Question Yourself

Hi,

"Do not let your own lips shame you, do not let your own mouth disgrace you, do not let your own lips curse you, do not let your own teeth embarrass you, and do not bow to your own words. As Proverbs 6:2 says, 'You have stumbled in the declarations of your own mouth.'"

(Kallah Rabti 4:17)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

Humility in the Household

Hi,

"Teach your household humility, for when a person is humble and his household members are humble, then when a pauper comes to his gate and asks, ‘Is your father here,’ they will say, ‘Yes, come in.’ Before he even enters the table will be set before him, and he will enter and eat and drink and bless Gd, and he will have great satisfaction. When a person is not humble and the members of his household are demanding people, when a pauper comes to his gate and asks, ‘Is your father here,’ they will say, ‘No,’ and they will rebuke him and remove him sharply.

"Alternatively: Teach your household humility. How so? When a person is humble and the members of his household are humble and he travels overseas, he says, ‘Thank You, my Gd, that my spouse does not fight with others and my children do not fight with others,’ and his heart is not afraid and his mind is settled until he returns.

"When a person is not humble and the members of his household are demanding people and he travels overseas, he says, ‘May it be Your will, my Gd, that my spouse not fight with others and my children not fight with others,’ and his heart is afraid and his mind is not settled until he returns."

(Midrash, Avot d'Rabbi Natan 7:2)

המצפה לישועה,

Mordechai

The importance of good posture

Hi,

"Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: A person may not walk four cubits in a fully upright position, as Isaiah 6 says, “The whole universe is His glory.” 

"Rav Huna, son of Rabbi Yehoshua, never travelled four cubits bareheaded. He said, “The Shekhinah is above my head.”"

(Talmud, Kiddushin 31a)

חג אורים שמח,
Mordechai

48 Ways: #26 - Know your place

Hi,

Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The twenty-sixth of the 48 is hamakir et mekomo,knowing one's place.

Knowing one's place, to my mind, involves two elements: Not overestimating one's self, and Not underestimating one's self. Obviously, one who thinks he knows more than he does is apt to take the words of others less seriously. Further, though, one who does not recognize his own standing will fail to live up to his potential.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

48 Ways: #8 - Humility

Hi,

Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The eighth of the 48 is anavah, humility.

Humility is necessary in order to function a good student; one who views himself as knowing more than others will be less open to new perspectives. Also, as noted by Rabbeinu Bechayye, one who lacks humility will have difficulty acknowledging his errors and changing his mind.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Actions speak louder than words

Hi,

Regarding the decision to begin the Torah with a description of the act of creating, instead of the Name of Gd:

"R' Yudin cited Achilles: To One such as this it is worthy to call 'Gd'! Normally, a flesh and blood king has himself praised in the land when he has not yet built baths for her, when he has not yet built privies. First he mentions his name, and then his praiseworthy achievements. The One of the world, though, acted and then was praised.

"Shimon ben Azzai said, based on "And Your humility increases me (Samuel II 22)": Flesh and blood mentions his own name and then his praiseworthy achievements, So-and-so Augustus, So-and-so Protata, but Gd is not thus. Once He created the needs of His world, then He mentioned His Name – Bereishit bara [In the beginning He created] and then Elokim."

(Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 1:12)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

We need each other's ideas

Hi,

"To our sorrow, reality exceeds our intellect and schisms have multiplied beyond the eye's ken, and so each of us should rejoice in his friend's ideas and counsel."

(Rav Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook, "Shalom b'Shem")

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The importance of humility

Hi,

"Rabbi Yirmiyah asked Rabbi Zeira: What is the meaning of the following verse (Job 3), 'Small and great will be there in the Next World, and slaves will be free of their masters?' Don't we know that small and great people will be there?

"It means that anyone who makes himself small for the sake of studying Torah in this world will be great in the next world. Anyone who makes himself like a slave for the sake of studying Torah in this world will be great in the next world."

(Talmud, Bava Metzia 85b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Day 47 of the Omer - Humble Leadership

Hi,

The Sephirah of the Omer's seventh week is Malchut. Malchut is Monarchy, the ability to guide and influence others.

In addition, the Sephirah of the fifth day of each Omer week is Hod. The kabbalists linked the word Hod (הוד), which means "glory", with Hodaah (הודאה), meaning "thanks" or "confession", to deduce that הוד is a glorious humility.

The combined Sephirah for Day 47 of the Omer is therefore Hod sheb'Malchut, "humble leadership", suggesting an influence which is applied modestly.

Mishlei 29:18 teaches, "Without vision, the nation will run wild," and the leader has the honour of providing that vision, but arrogance will limit his effectiveness. Arrogance in a leader is bad for pragmatic reasons; it can lead to insensitivity, errors, and rejection by the people he is meant to guide. Further, from an ideological standpoint, leadership should intimidate the leader as he becomes aware of his responsibility to lead well. Therefore, for reasons of both practicality and responsibility, a good leader will be humble.

