Podcasts about anava

Welcome to Daily Bitachon . We are working through the pesukim of the Bikkurim , which are pesukim of Hakarat Hatov . As we said, this pasuk is Hakarat Hatov for the difficulties. . וַיְעַנּוּנוּ , simply translates as They pained us. The Egyptians pained us. We go back to the pasuk in Shemot , וַיִתְּנוּ עָלֵינוּ עֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי מִסִּים לְמַעַן עַנֹּתוֹ בְּסִבְלֹתָם, / They placed taskmasters upon them, to pain them in their load. וַיִּבֶן עָרֵי מִסְכְּנוֹת לְפַרְעֹה אֶת־פִּתֹם וְאֶת־רַעַמְסֵס. And they built treasure cities for Paroah Pitom and Raamses. What does Vayanunu mean? Literally, it means to be pained. The root of , וַיְעַנּוּנוּ VayAnunu , is Anya or Oni , which means to be pained . It's also lashon Ani/ poor and of Anava which is to be humbled . And it happens to also connect to Ve'Anita which is to announce and proclaim , which is seemingly not related. So, what's the connection between poverty , pain , and humility ? The answer is that a poor man is called poor because he's humbled. A pained man is called pained because he's broken, he's humbled. So, the Egyptians humbled us. The heavy work was there Lemaan anoto / To humble us . That was the Egyptians' goal, but it was also God's goal. As we've mentioned in the past, the Chida tells us the purpose of Galut Mitzrayim was to cause the Jewish people to become humble. We see this throughout the Haggadah. Lechem oni , Ha lachma anya , the bread of humility; Matzah symbolizes humility . Chametz symbolizes gaava / arrogance . For the seven days of Pesach , we only eat matzah . Matzah is humility . The purpose of all challenges in life is to humble us, to make us realize that we're not in charge, to make us realize that Hashem is in control and we need Him. So when we have challenges and we realize that we can't do it on our own and we turn to God, that is God's purpose in sending the challenge. The challenge is not there because God wants to, Has V'Shalom, hurt us or pain us or break us. Rather, Hashem wants us to come closer to Him. Arrogance is the opposite of connection to God. Humility is the act of connection, and that's the goal. The goal is to get us to become humble. That's why the next pasuk after this is וַנִּצְעַק אֶל־יְיָ אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֵינ וּ/ We cried out to Hashem our God. Mission accomplished! Once we get the message and realize the purpose of the suffering, it goes away. Because the goal is not to suffer. There is a famous Midrash that Hashem told the Jewish people, at Kriat Yam Suf, Hashmi'eini et Kolech / I want to hear your voice. And the reason the Egyptians were chasing us after we left Egypt was that Hashem said, I don't hear your voice anymore. I don't hear you calling out to me like you called out to me in Egypt. You already feel like you're independent. This happens to everybody. While going through the tzarah , we're screaming out, " Please help us! Hashem help me, just get me out of this." But once the problem passes, that's it. We say, Thank you, God, but I don't need You anymore. That's human nature. It's the way of human beings. We want to be in charge, so we need constant reminders to humble us. And those reminders come in many different shapes, colors, and forms- All things to remind us that we are not in charge . And that's the vayanunu . That's the inui , that's the pain. David Hamelech says, א֭וֹדְךָ כִּ֣י עֲנִיתָ֑נִי וַתְּהִי־לִ֝֗י לִישׁוּעָֽה׃/ I praise You that You pained me and You were there for a salvation . David Hamelech praises Hashem for the pain . That's the Vayanunu . Rabbi Ades asks, Why do we pray? If Hashem gave us a problem, it's a problem. It's what it's supposed to be. So why are we praying ? He says, the answer is because the problem is there to humble us. And when we pray to Hashem, which is the way that we show that we're humble and that we need Him, then the problem goes away. So, as long as you don't pray, the problem is the right thing for you because it's going to push you to pray. But once you pray, the problem can go away. This answers the very philosophical question of Why pray ? If everything Hashem does is for the good, this is what I need . No, you don't need this headache. You need humility . The headache is there to get you to humility. So of course you need the headache to humble you. But once you're humble, you don't need the headache.

