent (shayich) to him, since it must be for the benefit of the congregation.
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Also there "I (G-d) am called 'holy', thus if you do not possess all of My traits, do not accept a position of rulership upon yourself!". The disciples of Raban Gamliel demonstrate this, for they were in financial need due to poverty and nevertheless did not want to accept a position of rulership. This is what was stated in the chapter "Kohen Mashuach": (Horayot 10a): "Do you imagine that I offer you rulership? It is servitude that I offer you!". |
עוד שם א"ר אבהו אני נקראתי קדוש (רצה לומר הקב"ה), הא אם אין בך כל המדות הללו שיש בי, לא תקבל עליך שררה. ותלמידי ר"י יוכיחו, שהיו מוצרכים מפני עניותם ולא רצו לקבל עליהם שררה, הוא מה שאמרו ז"ל (הוריות י א): כמדומין ששררות אני נותן להם וכו'. |
Meam Loez Avot 40 - "if you do not possess all of My traits, do not accept a position of authority upon yourself!" - for the Rav is like the army general in a time of war. If a simple soldier makes an error, the matter hurts himself alone. But if the general of the army makes a mistake, he causes calamities to the entire army. Therefore the responsibility on the Rav is exceedingly great, and if he errs, he is punished for all of them.
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They further said: "Woe to rulership for it buries (slays) its possessor" (Pesachim 87b). From where do we learn this? From Yosef, for because he conducted himself in rulership, he died before his brothers (Berachot 55a). The general principle in the matter: Rabbanut is nothing but a heavy burden on the shoulders of its bearer. For as long as a man is sitting alone in his house, merely a part of humanity, he is held accountable only for himself. But once he assumes a position of Rabbanut and dominion, already he is held accountable for every person under his authority. Because it is incumbent on him to watch over all of them, pasture them with knowledge and understanding, and straighten their deeds. If he does not do so, our sages declared - "their sins are inscribed on your head" (Midrash Devarim Rabba 1:13). |
ואמרו עוד (פסחים פז ב): אוי לה לרבנות שמקברת את בעליה, ומנלן מיוסף שמפני שהנהיג עצמו ברבנות מת קודם אחיו (ברכות נה א). כללו של דבר אין הרבנות אלא משא גדול אשר על שכם הנושא אותו, כי עד שהאדם יחיד ויושב בתוך עמו מובלע בין האנשים אינו נתפס אלא על עצמו, כיון שנתעלה לרבנות ושררה כבר הוא נתפס על כל מי שתחת ידו וממשלתו, כי עליו להשקיף על כולם ולרעות אותם דעה והשכל ולהישיר מעשיהם. ואם לאו, ואשמם בראשיכם כתיב (דברים א:יג) - (דברים רבה א:י) |
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HONOR Honor is nothing but vanity of vanities. It forces a person to act against his will and against the will of his Maker, and to forget all of his duties. He who recognizes it will certainly abhor and hate honor. The praises which other people call him will be a burden on him. For when he sees them heaping praises on what he in truth does not possess, he only feels embarrassment, sighing not only on the evil that he lacks these virtues, but also in that they burden on him false praises in order to humiliate him even more. |
והכבוד אינו אלא הבל הבלים המעביר את האדם על דעתו ועל דעת קונו ומשכחו כל חובתו, ומי שמכירו ודאי שימאס בו וישנאו, והתהלות אשר יהללוהו בני האדם יהיו עליו לטורח, כי בראותו אותם מגדילים הלוליהם על אשר אינו בו באמת אינו אלא מתבושש ומתאנח על שלא די לו רעתו שחסרות ממנו המעלות ההם, אלא שיעמיסו עליו תהלות שקר, למען יכלם יותר. |
MB - it seems the primary matter of fleeing from honor and praise is because one does not see himself worthy of this. that which he explains various other consequences is to emphasize the evil in honor and praise.
MB - "against his will" - in order to attain honor, he will do things he does not want to do.
"against the will of his Maker" - he does not do as G-d's will when it conflicts with his honor.
MB - "leading him to forget all of his obligations" - this is an additional level. For one who goes "against the will of his Maker" at least has another authority over himself that obligates him, only that he does not submit to it (when it conflicts with his honor), whereas in this level he forgets all of his obligations.
