Day 4 - Unearthing our Character Flaws (Orchos Tzadikim)
00:00 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
Welcome back to day number four of Orchos Tzadikim, and we're continuing on page 22 in the Treasure for Life edition Tei davetavin. We have to know and understand that mi she tivoy noyte lemidara, anyone who has an inclination or is naturally inclined to a negative trait, to an evil trait Oy shehar she hirgil b'midara or got used to, became a habit to use a negative trait V'lo yitayna liba ilashu v'meno ach tamid misgaber bar and didn't make the effort and work on changing that trait and overcoming that trait, but rather, every once in a while he overcomes it, because it is such a difficult task to do such a thing, to each time overcome it again and again instead of one time dealing with it and eradicating the negative trait. Now he's going to despise positive traits. And just like pain, distress, affliction are bodily illnesses, so too negative traits are also sicknesses. Illnesses of the soul are also sicknesses, illnesses of the soul. When someone is ill with his body, what's sweet tastes bitter and what's bitter tastes sweet. Everything is all confused. And they dislike the food that's healthy for them and they want the food that's healthy for them and they want the food that's unhealthy for them. Ha'kol afi rov acholi. And it all depends on how sick the person is.
01:51
Kach b'nei ha'odam b'nafshesem cholos. Every person needs to understand that someone who has negative trait is sick in their soul. Their soul is ill. Mis'avim v'ovim ha'deos, haros V'sonim ha'derech ha'tova. And what happens is that they end up liking, or being gravitated towards, the negative traits that one should stay away from and disliking the positive traits that one should get closer to and, depending on their soul illness, their soul sickness, then that's how extreme this will go. V'chein yishayot oimer ba'anoshim halolu. We see this by yishayot Isaiah hoi ha'oimim lora toiv ve'toiv ra. Shomayim choyshech, sorry, samim choyshech la'oyer, ve'oyer, la'choyshech samim mar l'm. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who take darkness for light and light for darkness, who take bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter, as is in Yeshaya, chapter 5, verse 20. And we see this in Proverbs that Shlomo Melelech, king Salman, tells us, who forsake the path of uprightness to walk in ways of darkness. V'keitzad, v'keitzad.
03:16
And what is the proper way to heal this soul illness, the illness of the soul? Yechu el tzachachamim, you go to the wise people, you go to wise men, to the scholars, shehem, rofei, nefashis. They are the doctors for the soul, ve'yirapu cholyom, and they will help them heal their negative traits. B'deos sh'molam nemosom. They teach them the proper way, ad sheach zirum l'derach ha'tova, until they get restored to the proper way of living life.
03:54
To those who do not go to the wise for healing, this is what Shlomo HaMelech says those who are skeptical. They scorn the wisdom and the discipline of the righteous. There are those of our people of mankind that they want and they aspire for the good way, but they don't know what is the right way, what is the good way, and they desire every day to have refined traits, to be better in their midos. And they do not attain them the entire days of their life. This comes from two reasons the entire days of their life. וזה העניין בו מחמס שתי דברים? This comes from two reasons האחד שאין עמקר חסרנו.
04:49
Someone who doesn't know their flaws, someone who doesn't know their limitations and their weaknesses in their character traits. ואין עמבכן, ואין עמבכן בדרוכב המגונם. And he doesn't recognize his faulty traits. V'hu doma l'ruvein, sh'mechap esach ha-sh'men v'einu makiro. Imagine Ruvane is looking for Shimon, but he doesn't know who Shimon is. He never met him before, he has no idea what he looks like. And he's looking all day for Shimon but not able to find him because he doesn't know what Shimon is, v'afili chap es. He won't be able to find him because he doesn't know who he is and even though he desires to find him Because so many times he may have met him, he may have seen him in the marketplace, but he didn't know that that's who he was looking for. Because he doesn't recognize his own flaw, he doesn't understand what he's looking for in his search, in his desire to improve his way.
05:58
My grandfather, reb Shlomo Volba Zecha Tzadik Levracha, would always say the story of one of his students. My grandfather would talk to his Talmidim and tell them to go for a walk on their own in the evening and to contemplate their own midos and to investigate their own traits. And one night Reb Volcha went for a walk and came back and he was terrified. He was, he was shaking and he knocked on my grandfather's door and he was white like a ghost. And and he asks my grandfather, my grandfather, he was terrified. My grandfather asked him is everything okay? He says I went on the walk, I went, I went and I was and I met somebody. I met a total stranger. I had no idea who he was and he said did he hurt you, did he hit you, did he rob you? I had no idea who he was and he said did he hurt you, did he hit you, did he rob you? He says no, no, no, it was myself. I didn't know myself. My whole life I've been living thinking I'm someone else, but now I realized who I really am and I'm terrified of the person I just met.
06:55
It's very important for a person to get to know who they are, to get to know their own personal traits, to get to know their own character, because there's no one more fascinating, there's no one more exciting and no one more rewarding for us to ever meet than our own selves. This is the norms. A person who has a tendency towards anger, a person who has a tendency towards arrogance, a person has a tendency towards any negative traits. It's really, really terrible if they don't identify and know about it. But along with that, my grandfather would always say it's when you bring this from the mirror what he learned by a biruchim that although it's terrible for someone not to know their negative traits, it's even worse if someone doesn't know their positive traits. So we have to invest time and effort to identifying who it is that we really are.
07:49
Who am I? Who am I? What are the traits that Hashem gifted me with, that imbued within my soul? Certain traits that nobody else possesses? The same configuration of traits. It's important for each and every person to know who they are the positive and then, once you have the positives like the Orchah Tzaddikim is showing us here, understanding and acknowledging the negative traits that we have as well, so that we can perfect them. My friends, have a terrific day.
