Monday, May 17, 2004
We continue our countdown to Mattan Torah with short daily quotes from Messilat Yesharim:
-- From Ch. 22
"The general rule in regard to humility is that you should not consider yourself important for whatever reason whatsoever. That is the very opposite of arrogance. What results from it will be diametrically opposite to what would result from arrogance as well. Careful scrutiny will further reveal that humility is dependent upon both thought and action. You must first be humble in thought, and only then can you act humbly. If you are not humble in thought and you want to act humble, you will wind up being one of the previously referred-to 'so-called humble'-- the hypocrites who are the worst of all."
"Humility in thought involves your reflecting upon and coming to realize the fact that praise and honor, and all the more so aggrandizement above other people, are not due you for two reasons: because of what is necessarily imperfect about you, and because of things you have done in the past .... [For indeed,] it is impossible for a person not to have many faults no matter how perfected he may be."
"The trait that would most likely bring you to arrogance and self-aggrandizement would be wisdom, as it is a personal trait that is in a special part of yourself, your mind. Yet there is no wise man who never makes a mistake and could not learn from his colleagues or even from his students often enough. In that case, how could you ever boast of your wisdom? Anyone with a good mind -- even one who merits to be a great and famous sage -- must admit upon honest reflection and consideration that there is no room for pride or self-aggrandizement. One whose intellect is greater than someone else's is only acting in a way that comes naturally to him, as a bird would just naturally fly and an ox would naturally be able to pull with brute strength. If you are wise it is because you are that way by nature. And those who are not as natively wise as yourself at this point could very well train themselves to be as wise as you if they were of that nature. As that is the case, you have no reason to be proud or to boast."
"You should also not evidence pride in the mitzvot you have performed, for just by having done them you will not have necessarily reached their ultimate goal. Even if you had no other fault other than that you were flesh-and-blood and born of a woman -- that should be more than enough to indicate your lowliness and imperfection and the fact that you need not at all be haughty. For, whatever advantages you might possess were given to you by G-d who wants to be gracious to you because of your piteous and humble corporeality. You can only acknowledge Him who is so gracious to you and be even more submissive to Him. "
"But all that has been said and that is so fitting to reflect upon is for one who is like Abraham, Moses, Aaron, David or the other saintly ones mentioned. But as for *us* -- orphans of orphans -- we have no need for this. We so clearly have so many faults that we do not need to reflect very deeply to recognize them. All our wisdom is nothing. The greatest of our sages is nothing but a student of the students of the early ones. It is proper to understand and know this so that our hearts not swell vainly. We should recognize that, over-all, our minds are superficial and our perceptions very limited. Foolishness is rampant among us and error is triumphant. Whatever we do know is only the very minimal. It is certainly therefore inappropriate for us to be at all haughty. Instead, we should be humble and lowly -- but that goes without saying."
(c) 2004 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
You can always contact Rabbi Feldman at feldman@torah.org
May this series on Messilat Yesharim, which is offered in loving memory of my recently departed uncle, Chaim ben Avraham Stone a"h, serve as an aliyah for his neshama.
********************************
Get your own copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” by logging onto http://www.aronson.com/jbookstore/ and typing in "The Gates of Repentance".
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".
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-- From Ch. 22
"The general rule in regard to humility is that you should not consider yourself important for whatever reason whatsoever. That is the very opposite of arrogance. What results from it will be diametrically opposite to what would result from arrogance as well. Careful scrutiny will further reveal that humility is dependent upon both thought and action. You must first be humble in thought, and only then can you act humbly. If you are not humble in thought and you want to act humble, you will wind up being one of the previously referred-to 'so-called humble'-- the hypocrites who are the worst of all."
"Humility in thought involves your reflecting upon and coming to realize the fact that praise and honor, and all the more so aggrandizement above other people, are not due you for two reasons: because of what is necessarily imperfect about you, and because of things you have done in the past .... [For indeed,] it is impossible for a person not to have many faults no matter how perfected he may be."
"The trait that would most likely bring you to arrogance and self-aggrandizement would be wisdom, as it is a personal trait that is in a special part of yourself, your mind. Yet there is no wise man who never makes a mistake and could not learn from his colleagues or even from his students often enough. In that case, how could you ever boast of your wisdom? Anyone with a good mind -- even one who merits to be a great and famous sage -- must admit upon honest reflection and consideration that there is no room for pride or self-aggrandizement. One whose intellect is greater than someone else's is only acting in a way that comes naturally to him, as a bird would just naturally fly and an ox would naturally be able to pull with brute strength. If you are wise it is because you are that way by nature. And those who are not as natively wise as yourself at this point could very well train themselves to be as wise as you if they were of that nature. As that is the case, you have no reason to be proud or to boast."
"You should also not evidence pride in the mitzvot you have performed, for just by having done them you will not have necessarily reached their ultimate goal. Even if you had no other fault other than that you were flesh-and-blood and born of a woman -- that should be more than enough to indicate your lowliness and imperfection and the fact that you need not at all be haughty. For, whatever advantages you might possess were given to you by G-d who wants to be gracious to you because of your piteous and humble corporeality. You can only acknowledge Him who is so gracious to you and be even more submissive to Him. "
"But all that has been said and that is so fitting to reflect upon is for one who is like Abraham, Moses, Aaron, David or the other saintly ones mentioned. But as for *us* -- orphans of orphans -- we have no need for this. We so clearly have so many faults that we do not need to reflect very deeply to recognize them. All our wisdom is nothing. The greatest of our sages is nothing but a student of the students of the early ones. It is proper to understand and know this so that our hearts not swell vainly. We should recognize that, over-all, our minds are superficial and our perceptions very limited. Foolishness is rampant among us and error is triumphant. Whatever we do know is only the very minimal. It is certainly therefore inappropriate for us to be at all haughty. Instead, we should be humble and lowly -- but that goes without saying."
(c) 2004 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
You can always contact Rabbi Feldman at feldman@torah.org
May this series on Messilat Yesharim, which is offered in loving memory of my recently departed uncle, Chaim ben Avraham Stone a"h, serve as an aliyah for his neshama.
********************************
Get your own copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” by logging onto http://www.aronson.com/jbookstore/ and typing in "The Gates of Repentance".
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".
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