Jewish Inspiration Podcast · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

00:00 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
My dear friends, now we resume with day 21, on page 107. And what is true humility? For a person to be humble to those who are beneath him, to his workers, to those of his household, to his workers, to those of his household and even those poor people that he supports and he gives them charity. Be humble before them. Even though he doesn't need them, he doesn't fear them. One who is humbled before orphans, in front of widows, in front of converts and bears their trials and burdens. And, like we mentioned yesterday, someone who hears his embarrassment and doesn't respond. Someone laughs at you in public and you don't respond Because he's humble. This is a very proper way to be humble. So let's just explain what this means. Very proper way to be humble. So let's just explain what this means.

01:28
A person needs to realize what does it mean that I'm going to be humble in front of the person that I'm giving charity to? So the person who comes to ask for charity is already humbled. I need to ask someone else for help, but the person who gives can be humble. How? Thank you for giving me the mitzvah. It's not that I'm doing you a favor. You're doing me a favor. You're doing me a favor, testing me on how I'm going to be in my act of kindness, in my act of charity. That's someone who really understands that the test for me. And perhaps I'm not good enough, so I have to be even more humble to see that all of my success it's not about me. I'm so successful, no, no, no, no. It's all a test so that I can be tested by the Almighty in how I distribute the charity.

02:18
There's another form of very good humility or humbleness Ki g'on mi sh'nichna, lefnei rabosav, lefnei chachamim, lefnei tzaddikim hahochem edrochem yishorim. One who is humble in front of his rabbis, in front of the righteous scholars and those who are holier, v'chosev believe, when he thinks to himself Eilu, heim, av, servants of Hashem and those who serve Hashem properly and love Hashem properly. He thinks to himself me, I'm nothing compared to them. Look at their proper ways, look at their righteousness. Me, I'm nothing, they're real, I'm fake. This is also a proper Me, I'm nothing, they're real, I'm fake. Gam zo anava tova sheyachshuv. This is also a proper humility. Ekan alafnecha chomim. I will humble myself before those who are wise. I will humble myself in front of scholars. Why? So that they bring me close, so that they teach me so that they reprimand me and so they guide me in the ways of Hashem.

03:43
I ask my rabbi every year before Shoshani, yom Kippur. I say, okay, listen, we talk every week. You know what's going on in my life, you know what I do, you know he hears my questions. Every week I say to him Rabbi, before Shoshana, if you're not going to beat me up, who will Tell me something? Tell me something that I need to correct, something that I'm overlooking something, reprimand me, give me some constructive criticism. And sometimes he was very, very direct and told me things that were painful but, again, important for me to hear. He's my rabbi, he's got to teach me. He's got to reprimand me, he's got to give me that constructive criticism. But on the other end, there were times that he said I think that the things you're doing are right on mark and this is what Hashem wants you to be doing. And you should be very proud, of course, and not proud, to feel that Hashem is giving me responsibilities, every person responsibilities. We need to do something with those responsibilities. There's another humility that is very, very positive For a person to be humble in front of his students, to accept their questions and to try to resolve things that have not been clearly explained to someone who's great according to their greatness and someone who is simple according to their simpleness. They're not smart enough. They don't understand my level of sophistication. I'm not going to bother with them. Or, like the uppity people in universities, you think about those professors who think that they're so intelligent, they're so smart? The hubris that they have is just incredible.

05:47
V'lagadol l'fi gadol, l'katno l'fi katno v'yifarish v'yachzo v'yifarish b'sever panim yov z'ad she'yavinu. And they shall repeat it and repeat it, and repeat it to their students till they understand. V'lo yomer ech oshival z'ad she'yavin. A person shouldn't say, oh, I'm going to repeat it again until he understands it. Come on, you don't understand it. Goodbye, hello. Does he have a heart problem Of stone? Ach yisad elo oso inyon benachas kam apomim. But rather a proper, humble teacher should repeat it again and again, and again. Think of new ways to explain the concept so that the student can understand it appropriately. U'kvar yadata schar o'shor b'preida.