What Brings Geulah?

Welcome to our Daily Bitachon lesson. We are starting a new, pre-Pesach Hagadah series. We're going to start with Ha Lachma Anya, which is divided into three units. Unit number one is, הא לחמא עניא דיאכלו אבהתנא בארעא דמצרים/ This is the bread of of affliction that our forefathers ate and lay on the land of Mitzrayim . Unit number two is כל דכפין ייתי ויכול. Anyone that's hungry should come and eat. כל דצריך. Anyone that has any other Passover needs. ייתי ויפסח should come and fulfill his Passover needs. Unit three, השתא הכא. השתא, This year. לשנה הבאה בארעא דישראל. Next year we're going to be in ארץ ישראל. השתא עבדי, this year we are slaves. לשנה הבאה בני חורין, next year we're going to be free. Unit number one is about humility. הא לחמא עניא. Ha Lachma Anya i s the Lashon of Anava. The goal of Galut Mitzrayim , was to make us humbled. We spoke about this at length when we spoke about humility. The goal of the Galut is to humble ourselves. Matzah represents humility . Chametz , which grows and is bloated, represents Arrogance . Therefore the first step we need to make towards our ultimate redemption is to become humble. There is a famous midrash that says, ענוים ענוים, הגיע זמן גאולתכם. Humble ones, oh humble ones, the time of redemption has come. The redemption will come when we are humble. The Mashiach is referred to as Ani, a poor or humble man that's riding on a donkey. Humility is a prerequisite for the Geula . The Chida speaks about this at length and tells us that in order to receive the Torah we have to be humble. Har Sinai is low and humble. He says that the level of Torah that's going to be revealed in the time of Mashiach is so great that we have to go through these centuries of Galut to further humble ourselves in preparation or that great revelation of the times of Mashiach. That's unit one- humility. Unit two is אהבת ישראל. כל דכפין, ייתי ויכול. Anyone that's hungry, come in and eat. כל דכפין, anyone that's needy, come and get your meal. It's not enough for us just to be humble. We also have to be giving and take care of our fellow man. Of course, humility will bring one to get along with other people but we have to take the humility to the next stage. Humility brings about two things. Number one is, getting along with people. But that's not enough. We also need to have Bitachon. We have to rely on Hashem. When a person is humble, he realizes he's not in charge. The person who's a Baal Ga'ava cannot rely on Hashem, because he's relying on himself. He thinks he can do everything. He thinks he doesn't need any help. But the humble man can rely on Hashem. Therefore, after this unit on the bread of affliction, it branches off into two roads. Firstly, humility brings us to Ahavat Yisrael . We're able to invite in those that are needy. Additionally, humility brings us to rely on Hashem and have Bitachon and say This year we are here, this year we are servants. Next year we'll be in Eretz Yisrael. Next year we'll be free. That's Bitachon , because we realize we're not in charge, and that was the whole message of the Matzah . The reason we have Matzah, and the reason everything is centered around the Matzah is that we didn't have a chance for the bread to rise. We rushed out. When you rush out, it's because you're not in control. When you're in control, you plan. But we rushed out because we were not in control of anything. Hashem did it all. And so too, with the final Geula ,. The Navi uses the phrase Pit'om Yavo / It will come suddenly. It's going to happen with speed because we're not in charge. The Rambam starts off his Hagaddah with the words בבהילו / In a rush. We rushed out. And we're going to rush out of this Galut as well. That is the opening paragraph. We're setting the stage. It's a stage of humility. And out of humility is born Ahavat Yisrael and Bitachon . And for all those Bet Halevi enthusiasts, you know that he wrote three essays. One of them was on Bitachon , one of them was on Ahavat Yisrael , and one of them is on Anava - and that's because these three points are all interrelated. And they're all necessary for the Geula. Rav Yaakov Hillel shlita says that these essays were hiding until our generation, the final generation, to help us get us ready for the Geula -with these three fundamental points: Bitachon , Ahavat Yisrael and Anava - and those are the three fundamental points that the Haggadah of Pesach starts with.

