Rabbi Yigal Cohen - The First Step Towards Humility: Faith

Many Jews think to themselves, it's impossible to break the trait of pride inherent within us, and surely the path is long until we achieve humility. As a result of such thoughts, they become discouraged and do not attempt to work on this trait, nor do they strive to reach humility within themselves.

Know, my brothers and friends, that this thought is fundamentally mistaken, and it is the advice of the evil inclination itself, for Heaven forbid that we should say that Hashem commands us in His holy Torah to flee from pride and cling to humility, and that it is impossible to achieve. Is Hashem suspected of commanding things that are beyond our ability, Heaven forbid?

Rather - the truth is we don't invest enough effort and thought into this.

Imagine if we learned together every day for two hours about how to reach humility; it is clear that after a few months we would feel a significant change in our mindset and behavior. If we haven't succeeded in lowering the level of pride within us until now, it is because we haven't tried enough to understand how harmful this trait is to us and how to reach the trait of humility.

When I ask a Jew why he doesn't attend Torah classes, the usual response is, 'I don't have time; I'm busy with my livelihood and household needs!' My response to him: Unlike you, if a person were ill with a known disease, would they have time to attend life-saving treatments? Of course, they would arrive even before the scheduled time to ensure they receive the treatment. All this is because it is extremely important to them; similarly, if one understands the importance of Torah learning to them, they would surely find the time for it.

The same applies to the trait of humility. If we only understand how much it brings us goodness and blessings, like peace in the home, a good livelihood, tranquility of spirit, and even divine inspiration, and conversely, how much pride harms us and causes us anger, loss of livelihood, and humiliation, we would certainly invest many efforts in such an important matter.

First Advice – Faith

For a person to become accustomed to the trait of humility, the most important and essential thing is 'faith.' The more we internalize the clear and simple rule that all our strength, thoughts, and successes come from the Creator, while pride stems from the thought 'we' succeed or 'we' know, and certainly, this is the opposite of faith, as the moment a person thinks everything is due to 'their success,' they forget that the success comes from Him. If we train ourselves that whenever we succeed in any action, we immediately attribute our success to the Creator's kindness with us, no doubt humility will enter within us.

It is said of Moses (Numbers 12:3) 'Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth.' Let us imagine Moses our teacher (of blessed memory), of a height approximately five meters, as mentioned in the Talmud in Berakhot. His face radiated light so that the Israelites could not gaze at him. He could speak with Hashem whenever he wanted (much more than regular divine inspiration and prophecy). He studied Torah in heaven for forty days, and could argue with high angels. He was privileged that the holy Torah is called in his name, as the prophet said (Malachi 3:22) 'Remember the Torah of My servant Moses'. Moses taught the Torah to all of Israel and was sent by the Creator to redeem the people of Israel from Egypt with signs and wonders. Additionally, he was very wealthy (according to the Talmud, he found a diamond mine in his tent) and became wealthy from the tablets' fragments, and to the day of his passing, his vigor did not abate nor did his eyes weaken.

In short, the most perfect person on earth. Yet, despite all this, he was the most humble person on earth, meaning more than any humans who ever walked on the earth, and also more than those who will ever walk upon the earth, the most humble one can apparently become, thus the Torah describes him as 'very humble.'

For years I struggled to understand this, how is it possible that such a perfect person manages to achieve such a level of humility? (Rashi there interprets the word 'humble': lowly and patient), that he felt himself more lowly than everyone?

We can imagine in our mind's eye, a crippled person, limited in intellect, with not so pleasant features, and without any wealth, being humble and lowly due to his limitations. With a little common sense, he will understand he has nothing to be proud of.

But Moses, being perfect, how can we understand with our limited intellect that he could reach such a level of lowliness of spirit?

Until I realized the answer is very simple. 'Mouth to mouth do I speak to him openly and not in dark speeches' (Numbers 12:8), 'You shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen' (Exodus 33:23). Moses was privileged to see the Creator of the Universe more than any other person on earth. In other words, he was the greatest believer, and when a person sees Hashem and understands His greatness, and knows that essentially there is nothing in the world except Him, and all wisdom and successes depend on His will, immediately true humility enters the heart because one understands two important things: first, how insignificant he is compared to the wonderful greatness of the King of kings, and second, that all of 'his success' in the world is not really his, but rather belongs to the One who sustains him every moment and gives him wisdom, and that is the supreme Creator.

'In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight' (Proverbs 3:6) – King Solomon teaches us, the more we know at every moment that we are dependent on the Creator's guidance in all our ways, meaning in all our successes and failures, 'and He will make your paths straight,' the more humility will enter our hearts before Him, and our actions will be straight and just, without internal pride.

Sometimes, a young man who succeeded in learning and completed the entire Talmud arrives at a grand celebration, the completion of the Shas, and as usual, pride enters his heart, and he says to himself, 'At such a young age I finished Shas,' how many like me are there in the world? Now everyone must honor me, and the bride must be very special, fitting for a man of my stature, and the father of the bride who 'wins' me must buy an apartment for a groom like me.'

Come, my young friend, and let's make a simple calculation –

The eyes with which you saw the letters during your studies worked because the Creator commanded them to work, not by your own power and wisdom.

The cells in your brain that worked to understand the writings are merely flesh and blood, and if the Creator had not been transmitting wisdom, understanding, and knowledge to you at every moment during your studies, you wouldn't have understood a thing.

Your heart that worked without your noticing while you learned, pumping blood to all parts of your body, worked by direct order from the Creator. And so did all the organs in your body.

If that is not enough to calm your pride, reflect, my friend, on how dependent you are on the Creator's grace, who can cease from granting you the constant gifts you receive any moment. If you were privileged to study in a prestigious yeshiva, know that you could have been born into a family far removed from observing Torah and commandments, and then you might have been celebrating over vanities instead of holy books. You were privileged as Hashem had mercy on you and brought you into a connected and loving family that knows Him, so how can you boast about free gifts you received.

It is a hard experience to teach Torah to others, to give public lessons, innovate insights in the holy Torah, and sometimes even receive compliments about it, and yet not feel pride in your heart even slightly. But when I remember my place of birth (the Tikva neighborhood), I realize that had the Creator not sent, at age eight, a messenger to persuade my precious parents to send me to a yeshiva in Bnei Brak, it is likely I would have been one of the market stall owners in the Tikva market (without disrespecting their honor), or worse places (like many children who remained to grow up in the neighborhood). I immediately understand my place and know that all I have in life is a free gift.

The book 'Yagel Libi B'Yeshuatecha' is available at selected stores and in Hidabroot Shops