The reason seems to be that a situation of "obligation" necessitates a degree of submission towards he who obligates him. Thus one who pursues honor is unable to be in a situation of obligation.
MB - "humiliating him even more" - since each praise highlights to him anew his true deficient state.
Beit Yechezkel 208 - it is told about the "Tzemach Tzedek" that once he traveled to a town with his son in order to strengthen the community and was received by everyone there with great honor. After they returned, his son proudly told his mother how they merited great honor. But his righteous father bitterly complained: "how come you did not notice my great pain?" He explained himself as follows. One time the king traveled wearing plain clothing with one of his ministers. The countrymen did not recognize the king who appeared like a simple person, but they greatly honored the minister. However the minister was unable to enjoy or receive this honor due to knowing and seeing himself in the presence of the king while everyone was not giving him due respect. So too here, when the Tzadik is busy in his thoughts on how to increase the honor and glory to the King of Honor, and during this time, the king conceals Himself greatly, how could he possibly enjoy honor granted to him?
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HONORING OTHERS The fourth division is granting honor to every person. Likewise we learned "who is honorable? He who honors the public" (Avot 4:1). They further said: "from where do we know that a person who knows that his fellow is greater than himself in even one respect must show him honor?..." (Pesachim 113b). We also learned: " 'be first to greet every man' (Avot 4:15) - our sages reported of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai that no man ever preceded greeting him, not even a gentile in the marketplace" (Berachot 17a). One is under duty to grant honor to his fellow men, whether in speech or in deed. Our sages, of blessed memory, already told us about the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva who died because they did not grant honor to each other (Yevamot 62b). Just as contempt is associated with the wicked, as in the verse we mentioned earlier "When a wicked man comes, there also comes contempt" (Mishlei 18:3), so is honor associated with the righteous. For honor resides with them and does not separate from them, and it is written: "and before his elders there is honor" (Isaiah 24:23). |
החלק הד' הוא חילוק הכבוד לכל אדם, וכן שנינו (אבות ד:א): איזהו מכובד המכבד את הבריות, ואמרו עוד (פסחים קיג ב): מנין היודע בחבירו שהוא גדול ממנו אפילו דבר אחד שחייב לנהוג בו כבוד וכו'. ועוד שנינו (אבות ד:טו): הוי מקדים בשלום כל אדם, ואמרו עליו על ר' יוחנן בן זכאי שלא הקדים לו אדם שלום מעולם ואפילו גוי בשוק. (ברכות יז א). ובין בדיבור ובין במעשים חייב לנהוג כבוד בחבריו, וכבר ספרו ז"ל (יבמות ס"ב ב): מכ"ד אלף תלמידי ר"ע שמתו על שלא היו נוהגין כבוד זה לזה. וכמו שהבזיון הוא דבר מתיחס אל הרשעים, כדבר הכתוב שזכרנו, בבוא רשע בא גם בוז, (משלי יח:ג) כי הכבוד מתיחס אל הצדיקים, כי הכבוד שוכן עמהם ואינו מתפרש מהם, ואומר (ישעיה כד:כג): ונגד זקניו כבוד. |
CS - "before his elders there is honor" - the elders which go in G-d's ways, the honor they grant to others is before them, namely, this honor they owe to others is always before their faces. (the other commentaries there (in Isaiah) explain the verse to mean the elders of Israel will merit honor.)
"When a wicked man comes, there also comes contempt" - for it is the way of the wicked to hold others in contempt (Metzudot commentary).
NE - "granting honor to every person" - that one strives to find a good point in every person to honor him by, as the Ramban wrote in his letter. Many times we wondered how Rabeinu (Lopian) would honor every person. Even simple people and children felt joy in receiving honor from such an honorable person.