Welcome to our humility series. I want to share a beautiful piece from the sefer Amud Avoda/Pillar of Service to Hashem, written by Rav Baruch of Kosov, a great Hasidic Rabbi, in his essay on Anava . He brings up a question based on the Gemara in Nedarim in 38A which says, Hashem only rests His Shechina on someone who is strong, smart, wealthy, and humble. The Rambam, in his commentary Shemonah Perakim , explains that smart means obviously someone wise in knowledge, and strong doesn't mean he has muscles, it means he overcomes his Yetzer Hara. And he says wealthy means that he's happy with less. The Rambam is obviously coming to answer the question that's asked by the Alshich, which is, " I understand why I need wisdom and humility. But why do I need wealth and strength (for the Shechina to dwell on me) ? He quotes this question from Maram Alshech in Vayikra 21,9 and his answer is, If a person is very weak and very poor and doesn't have any great speaking skills, am I going to say that this person is humble?? What does he have to be proud of? Conversely, if somebody is powerful, influential, wealthy and can do whatever he wants, and still he doesn't respond when he's insulted, that person can be referred to as humble. You need to first have the ability to stand up for yourself. Therefore, he says, in truth, humility is enough to bring Hashem's Shechina down on a person. As we've seen in the past, Moshe Rabbenu had the highest level of Nevuah because he was humble. But if a person is not smart, powerful and wealthy, there's no way for that humility to be expressed. True humility is when the person that has all of those qualities and realizes that the qualities that he has, he received from Hashem. As we know in all Middot, we emulate Hashem. The Gemara in Megila 31A says that Rav Yochanan says, Wherever you find God's greatness, there, you find His humility . The Gemara says this is said in the Torah, repeated in the Navi, and tripled in the Ketuvim . For example, the pasuk says, God is all powerful and He takes care of the widow and the orphan. So we talk about His greatness, and with that always comes His humility. Why is that the package? He explains that it's because that's the point. Humility is only humility when we first see the greatness. And only because God is so great and so powerful, is His humility that much greater. The greatest thing it says about Hashem, says the Tomar Devorah, is Mi El Kamocha/who is a God like You? Which means, Who is like God that is so powerful and yet holds back from letting out His anger . God should stop the world based on what's going on. But God tolerates, and the Tomar Devorah quotes that God has referred to as the God that takes insult. So God is so humble because He's so great. With this, the Noda B'Yehuda, in his second volume of Or HaChaim (siman כ )says, that's why we read in the Shacharit of YomKippurim , the Haftara of Yeshaya 57:15 that talks about God as כֹ֨ה אָמַ֜ר רָ֣ם וְנִשָּׂ֗א so says the High and the Lofty. And then it says, What do I look at? I look at the humble person. He says we read this on Yom Kippur because we want to say how great and powerful God is. And yet we ask Hashem, Please have that trait of humility. Yes, You can destroy and wipe us out, but have mercy. Take a little bit more insult (as if to say) and give us another good year. The Amud Avoda quotes a song called HaAderet V'Emuna, which goes through different qualities of God. One of the lines says, Strength and humility is to the God Who is the life of all worlds . Why the strength and humility packaged together? And again, it's the same point. The Amud Avoda goes on to explain another beautiful point: We say about Moshe Rabbenu two interesting things: first in Devarim 34 10, וְלֹא־קָ֨ם