Today's Sephirah instructs us to apply the leadership of Malchut with the humility of Hod.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Day 12 of the Omer - Humble Restraint

Hi,

The Sephirah of the Omer's second week is Gevurah. Gevurah is power, expressed in restraint and boundaries.

In addition, the Sephirah of the fifth day of each Omer week is Hod. The kabbalists linked the word Hod (הוד), which means "glory", with Hodaah (הודאה), meaning "thanks" or "confession", to deduce that הוד is a glorious humility.

The combined Sephirah for Day 12 of the Omer is therefore Hod sheb'Gevurah, "humble restraint".

Successful restraint in areas like speech or self-indulgence can lead to arrogance. As Rav Kook wrote in "Maamar HaDor", "As great as the distance from the heavens to the earth, so is the distance between arrogance and the strength that results from the heavenly blessing of the wealth of the soul and the strength of its righteousness."

Further, arrogance could even convince a person that further restraint is unnecessary.

Today's Sephirah instructs us to use our humble Hod in order to maintain a productive and persistent restraint in our Gevurah.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Humble Kindness - The 5th day of the Omer

Hi,

The Sephirah of the Omer's first week is Chesed. Chesed is kindness which motivates a person to give of himself - physically, financially, emotionally - to another.

However, the Sephirah of the fifth day of each Omer week is Hod. Hod is glory, but it is a particular form of glory. The kabbalists linked the word הוד (hod) with הודאה (hodaah), meaning "thanks" or "confession", to deduce that הוד is a glorious humility.

The combined Sephirah for Day 5 of the Omer is Hod sheb'Chesed, "glorious kindness". This title suggests kindness which is rooted in glorious humility.

We have already learned (in Day 3: Tiferet sheb'Chesed) that we should give respectfully, but here we see that we should give humbly, with an awareness that our ability to give does not, in itself, mean we are better than others. Judaism uses the term 'tzedakah' to indicate that giving to others is 'tzedek', justice; as King David said to G-d (Divrei haYamim I 29:14), "All comes from You, and from Your own we give to You."

Wednesday night's Sephirah reminds us that although we are happy that we can help others, we don't take credit - and this trait is, itself, our glory.

מועדים לשמחה,
Mordechai

Extreme humility

Hi,

"If one is studying before his teacher and he recalls a question he had asked in the past or an answer he had given, he should not say to his teacher or peer, 'I answered thus' or 'I asked thus', but rather 'So you asked', so that he will not gain personal satisfaction."

(R' Yehudah haChasid, Sefer Chasidim 15)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Humility of Avraham

Hi,

"If the blessed Creator provides a person with wealth or children, or gives him extra wisdom or comprehension or honor, he should increase his humility before the blessed Creator and honor people, benefiting them more than he did before. When Gd said to Avraham, ‘Can I conceal from Avraham,’ he said, ‘I am dust and ash.’"

(Orchot Tzaddikim, Shaar ha'Anavah)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The value of humility

Hi,


“Humility is the root of service. A small deed, performed out of humility, is one thousand times more acceptable to Gd than a great deed performed out of arrogance. And so the sages said [Berachot 5b], ‘It is the same, whether one does a lot or a little, so long as his heart’s intent is for the sake of heaven.’”

(Orchot Tzaddikim, Shaar ha'Anavah)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

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

True humility

Hi,

"There are four elements in humble behavior:
a. Functioning in a humble manner;
b. Bearing one's own embarrassment patiently;
c. Fleeing from honor;
d. Treating others with respect."

(Mesilat Yesharim [Path of the Righteous], R' Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Chapter 23)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Humility and Ordination

Hi,

"Rabbi Zeira hid from ordination, for Rabbi Elazar had said, 'One should always be humble, and thereby live.'

"However, when Rabbi Zeira heard Rabbi Elazar say, 'One does not ascend to great status unless he has been forgiven for all of his sins,' he bolstered his courage [and accepted ordination]."

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 14a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Praying from the depths

Hi,

"One should not stand in an elevated place and daven [pray], but in a low place. It is written (Tehillim 130:1), 'I called You, Gd, from the depths.'"

(Talmud, Berachot 10b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Putting others first

Hi,

Putting others first is a sign of humility and respect:

"Rabbi Yochanan said: How do we know that Yishmael repented? It is written, 'And Yitzchak and Yishmael buried their father.'

"But perhaps the Torah only listed them in the order of their wisdom? If that were so, then why would the Torah later write [regarding the burial of Yitzchak], 'And Esav and Yaakov, his sons, buried him?'

"Rather, the fact that Yitzchak was listed first shows that Yishmael put him first, from which we may deduce that he repented."

(Talmud, Bava Batra 16b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The humility of the prophets

Hi,

"Because our prophets attained a profound level of humility, and know that they do not know, they asked the eternal questions instead of offering easy answers. And this is why, having asked the questions, they ultimately remained silent in the face their own human limitations."

(R' Emanuel Feldman, Tradition 40:1, pg. 14)

Have a great day,
Mordechai