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We have explained the main divisions of humility. Their particulars are like all other such matters which expand and branch out depending on the times, places, and circumstances - "let the wise man hear and increase understanding" (Mishlei 1:5). There is no doubt that humility removes many stumbling blocks from a man's path and draws him near to many good things. For the humble person will be little concerned with worldly matters and not envy its vanities. Furthermore, the company of a humble person is extremely pleasant and the public derives pleasure from him. Perforce he will not come to anger and disputes. Rather he does everything quietly and tranquilly. Fortunate is he who has merited this trait. Our sages, of blessed memory, already said: "that which wisdom made a crown on its head, humility made as the heel of its sandal" (Yerushalmi Shabbat 1:3), for all wisdom cannot compare to it. This is clear. |
והרי נתבארו חלקי הענוה הראשיים ופרטיהם בכל פרטי המינים המתרחבים והולכים לפי הנושאים, ולפי העתים והמקומות, ישמע חכם ויוסיף לקח (משלי א:ה). והנה זה ודאי שהענוה מסירה מדרך האדם מכשולות רבים ומקרבת אותו אל טובות רבות, כי העניו יחוש מעט על דברי העולם ולא יקנא בהבליו, ועוד שחברת העניו נאה עד מאד ורוח הבריות נוחה הימנו בהכרח, לא יבוא לידי כעס ולא לידי מריבה אלא הכל בהשקט, הכל במנוחה. אשרי מי שזוכה למדה זו, וכבר אמרו (ירושלמי שבת א:ג): מה שעשתה חכמה עטרה לראשה עשתה ענוה עקב לסוליתה, כי כל החכמה כולה לא יערכנה, וזה ברור. |
NE - "that which wisdom made a crown on its head, humility made as the heel of its sandal" - for through wisdom it is possible to become wise and reach lofty levels, but all this is not comparable to what is possible to attain through good character traits, especially humility, which elevates a person's whole being.
NE - "for all wisdom cannot compare to it" - for wisdom has no worth unless it is found in a humble person. And in the Vikuach, Rabeinu adds: "this is something intellect and reason forces, and one cannot escape from this."
Humility and Wisdom
Chachma U'Mussar 1:307 "that which wisdom made a crown on its head, humility made as the heel of its sandal" - In truth, it is not proper to call someone "wise" unless he has corrected his character traits. For without this, even the wisdom he has acquired is not really his. It is not in his possession for the reprehensible trait (arrogance) will come and pillage all of his wisdom in the blink of an eye. A tiny trace of the reprehensible trait is enough to loot from him one hundred measures of wisdom in a swift instant...
This is the meaning of "that which wisdom made a crown on its head", i.e. after attaining wisdom, he will understand the greatness of G-d and fear Him. But only as long as his baser side does not call him, namely, [the baser side of] his arrogance, desire for money, or the like. For when it does call him, then all of his wisdom spoils as the wicked Bilaam. But one who has toiled to acquire Humility, can then come to the wisdom of Fear [of G-d] and acquire it, and then the bad traits will be unable to pillage his knowledge and fear from him. And the greater his wisdom, the greater will be his fear for he understands more that it is bestowed to him from G-d, and he recognizes G-d's greatness and kindness.
Thus, immediately when he begins humility, he acquires wisdom for the wisdom now becomes his, and when wisdom comes, fear comes. And the more humility grows within him, the more his wisdom and fear will grow together. This is the meaning of "humility made as the heel of its sandal", for through humility, he immediately acquires wisdom and fear...
Thus all Torah depends primarily on character traits, for all of fear [of G-d] depends on humility. The more a person considers himself the "owner" of his body, the more he will lack the knowledge. For it is written "ein od milvado" (there is nothing but G-d), mamash it is all nothing whatsoever. Everything in the world and in man, his wisdom, knowledge, body, soul, thoughts, strategies - it is all a hashpah (created flow) from G-d to all His creatures which He created. Man was created to understand like an angel but not in actuality (only in potential), and as long as he still lacks this knowledge, he still lacks wholeness in this wisdom... According to a man's lacking in character traits will be his lacking in this knowledge such that our sages said (Sotah 4b): "whoever has haughtiness of spirit is as one who worships idols and Rabbi Yehuda says is as one who denies G-d (kofer b'ikar)". It is all due to what we mentioned. In proportion to this (haughtiness) will he be lacking in the "ein od milvado" and this is idol worship.