נָבִ֥יא ע֛וֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל כְּמֹשֶׁ֑ה There is no prophet that is like Moshe Rabbenu Then, in Bamidbar 12,3, it says וְהָאִ֥ישׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה עָנָ֣ו מְאֹ֑ד מִכֹּל֙ הָֽאָדָ֔ם Moshe was the most humble of people He says the two hinge on each other. Because Moshe Rabbenu was such a great prophet, his humility was true humility because he has so much to be proud of. And it goes both ways. Not only was he a great prophet because he was humble, but he was also the ultimate humble person because he was the greatest of prophets. He says it's a constant cycle. Moshe Rabbenu, because he recognized how great Hashem was, further humbled himself. The greater that he realized God was, the more humble he became himself. The more a person understands God, the more humble he becomes. So it ends up that something very counterintuitive is going on here. The people that have so many qualities- he's a hacham/wise he's gibbor/strong he's an ashir / wealthy- Yet he could be an Anav . Why? Because he realizes at the end of the day, these are all gifts from God. Beautiful. On the other hand, a person could be a Baal Ga'ava without having any qualities. What a paradox- the person that has all the qualities is humble, and the person without any qualities can be arrogant! There's a beautiful story told of the Chatam Sofer. A young man once came to him for advice, " How do I deal with my arrogance? How do I deal with my Ga'ava?" The Chatam Sofer replied, " Good question, please sit in my my room for a few minutes and I'll think of an answer for you." So the young man sat there watching, as people came to the Chatam Sofer with their questions. The first fellow said, " Rabbi, I need help. My daughter is of age. She needs to get married. I don't have any money for the wedding. I need a hundred thousand dollars ." The Chatam Sofer said, " Go ask that young man over there at the other end of the room. " So the man asked, and the young man answered, " I don't have any money. How can I help you?" The next man walked in with a very difficult, intricate halachic question. The Chatam Sofer again told him to go ask that young man at the other end of the room. So the man started asking the question and the boy said, " This is way too complex. I can't answer that question. " A third man walked in, looking for advice on a certain business challenge from the Chatam Sofer, who was brilliant, and had help from above. Again he said, " Ask that young boy at the other end of the room." And again, the boy said, " I don't know anything about business." After they left, the Chatam Sofer called the boy over and said, " Young man, you don't have money. You couldn't help that fellow. You don't really know that much Gemara, because you couldn't answer the question. You don't have much business acumen because you couldn't help that man either. What are you arrogant about?" And the answer is, like we've quoted from the Steipler, Arrogance doesn't make any sense. Middot don't necessarily make sense. It's just built into the person-whoever you are and whatever you have, you can become a Baal Ga'ava. Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz once said he was watching a garbage truck go by with a driver, and a guy standing on the back- to put the trash in. He heard the driver say, " Ha! I'm not the guy in the back putting the garbage in. I'm driving the garbage truck! " The Rabbi said to himself, That's what you're arrogant about? You're the driver of the garbage truck! He says, that's all you need. Arrogance can grab onto anything. So you can be arrogant with nothing and you could be humble with having everything in the world. It's an interesting way of looking at it.

