Don't walk in front of me

Hi,

“Our honored master, Rav Menachem Mendel, said: When people come to honor you, such as if they honor you to walk before them, and you understand that they will insist, then accept the honor without a fight… The pious one in Chovot haLevavot said further that even if the one who honors you wants to walk before him just so that he will appear humble, you should still do as he wishes.

“Humbly, we would use this to explain Mishlei 14:12, “There is a straight path before a man, and its aftermath is the path of death.” This means: Sometimes it is a straight path when you walk before a ‘man’, meaning a man of status, as in this case. ‘And its aftermath’ – Sometimes the aftermath of that path, meaning to walk after another person, is the path of death.

“This is the meaning of ‘Know Him in all of your ways, and He will straighten your paths. (Mishlei 3:6)’ This is a small passage upon which all of the essentials of Torah depend.”

(R’ Tzvi Elimelech Shapira of Dinov, Agra d’Pirka 17)

Have a great day,
Mordechai