Through this it is clear that a man is only called wise when he possesses good character traits. For then the wisdom will remain by him and he will understand things at their core and will attribute all matters to the Cause of causes, who bestows on each person his portion and no more. Such a person will not err to think "my strength and the might of my hands have produced this wealth for me" (Deut.8:17), as the wisest of the nations erred, the wicked Bilaam, in his arrogance. He asked to to die the death of the Yesharim (Just, see Bamidbar 23:10), and just afterwards advised Balak, destroying 25,000 people of Israel, if not that Pinchas stood on the breach, woe to what could have been, and he destroyed Midyan, caused Amon and Moav to be forever banished from the congregation of G-d - and all this for money! Where is his uprightness, when he requested to die the death of the Yesharim? In the end, he was paid his wages in full and killed by the sword. Where is his money? Is there any greater fool than this? All this due to his arrogance and lust which pillaged his wisdom from him till he became a fool. Is there no greater sign than this that the good character traits support one's wisdom to recognize the true nature of things...
What is Humility?
Kovetz Sichot 1:47 - we don't know at all what is the virtue of Humility. We are used to thinking a bashful and submissive person who does not lift his head before others is a "humble person". But this view is fundamentally incorrect. If a man is sensitive and submissive, afraid of other people and easily hurt by a slight word, it is clear that this stems from weakness of spirit and has nothing at all to do with the trait of humility.... Humility has no connection with weakness of spirit. On the contrary, it resides only by those who are not subjugated to the powers of one's nature which overcomes others (the masses of people). The humble recognize the lowliness of this world. Their hearts have elevated in the way of G-d. They recognize their Creator and the greatness of their duty and the magnitude of their lacking and aspire to attain wholeness in it. In such a situation, there is no room for arrogance and, on its own, one becomes Humble.
"They sent word from Israel, Who is destined for the world to come? He who is meek, humble, stooping on entering and on going out, studying the Torah... and not taking credit for himself". The humble person is never content with himself. He always wants to fulfill what is incumbent upon him, since fear of G-d fills his soul. And he always feels as if he is standing at the beginning of the service of his Creator, as we find by Moshe Rabeinu who after staying three times [in heaven] for 40 days and 40 nights and despite his vast greatness in recognition of G-d, nevertheless said before his death: "You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand.." (Devarim 3:24). As if only now he begins to recognize his Creator.
Humility is the pinnacle of good qualities. "that which wisdom made a crown on its head, humility made as the heel of its sandal". Just like the crown of wisdom: "the beginning of wisdom is the fear of G-d", perfect wisdom leads to fear of G-d, and this fear is the heel of humility. At this level of fear, one merely begins the lowest level of humility. One who has merited the trait of humility, it is a sign that he has ascended extremely high in the levels of fear, for humility is a consequence of fear of G-d, as we explained.
In light of all this, a man can know how far he is from Humility for this virtue comes specifically after a tremendous spiritual ascent and attainment of levels of fear. It requires great toil to merit this as the Mesilat Yesharim writes in his introduction "to understand fear one must seek it like silver and search for it like buried treasure". Spiritual levels do not come by inheritance. One must strive hard to acquire them. "the work is much" (Avot 2:15) - and Rabeinu Yonah explains that the intent is in the work of Torah and attaining spiritual levels. He who thinks himself a humble person without having toiled much to attain this level, striving to recognize his Creator and fear before Him - errs and confuses the natural weakness of spirit with the pinnacle of man's virtues.
OG - (Kabalistic) After a man has attained wholeness in the trait of Chasidut (Piety), his acts of piety are Mashpia (flow) lights to the Sefira of Chesed. From there, these lights of Chesed immediately flow below to the Sefirot of Gevura, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, and Yesod. When all these lights from Chesed have been collected until the Yesod, the Sefira of Yesod transmits all this Shefa to "Malchut", and Malchut transmits them to the Sefirot above it, to the Keter, and from there to the Ein Sof, blessed be He. From there, G-d immediately sends lights of shefa and beracha to the Sefira of "Daat" which stands above the Sefira of Chesed. This process is what brings the servant of G-d from Chasidut to the trait of Humility which draws its shefa from the Sefira of "Daat"...