Welcome to our Anava series. The Midrash Raba Bereshit 81:2 tells the following story: Rabbenu HaKadosh, also known as Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, the redactor of the Mishna, was passing by the town of Simonia , where the residents of came out to greet him and made a request. They said, " Rebbi, provide us with a person who will teach us both the Tanach and the Mishna and we'll judge our disputes." Rebbi gave them none other than Rav Levi BarSisi. When Rav Levi came to the town they constructed a large platform for him and seated him upon it so that he would address them, at which time the words of the Torah became hidden from his mouth. In other words, he forgot some of his learning. They asked him three questions on the laws of chalitza and he was not able to answer them. They said, Well, maybe this rabbi is more of an expert in Aggada, in the Musar aspects and not so much in Talmudic law. So they asked him a question on a pasuk , and again, he wasn't able to answer. When Rav Levi saw how dire the situation was, he got up early the next morning and returned to Rabbenu HaKadosh, hoping that Rabbenu HaKadosh would relieve him of his post, seeing the difficulty he was having. Rebbi asked him, " So how'd it go? How's it going in your new position?" He said, " Please, don't even bring it up. Don't remind me of my troubles." What happened? "They asked me these questions,and I wasn't able to answer them. " Rebbi said, What questions did they ask you ? Rav Levi repeated the questions and gave all the answers. Then he repeated the question from the pesukim and gave those answers. Rebbe then asked, " So why didn't you answer them like you answered me?" Rav Levi said, " They made a large platform for me and seated me upon it, and my spirit became conceited and the words of the Torah became hidden from me." Unbelievable. Why did this happen? Rav Yerucham Levovitz, in his sefer Da'at Chochma UMussar (vol 2, page 53) has an essay called Kedushat HaTorah/the Holiness of Torah . He writes, I was just in the town of Vilna and I was hosted in a house that was directly opposite of the university. I was looking at the students as they were going and coming from the school and I saw something strange. As they were walking in, they were combing their hair, making themselves look good. And on the way out, they were also doing that. The boys and girls were lightheadedly coming and going. And I assume that it was pretty similar when they were inside the classes as well. That's the way they learn their secular wisdom. It seems not to bother their studies, because they're graduating and everything is going fine. Maybe it bothers them a little bit, but it's not so terrible. On the other hand, let's look at how our study halls look. What if we would have that going on? It's a total contradiction. In a situation of lightheadedness, you can't learn Torah. You can't even think Torah in situations where it's unclean or unbecoming, because it disturbs the Torah. He says, You know what that shows me? That Torah comes from heaven. It's holy, it's pure. And therefore it doesn't tolerate anything that is contrary to holiness impurity. Which is why, as we said, You can't learn Torah opposite something that's not clean. You can't pray opposite something that's unclean. That's how holy our religion is. The nature of the Torah is kodesh kodashim. We have to make ourselves befitting to receive the Torah. We have to make sure that we're all shiny clean, not externally shiny and clean, but internally- we have to be shiny clean. Otherwise, the Gemara will not stay with us; Our learning will not stay with us. He says, Torah, due to its holiness and its purity, does not tolerate anyone with bad Middot. A drop of arrogance, or a drop of being makpid/ being exacting is enough to make it leave. As we may know, there are 48 ways to wisdom and most of them are character refinements. After this, he quotes this story of Rav Levi Bar Sisi, and says that because of a little bit of arrogance that he felt, he started to forget his learning. This is unbelievable. We don't find this in any other realm. Torah is compared to water, as we've said. Just like water flows downward, the Torah flows downward, like it says in Shir HaShirim 1:19. Therefore a person has to make himself fit for the Torah. A drop of arrogance, a drop of conceit, a drop of holiness , and it leaves. He says, professors have no problem standing on the highest of platforms with their hearts full of all kinds of abominations, with Middot that are off. It doesn't bother