Jewish Inspiration Podcast · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

00:00 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
Welcome back to day number 10 of our journey through Orchis Sadikim, through the ways of the righteous, and we are at the beginning of the chapter, chapter 1, the first gate, the gate of arrogance, of haughtiness. We're on page 47 in the Treasure for Life edition published by Feldheim, and welcome to the journey of hopefully perfecting our character and our traits. Arrogance is the trait the Almighty has disliked and has really, you know, invalidated before us, and we're warned about it in the Torah, as it states Be careful and be cautious, for you might forget Hashem, your God. That's in Deuteronomy 8, verse 11.

01:09
Ki hage'eh yishkach yitzro, because, as a result of someone being arrogant, they will forget their creator. Ki dichsiv, as it is written uv'kor cho uv'tson cho yirbiyun v'kesav v'zov yarbaloch, you're going to increase your wealth. You're going to increase your wealth. You're going to increase how many cattle you have and how many sheep you have. You're going to increase in your flock and you're going to become. Your heart is going to get filled and you're going to forget your Almighty. You're going to become too arrogant to realize that everything is from the Creator and you're going to say in your heart it's my strength, it's my wisdom, it's my greatness that brought about my success, and you have to remember there's a warning in the Torah that everything, all of our success, everything that we attain, everything that we succeed in in our lives, is all a result of Hashem giving us our abilities. Hashem, giving us all of our talents, our skills, our wisdom and our potential, is all given to us as a gift from the Almighty. It says that his heart not be lifted above his brother. It's regarding a king. We're warned in Deuteronomy about how a king should conduct himself. A king, we know, had to have a Torah scroll held in his hand at all times. Why? To always remember it's not a commander than everybody, but only a king, a Jewish king. A Jewish king had to always walk around with a Torah scroll. Remember that you are not lifted above anyone else, even though you're the king.

03:01
Be careful not to become arrogant. If the Torah goes out of its way to give a warning about arrogance to a king, even more so. A simpleton, a regular person, has to be so cautious not to be arrogant and not to feel elevated above another person. So if we dig deep into what arrogance really is, arrogance is when we feel lifted above someone else. So I'm better than someone I'm more talented than someone, I'm smarter than someone, I have a better skill than someone else. A person has to be very, very careful about that.

03:46
We have to know that everything we have is a gift from Hashem. That's number one. Number two is a person might not realize that the gifts that we have are completely a loan from Hashem. They're a lease, and Hashem can give it and take it from any person at any time. That means that if a person is at a point in their life suddenly they could lose all of their skills. You think about an athlete. An athlete has great physical abilities, but with one little injury, all of that physical ability is gone. And vice versa. Someone can be impoverished, poor and one business deal, one thing and incredible wealth in no time.

04:35
Just a quick story to illustrate this. My great uncle was Reb Chaim Criesworth, of blessed memory, and he was a brilliant, brilliant man. After the war, many years after the war, he was walking in Jerusalem and he met a man. He asks him many years after the war, he was walking in Jerusalem and he met a man. He asks him where is he from? Tells him he's from this and this shtetl. Back in Europe, he says one second. What's your name? Again, tells him his name. He says was your father so-and-so? He says, yes.

05:02
Now, this man that Reb Chaim Kreiswoldt met was a very, very poor man. He was a beggar collecting for charity, and Reb Chaim Kreiswold was known as a person who would give a lot of charity. He was a rabbi and he would collect a tremendous amount of money and distribute it to orphans, to widows, to brides who were getting married, and he would give a tremendous amount of charity. And he says to this person he says one second, your father was so-and-so, from this and this village. He says yes, that was my father. He was killed in the Holocaust. And he says I was looking for you for the past 20 years. He says because your father, before he died, told me that he had a Swiss bank account that he put aside for you. And I should remind, when I meet you, I should tell you that this is the account number and this is the information you need to go get that money.

05:53
In one instant this person became a multi-millionaire, and these things it's a gift that Hashem gives and takes at the snap of a finger. We have to understand that for one to be arrogant about such success or such wealth is nonsense, it's foolishness. A minute ago you were a poor person, now you're a wealthy person. A person should understand that everything that we have, our wisdom, you have a great talent, you can sing beautifully know that it's a gift from Hashem.

06:27
Arrogance is divided into two different parts. So Echad Gavas HaOdam BeGufo is one being arrogant about his own abilities, his own body. V'achelik Hasheni Gavas HaOdam BeMasov is a person being arrogant about his actions. V'malos HaChokhmo V'masom Tovim. By his wisdom and his good deeds, he becomes proud of it.

06:55
Now, dividing up a person's physical arrogance, his arrogance about his physical abilities, it has two parts. One is good and one is bad. This is the negative aspect of it. When this arrogance overcomes a person, o Zimsholalah, odom B'Kot Kodo Ad kafraglo Then a person will be overtaken from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, b'rosho b'grono, in every aspect of his being. He'll be completely consumed by this arrogance. Ki l'chsiv yan, ki gavu b'noz tzion, ve'tilachnon etzuios garon, because the daughters of Zion are haughty and arrogant and walk with outstretched necks. This is from Isaiah 3.16.

07:49
Beodov uberaglov and we see that's one part of it is that they held their heads up high. They were arrogant Beodov uberaglov with his hands and with his legs. As it's written in Psalms Al tovei eni regel gavo ubiad reshoram al teni deni. As it's written in Psalms. We know the famous story from the Talmud where the daughter of Reb Haneda Ben-Shadion was walking past the Roman leaders, the Roman ministers, and they complimented her fine strides and she took pleasure in that and extenuated her posture. How beautiful are the strides of this young woman. She was even more gracious with her walk after they said that and we see that she was greatly punished for that stride of arrogance.

09:13
With someone's eyes, a person can give a look, a steer at someone of arrogance. Or someone with his ears doesn't want to hear the cries of poor people With the scent of his nose. Or if someone walks into the home of someone who's impoverished and dislikes the smell, the stench that they have in their home and gives an expression of distaste af bitvarof. And even in the way a person speaks, yidaber al tzadik, otok begavo. Or someone will talk about a righteous person who's really great with tremendous arrogance. You'll talk about or negative about him V'gama gava nikeres b'inyoni ha-mahachol v'hamashkem. And also in the way that a person eats and drinks there is an arrogance that could be displayed there as well. Gam nikeres, v'malbushay bigdeh gava malbushay nochri, and also in the way that a person dresses and the way a person carries themselves can also be in a way of arrogance, and in our Torah we have been warned about this.

10:30
Do not go in the ways of the Gentiles. Don't go in the way of arrogance. Do not go in their ways. Be very cautious about going after the ways of those who don't follow the ways of Hashem.

10:48
And the bottom line is A Jew needs to always be different in the way we act. We need to act with humility. We need to not be arrogant. We can't hold ourselves haughty over other people and so he says I will separate you from the nations of the world. This is our responsibility as a Jewish person. As Jewish people, we have to realize that we are representatives of the Almighty in this world and our job is to instill a humility in our character, in the way we carry ourselves, not to drive the fanciest cars and not to walk around with the most expensive clothes and only drink the finest wines. We have to have a sense of humility, a sense of bashfulness. Of bashfulness, a little balance is important for each and every one of us, my dear friends. This concludes day number 10 of our journey in Orchid Siddiquim. I look forward to day number 11.