06:32
We know the great reward that Rav Preida, one of the great Tanayic sages. He reviewed the teaching to his student over 400 times. And there's another type of humility. Imagine that repeating your teaching over 400 times to a student, after how many times would we lose our patience? Well, guess what? If a person is arrogant, then indeed they would get frustrated. But a person is truly humble, like Rev Prater was and recognizes. Guess what? I was given the opportunity to teach. I shall teach in such a case. That's my job. My job is to teach it and repeat it and repeat it, and repeat it as many times as necessary.

07:27
There's another form of outstanding humility, and another great form of humility is teaching the young and to ask them what one does not know, what do you not understand? What do you still need to learn? What do I need to explain to you that you haven't understood, to you that you haven't understood? And he won't say how did you learn this before and how did you learn from us? Hello, who taught from me? I'm going to ask the young student to tell me what I need to teach. Who am I? I'm going to take advice from him. You know what do we call first year college students Freshies. Who takes a word from freshies? Who respects them? A righteous scholar will and in fact, if you look at the teachings, the Musa teachings that we've talked about many, many times, our sages tell us if you want to learn properly.

08:25
Go to the children and see their purity. Go to the children, ask them for criticism, because children will say things straight. It's before they get a chance by their parents to divert their feelings. So, for example, a child is with his family as guests in someone else's home and they say, oh, how did you like that pastry? And the child says, oh, it was disgusting, right? They say they're usually very straightforward and honest what does the mother say? That's not nice. That's not nice, that's not nice. So what are you telling me to say? You're telling me to say it was delicious or it was great. Or, if we're skillful, we'll teach our child to say I'm sure it's delicious, it's just not my taste, that's different. But it's very challenging because if we say it the wrong way, what we're basically telling the child is just lie, not to hurt somebody else's feelings. There are other ways to teach that to a child, other ways to teach them to say the truth, but in a way that's pleasant, in a way that's not going to be harmful. But to learn from children is a very, very humbling thing and something we need to pay attention to.

09:34
Allahu katun mimeni he's smaller than me and something we need to pay attention to. He's smaller than me, he's younger than me. What does he know? He's less experienced than me. I'm the veteran in the company, it's the freshie in the company. I have learned from all of my students. From all my teachers I became wise, but from my students even wiser.

09:58
Our sages said A person should be very, very humble of spirit. Befnei kol odam. In front of every person, in front of everyone. Lo befnei agdolim levad. Not only big people, holy people, great people alone. Tzarech liyosh fa'urach. Elo af lefnei ketanim. Not only big people, holy people, great people alone, even before those who are smaller than you.

10:26
One who goes in this path of humility brings merit to society, because then people really like people, like someone who's humble, someone who's simple, and everything that they say and everything that they do. Such a humble person will be accepted by everyone. They'll always praise him and then they say you know what I want to be like that guy. Look at him. He's always nice to everyone. He's always nice to everyone, he's always smiling to everyone, he's always respectful to even those who are younger than him and smaller than him. And every person should bless their child that they be humble and patient like that guy, our neighbor, who's so humble and patient. And through doing such a thing, you're doing a kiddush Hashem, you're sanctifying God's name, because people say, wow, look at this godly individual. He's so humble. This is a God-fearing person.

11:45
Avalam is good, but one who's arrogant, who michal Hashem baruch Hu. A person who's arrogant is desecrating the name of Hashem Humachti esarabim and is causing others to sin because they're going to say, oh, what a disgusting human being. He's so arrogant. Nobody wants to be close to him. Definitely nobody's going to bless their child to be like him.

12:04
Hahudamu l'neveila, shehi, mushleches, bashuk. And someone who's arrogant is like a. You know, we see those carcasses of animals hanging in the marketplace. They carcasses of animals hanging in the marketplace. They're selling, you know, lamb or something like that. That's someone who's arrogant, is something that's putrid, like that. V'chol over v'shov miniyach yodo al chotmo atshi yavo, and people just put their hand there to push it out of the way. Kacha mizgo miganes ha-Torah, v'lomdeo marchik b'nei odom in ha-Torah. Push it out of the way. Someone who's arrogant is pushing people away from Torah. He's pushing people away from the study of Torah Because they say, what benefit is there in the Torah if this is the arrogance that comes out of it. If this is the result, when they have such negative traits. When we talk, if we aren't good examples, representatives of the Torah, then people will say I want nothing to do with the Torah if this is what it produces. And in this way they are being, they're disgracing the name of Hashem. And this concludes day number 21.