them at all. Why not? Because Torah is min Hashamayim . Torah is holy. That's why we need that refinement. What refinement are we talking about? The ultimate refinement is the refinement of humility . That's why we see that all the Gedoleh Yisrael are extremely humble. There's a famous story about Rav Akiva Eiger. Somebody wrote him a letter and he wrote back to the man with all kinds of great titles, "To the great leader in Israel, to the light of our nation." The person he was writing to was a simple rabbi, and when asked why he had addressed the rabbi this way, Rabbi Akiva Eiger replied, " Well, I see people write like that to me. I thought it was proper etiquette, so that's the way I wrote to him." Rabbi Eiger was not saying to himself, " Of course I'm the Gadol Hador and that's why they write like that to me. " He figured it was probably the way you're supposed to do it. This was the way of all our greats. It's not a coincidence. Rav Akiva Eiger was a giant of giants. When he asked a question, we call them bomb questions. And on the side of the Gemara there's a little gloss and a little sign that looks one of these warnings of a nuclear reactor. We used to say it's like a nuclear bomb, his questions. And he sometimes ends off his questions with, " God should enlighten my eyes," as if I'm the proble m. My glasses are foggy . They train us in Yeshiva that when you don't understand something, you don't say. Tosafot doesn't make any sense . You say, I don't understand this. Okay, very nice. That's good for me. But the greats say, " Oh, how lacking I am. I don't understand this Tosafot. I don't understand this Gemara. I have a weakness . This is what makes the great leaders great. It's not that they're great leaders and by the way, they're also humble. No, without the humility, they wouldn't have their Torah. They wouldn't be able to do it. And that, Rav Yerucham Levovitz says, is the message of that story. That's why it's very scary when we sometimes see people that know a lot of Torah but they're very arrogant people. What's going on? The answer is, quoting a term that the Chassid Yaavetz uses, " He's not a learned person. He's a Yodeah Torah." He knows Torah but that doesn't mean he's a Talmid Hacham . Similarly, there's a Gemara in Masechet Megila 28 B, where someone was asked to give a Hesped for a person that knew a lot of Torah. They asked Rav Nachman to give a eulogy, and his answer was, What should I say at the eulogy? That a basket full of books has been gone? I heard this from my Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Abba Berman. This man learned a lot, but the learning did not become part of him. It was just knowledge . If a person does not have the proper Middot , its not that he can't have knowledge , but that knowledge is just like secular knowledge. The reason Rav Levi Barsisi's Torah left him is because his Torah was Torah Kedosha which can not tolerate bad Middot. If it's just knowledge of Torah, that's a different story. That's the importance of humility when it comes to holding your Torah.

We continue with our series on humility. Rav Wolbe, his sefer Aleh Shor (vol 1 page 134) talks about the concept of ladders of self-improvement. We find this, he says, in sefer Mesilat Yesharim , where Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzato cites a Gemara in Avoda Zara 20B that says, Torah brings to one being careful and being careful brings you to alacrity and so on. The Hovot Halevavot has ten gates which are also a ladder of sorts. Another of the ladders Rav Wolbe cites is the letter of the Ramban, the famous Igeret HaRamban , which is also a ladder. He tells us that the ladder starts with talking softly. Talking softly brings you to staying away from anger, staying away from anger brings you to humility, humility brings you to fear of God. And Fear of God brings you to be happy in your lot. From there, you come to the Shechina dwelling on a person. Wonderful ladder of the Igeret HaRamban. Many might not appreciate Rav Wolbe's outlook of this as ladder of the Ramban. As we said, the ladder really starts from humility. So this is a beautiful concept, how humility is the first step. And of course, you can't jump right into humility, so we'll go through it more in depth. The first thing the Ramban says, in beautiful words, is to תִּתְנַהֵג תָּמִיד לְדַבֵּר כָּל דְּבָרֶיךָ בְּנַחַת, לְכָל אָדָם וּבְכָל עֵת Accustom yourself to speak gently. All your words, to all people, and at all times. There are lot of alls in there. I once learned that the Ramban is trying to