Today’s daf Taanit 20 teaches us that nobody is immune from an overactive ego. You might think a rabbi who devotes his life to studying Torah and observing the commandments wouldn’t be an arrogant egotist, but the following story proves otherwise. Rabbis are human too.
“A person should always be soft
like a reed, and he should not be stiff like a cedar. An incident occurred in which Rabbi Elazar, son
of Rabbi Shimon, came from Migdal Gedor, from his rabbi’s house, and he was
riding on a donkey and strolling on the bank of the river. And he was very
happy, and his head was swollen with pride because he had studied much Torah.
“He happened
upon an exceedingly ugly person, who said to him: Greetings to you,
my rabbi, but Rabbi Elazar did not return his greeting. Instead,
Rabbi Elazar said to him: Worthless [reika] person, how ugly
is that man. Are all the people of your city as ugly as you? The man said
to him: I do not know, but you should go and say to the Craftsman Who
made me: How ugly is the vessel you made. When Rabbi Elazar realized
that he had sinned and insulted this man merely on account of his
appearance, he descended from his donkey and prostrated himself before him,
and he said to the man: I have sinned against you; forgive me. The
man said to him: I will not forgive you go until you go to the Craftsman Who
made me and say: How ugly is the vessel you made. (Is this man telling
Rabbi Elazar he won’t forgive him at all? When he says “go to the Craftsman” is
the wishing Rabbi Elazar to meet his Maker by dying? What do you think?-gg)
. He walked behind the man, trying to appease him, until
they reached Rabbi Elazar’s city. The people of his city came out to
greet him, saying to him: Greetings to you, my rabbi, my rabbi, my master, my
master. The man said to them: Who are you calling my rabbi, my rabbi?
They said to him: To this man, who is walking behind you. He said to them: If
this man is a rabbi, may there not be many like him among the Jewish
people. They asked him: For what reason do you say this? He said to
them: He did such and such to me. They said to him: Even so, forgive him, as
he is a great Torah scholar.
“He said to them: For your sakes I
forgive him, provided that he accepts upon himself not to become accustomed to
behave like this. Immediately, Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, entered the
study hall and taught: A person should always be soft like a reed and he should
not be stiff like a cedar[1],
as one who is proud like a cedar is likely to sin. And therefore, due to
its gentle qualities, the reed merited that a quill is taken from it
to write with it a Torah scroll, phylacteries, and mezuzot.” (Sefaria.org translation)
As you have just read, rabbis are also susceptible to their ego demands
and become intolerable and arrogant people. To fall into this trap is so easy
because of the deference the community affords the Rabbi in all spheres of
life. Pretty soon he easily demands this deference and acts as if it’s his
natural right. The Mussar movement in
Judaism is the antidote to this problem. “The word Mussar itself means ‘correction’ or ‘instruction’ and also serves
as a simple modern Hebrew word for ‘ethics.’ But Mussar is most accurately described as a way of life. It shines
light on the causes of suffering and shows us how to realize our highest
spiritual potential, including an everyday experience infused with happiness,
trust, and love.”[2]
Mornis writes about the fundamental importance of humility.
“In the duties of the heart, Rabbi Bachya ibn Pekuda helps direct our
attention by posing a question: ‘And what do the virtues depend?’
“His answer is clear: ‘all virtues and duties are depended upon humility.’
This is a principal later Mussar teachers
have endorsed-the first leg of the spiritual journey involves the cultivation
of humility. The importance they place on humility is underlined in the Talmud,
where we read: ‘One who sacrifices a whole offering shall be rewarded for a
whole offering. One who offers a burnt offering shall have the reward of a
burnt offering. But one who offers humility to God and man shall be rewarded
with the reward as if he had offered all the sacrifices in the world. As it is
written, ‘A contrite and humble spirit is a sacrifice to God. God does not
ignore a broken heart.’
“The Mussar teachers stress
that humility is a primary soul trait to work on because it entails an
unvarnished and honest assessment of who you are….
“Unfortunately for us, humility sounds so much like humiliation that is
very easy to get a wrong impression of the soul trait. In the traditional
Jewish understanding, humility has nothing to do with being the lowest, most debased,
shrinking creature on earth.”[3] Wayne
and Garth demonstrates this misunderstanding in the movie Wayne’s world (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjaqrPpdQYc). If Moses
Maimonides said “I am nothing. I know nothing,” he wouldn’t be demonstrating
humility because he would be lying. Rabbi Abraham Twersky has taught me that
being humble doesn’t mean “I am nothing.” Being humble means saying, “I am not
reached my full human potential.” The
world will be a much better place if we human beings will cultivate the
attribute of humility.
I would love to create a community of
people who like to study Mussar and
transform their lives by experiencing everyday holiness with me. If you’re
interested, contact me. We don’t even have to meet in person. We can create a
zoom Mussar community.
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