Let us remember that the Sefira of Daat is the highest of the middle line, Daat, Tiferet, Yesod, Malchut. Above them all in the middle line is Keter, and bottommost is the sefira "Malchut". We already explained that there is special significance in the four Sefirot of the Middle line, unlike the Sefirot in the Right line: "Chachma", "Chesed", and "Netzach", nor in the Left line: "Binah", "Gevura", and "Hod".
To explain better the Sefirot of the middle line, in addition to what we explained earlier, all four of them are like the trunk of a tree, which is the middle and center of the tree. While the Sefirot of the Right and Left lines, are like large branches from the right and left of the tree trunk. Even though in a tree, all of its parts are important, the large branches, the smaller branches which stem from them, the leaves, and of course, the trunk in the center. Nevertheless, the special aspect of the trunk is that: 1. through its roots, it absorbs from the ground all that is needed for the growth of the tree; 2. the thickness and strength of the trunk supports the branches and foliage; 3. the trunk transmits all the intake from the roots to the entire tree; 4. the branches and leaves depend entirely on the trunk for their sustenance and existence, but the trunk does not depend on the foliage of the tree.
So too here, all the Sefirot were formed by G-d for the creation of the world. The Right line - lights of Chesed (kindness), the Left line - lights of Din (justice). But the Sefirot of the Middle line also have a direct connection to the "Keter" and to the Ein Sof, blessed be He. I will explain my words: All the ten sefirot were created by the Holy One, blessed be He, and each one is connected together to the next like links in a chain, namely, after the Keter through which passes the light of Shefa from the Ein Sof, blessed be He, to the ten Sefirot. The order of connection is as follows: Chachma, Bina, Daat, Chesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut, the final Sefira which receives but does not transmit below itself to the world below, the world of Asiyah. Besides this order, the middle line of Sefirot "Daat", "Tiferet", "Yesod", and "Malchut" which also receive direct Hashpa of lights through Keter to Daat, Tiferet, Yesod, and Malchut. So too, in reverse there is Hashpaah through the deeds of humans from Malchut to Yesod, to Tiferet, to Daat, directly to Keter until the Ein Sof, blessed be He. (see Od Yosef Chai, by Rabbi Yosef Chaim parsha Vayishlach for a similar discussion)....
After Cleanliness (Yesod) and Purity (Tiferet) comes Humility (Daat) it is all nullifying oneself completely before G-d, to know in one's mind and to feel in one's heart that we human beings are but dust of the earth (Adama), and therefore our name is Adam. But there is an additional aspect to the word Adam, namely "Adamei l'Elyon" (I will resemble G-d, Isaiah 14:14), to remind us that we are able to resemble the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He...
Humility is the first trait in the Gate of Holiness. As stated, it is roused in man's heart by the Sefira of "Daat". The name Daat (knowledge) comes from knowledge of G-d in Chachma and Bina, according what is possible for a human being. Only when a man knows well the infinite greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, as grasped from the lights of Chachma and correspondingly true knowledge of the nothingness of man and the entire creation as grasped from the lights of Tzimtzum in Binah, only then will the lights of the Sefira of Binah shine on him, rousing in him powerful feelings that "Ein K'Elokenu, Ein Kadoneinu, Ein K'Malkenu, V'Ein Kemoshienu" (there is none like our G-d..). Then he will also realize just how small he is, even with his lofty soul, relative to the infinite greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He. And even if a man merits to become among the greatest G-d fearing Torah scholars of his generation, certainly he will understand well that G-d is the one who bestows on man knowledge (HaChonen l'Adam Daat) and that man contains not even a drop in the ocean relative to the knowledge of the living G-d.
This knowledge brings one to the trait of Humility. For true knowledge of G-d will help a man to know also himself. Then he will know that the whole matter of man is to be bowed and submitted before the Holy One, blessed be He, even more than a slave to his master. For the slave is an independent existence from the master. But our servitude to G-d is from a deep feeling that every second our life is from Him. Therefore Moshe and Aharon said: "what are we, that you complain against us?" (Shemot 16:7), i.e. who are we and what is our significance? Behold everything is from G-d, blessed be He. Thus, why do you complain to us!?