tell us, There are no exceptions here. All your words means every single word you say, to all people, even that nudgy guy, at all times. So even if I'm on my way to my daughter's wedding and I'm a little hassled, or I'm on the way to the airplane, slow it down. All people, all time, all your words. What is that going to do for you? וּבַזֶּה תִּנָּצֵל מִן הַכַּעַס, And this will protect you from anger, which is a most serious character flaw, which causes one to sin. Ok so let's say you got there. You spoke softly. Then, if you speak softly, you don't get angry. Rabbi Ades says, We see from here that your outside impacts your inside. Look how simple this. You're not angry yet, and you got yourself to use that low tone, which in itself is soothing and will protect you from getting angry. And once we are protected from getting angry, what happens next ? He uses beautiful words: Once you've distanced yourself from anger, תַּעֲלֶה עַל לִבְּךָ מִדַּת הָעֲנָוָה, The quality of humility will enter your heart. He says, humility is the best possible trait there is. The Ramban is telling us something very, very powerful: Anger, which stems from arrogance ( you only get angry because things don't go your way) is the antithesis of humility. Anger and humility can not coexist. It's like fire and water. When you take away the water, the fire will burn. When you take away the fire, the water will move. It's interesting that anger is compared to fire . The Zohar says, don't burn any fire in any of your dwellings on Shabbat - and the first fire is the fire of anger. And Humility is compared to water. It says, just like water travels downwards, humility is about going down. Fascinating! Fire and Water, anger and humility. Another interesting point is that the numerical value of מקוה Mikveh is one more than כעס /anger, because going to the mikveh absolves one of the trait of anger; it purifies. That means it's almost a natural reaction. He doesn't say, Remove the anger and then work on you're anava. His words are, וְכַאֲשֶׁר תִּנָּצֵל מִן הַכַּעַס, תַּעֲלֶה עַל לִבְּךָ מִדַּת הָעֲנָוָה When you distance (or save ) yourself from anger, humility will go up on your heart. Naturally , humility will into your heart. And now that you're humble, תַּעֲלֶה עַל לִבְּךָ מִדַּת הַיִּרְאָה, The Middah of Fear of Hashem will come into your heart. What was stopping you from fearing Hashem was Ga'ava ( Hey I'm in charge) which is the opposite of Yirat Hashem. Taaleh , you are elevated . This is not a regular ladder. This is an escalator . You put your foot on one step, and it moves you up to the next one. So your humility will cause your fear to go up. Why? Because now that you're no longer arrogant, you start paying attention. Where'd I come from? Where am I going? I am רִמָּה וְתוֹלֵעָה as frail as a maggot or a worm when alive, even more so in death. He continues, And who's going to judge you? When you start thinking about all these things, you'll be afraid of your Creator. You'll protect yourself from sin, and you'll be always happy with your lot because somebody who is arrogant always wants more. And then he says, When you continue to act with this trait of Anava, and you stand meekly in front of men and you're fearful from Hashem and from sin, אָז תִּשְׁרֶה עָלֶיךָ רוּחַ הַשְּׁכִינָה, וְזִיו כְּבוֹדָהּ, וְחַיֵּי עוֹלָם הַבָּא. The spirit of Hashem's presence will rest upon you and you'll live the life of the World to Come (I'll add in this world ) Unbelievable. The man that has humility is living in Gan Eden on earth. It's fascinating that the Ramban ends with the words, Read this letter once a week and neglect none of it. He says , Every day that you read this letter, Hashem will answer your heart's desires . People think this is some kind of magical segula : Read the letter of the Ramban and Hashem will answer your prayers. No. It says, as we've mentioned many times, that when a person is humble, Hashem answers his prayers. When a person is arrogant, Hashem doesn't answer his prayers. More than that, when the Shechina is in front of you, your prayers are answered easily. When you go to the Kotel, Hashem's Shechina is there. One that becomes humble, says the Ramban, the Shechina is on top of him, so of course his prayers are answered. This is not some kind of magical segula . This is the reality of becoming humble. That's the beautiful ladder of the Ramban, that starts from humility and ends with God's Shechina dwelling on you. What a powerful, powerful concept, to understand and appreciate what we're doing in our work on Anava .

