“You shall count from the eve of the second day of Pesach, when an omer of grain is to be brought as an offering, seven complete weeks. The day after the seventh week of your counting will make fifty days, and you shall present a new meal offering to God.” (Lev. 23:15-16)
During the Counting of the Omer — the 49 days between the observances of the holidays of Passover and Shavuot — it is customary to study a chapter of Pirkei Avot, or Ethics of the Fathers, each week.
In the spirit of that tradition, Beth Tfiloh Synagogue’s Rabbi Dr. Eli Yoggev has written a series of columns on Pirkei Avot for each of the six weeks of the Omer, from the conclusion of Pesach through Shavuot. (See also: A More Universal Torah Perspective, Beware of Judgmentalism and Haughtiness and Sacred Dust and Avoiding Toxicity)
Rabbi Yoggev is the author of “Ethics of the Soul: Uplifting and Relevant Commentary on Ethics of the Fathers.”
4:4
Humility Versus Lowliness
רַ ּבִי לְוִיטָס אִיׁש יַבְנֶה אֹומֵר: מְא ֹד מְא ֹד הֱוֵי ׁשְפַל רּוח,ַ ׁשֶּתִקְוַת אֱנֹוׁש רִ ּמָה.
Rabbi Levitas a man of Yavneh said: Be very, very lowly in spirit, for the end of the individual is the worm.
In his commentary to this mishna, Maimonides lists a group of three traits: arrogance (גאוה), humility (ענוה), and lowliness of spirit (רוח שפל), with humility stationed as the middle path between these two extremes. Our mishna discusses the third trait: lowliness of spirit. Maimonides says that when it comes to most character traits, we should choose the middle path. For instance, in relation to spending, we should be neither overly frugal nor overly lavish. However, regarding arrogance, he says we should lean toward lowliness even though humility is the middle path. This is what the mishna means when it tells us to be “very, very” (“מאד מאד“) lowly in spirit: we should always lean to the side of lowliness even though it is not the middle path.
Rabbeinu Yonah, in his commentary to our mishna, brings a debate in relation to the need to distance ourselves all the way toward lowliness.
He begins by listing the opposing view to that expressed in our mishna: And the Sages of the Talmud have already argued about this thing in Talmud Bavli, Sotah 5a: “One said, ‘In excommunication is the one that has it and in excommunication is the one that does not have it at all,’” that is to say that a person should not be humble in spirit to the final extreme and not to be so lowly that people disparage him. Rather, they should be moderate in when it comes to haughtiness — not to (beautify themselves), but not to lower their spirit to the utmost lowliness, that they not come to disgrace.
As we see, this is a debate in the Talmud. In our mishna, Rabbi Levitas foreshadows the Talmudic approach that prefers lowliness over humility.
We should make room for both approaches in our service of Hashem. Rabbi Levitas’s direction can greatly aid us in our overall orientation toward life. We should realize we are no better than others because we are all destined to arrive at the same destination: the grave (with its “worms”). This doesn’t have to be a depressing thought. It can lead to deep humility (“very, very lowly”) as we realize that no matter how important we think we are, our ultimate destiny, at least when it comes to our bodies, is shared with everyone else.
However, in terms of functioning in the world, the alternative view can be very useful. The middle path of humility (ענוה) recognizes objective truths such as the talents and skills we all uniquely possess. This outlook enhances our daily performance and engenders a positive perspective of ourselves and life. When done correctly, a healthy combination of lowliness and humility can propel us to great heights in our spiritual work.
4:5
There are No Shortcuts When it Comes to Self-Correction
רַ ּבִי יֹוחָנָן ּבֶן ּבְרֹוקָא אֹומֵר: ּכָל הַמְחַּלֵל ׁשֵם ׁשָמַיִם ּבַּסֵתֶר, נִפְרָ עִין מִּמֶּנּו בְגָלּוי. אֶחָד ׁשֹוגֵג וְאֶחָד מֵזִיד ּבְחִּלּול הַּשֵׁם.
Rabbi Yochanan ben Berokah said: Whoever desecrates the name of heaven in secret, shall be punished in the open. Unwittingly or wittingly, it is all one in desecrating God’s name.
When it comes to mitzvah performance, Judaism isn’t against a “fake it till you make it” attitude. Sefer HaChinuch famously teaches that “the hearts are drawn after the actions.” Performing actions, even if one isn’t on the fitting “level” to perform them, can prove beneficial in that it influences one to desire achieving that higher level. Similarly, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches that happiness is so important that at times we should force ourselves to act silly in the hopes that through this we will stir up inner joy (see Likutei Moharan 2:24).
However, when we end up settling for these forced behaviors instead of correcting our insides, things veer from the right path. Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato discusses a case in which someone pretends to be humble on the outside without truly cultivating an attitude of humility on the inside. In the end, this inner arrogance surfaces on the outside:
One may find another arrogant person who wants to be very renowned for his qualities…that he wants that they praise him…for being the humblest of the humble…This arrogant person will set his place among those of much lower status than himself or among the disgraceful men thinking that through this he displays absolute humility. He does not wish for any titles of greatness and refuses all praise, all the while saying to himself: “There is no wiser and humbler person than me in the whole world!” Such arrogant people, although they may appear to be humble, nevertheless there are no lack of stumbling blocks which, without their knowledge, reveal their arrogance like the flame which bursts forth between shards. Our sages of blessed memory have already made an analogy on this: “This is like a house full of straw. The walls had cracks through which the straw entered. After some days, the straw inside the cracks began to emerge outside. Thus, everyone realized that the house was full of straw.” (Mesillat Yesharim, ch. 11)
This is what our mishna is saying when it proclaims, “Whoever desecrates the name of heaven in secret, shall be punished in the open.” These things done in secret end up manifesting themselves in one way or another on the outside and come back to haunt (punish) us. There are no shortcuts when it comes to self-correction. It’s about being honest and assessing what needs correction, then diligently working toward improvement. When we do so, the opposite fate awaits us: we sanctify Hashem’s name in public as our inner goodness shines for all to see.
For information about “Ethics of the Soul,” click here.
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