Welcome to our class on humility. When it comes to working on and thinking about a specific Middah , there is always a possible danger that something could ruin the Middah or ruin the effort. In the third gate of the Hovot Halevavot, the Gate of Serving Hashem (fourth chapter), he talks about the ten levels of service of Hashem. The ninth level (which is pretty close to the top) is people who serve Hashem for the right reasons, yet lack an important piece of information. שלא נשמרו ממפסידי העבודות, They aren't careful from guarding themselves from the things that could cause their service Hashem to be lacking. He quotes a pasuk from Kohelet (10:1) זבובי מות יבאיש יביע שמן רוקח /The flies of death can ruin the best of oils and quotes one of the pious men telling the students, " I'm afraid for you, for the greatest of sins ." They asked, What is the greatest of sins? And he said, הגבהות (החונף) והגאוה, כמו שאמר הכתוב Feeling exalted, being a flatterer, and having Ga'ava/ arrogance, as it says תועבת ה' כל גבה לב:‏ ,/ An abomination to God is anybody arrogant. This is scary. A person can do everything right and it can backfire, specifically when a person is working on humility. He might say, " Wow, look who I am. I'm working on humility." He ends up becoming arrogant from that! Rav Wolbe, in his letters, (vol 2, page 129), hints to this Hovot Halevavot and says, When a person works on Middot, every step of the way, he feels that his actions are coming from arrogance that's born from the Flatterer, which are almost the exact words of this Hovot Halevavot. And he says, I have a tradition from my rabbis that we should never think we're doing anything. Whatever we do is only to train ourselves. We're apprenticing, we're interning. When I'm trying to be Mechaven in my prayers, I'm just training myself in how to do it. Whatever I'm working on, it's just a training session. He says, Hitlamdut / an internship or training doesn't drag arrogance . In Aleh Shor (vol two, page 194) he says something similar: When it comes to apprenticing, it's impossible to become arrogant. If I'm doing something good, I can become arrogant. But if I'm just training, I haven't really done anything because I'm only in training. When I'm in training mode, I'm always looking to see what I can fix. My critical eye is going over me every step of the way. A therapist, a doctor, whoever's in training, they know they're in training. Like the nine interns following the big professor through the hospital. They're not arrogant. They know that they're interns. He stresses that we must understand this, and that the only success a person will have in working on themselves is if they have this attitude. Otherwise it's just going to backfire. You might say, " Look at me! Not only am I working on Bitachon, not only do I work on Hessed, I'm even working on Anava! Do you know how great I am?!" He says, If a person does not understand this concept that you're in the internship stage , you're just training, you're in the minor leagues, then you're better off not doing this. You'll be a good Jew without it. It's not for you. It's too dangerous. Furthermore, in Aleh Shor (vol 1, page 65) Rav Wolbe says we are supposed to think, "I just want to get a little bit better, or a little bit more truthful in my approach," One should not think, " I made it ," or " I got it ." Like the example of the poor man who knocks on the door and comes in in the middle of the meal. He is served whatever they're up to. He's not going to say, " Ooh, look who I am!" You're just an intern. You're apprenticing. It shouldn't get to your head. Mesilat Yesharim , in chapter 11, talks about different manifestations of Ga'ava . He says there's a certain type of arrogant person who says in his heart that he's so great and so honorable that honor can never separate from him, and therefore he doesn't even need it. To show that, he'll go to the extreme in humility. But in his heart, he lifts himself up and says, I'm so high up and so respected that I don't even need respect . I'm so great, I don't need someone to tell me how great I am . I have so much of it. I don't need anyone else to pat me on the back. A slightly different type of arrogant person says, "I want to be clearly designated as a person with many great qualities. It's not enough that people say for example, that I'm wise, or I'm kind. He want them to add to the list of his great qualities that I'm very humble. He becomes arrogant in his humility! He wants honor for showing that he's running away from honor! He sits in the back of the shul, and he acts in a very humble way to show that he's the ultimate Anav . Don't call me Rabbi, it's okay, he says. But in his heart he thinks, There's no one wiser and more humble than me . אֵין חָכָם וְעָנָו כָּמוֹנִי בְּכָל הָאָרֶץ" So both the Mesilat Yesharim and Hovot Halevavot are warning us that working on oneself and working on humility can backfire. That's why we go back to Rav Wolbe who tells us an important rule: One must always put on his training cap. He's an intern. He doesn't know anything. He's a humble person in training. The sefer Or Yisrael by Rabbi Yitzhak of Peterberg, in the section Kochvei Or ( (אות י brings down a pasuk from the Gemara in Berachot 61 that says that Yetzer Hara is compared to a fly. And they quote our pasuk זבובי מות יבאיש יביע שמן רוקח / The flies of death can ruin the best of oils. Why is the Yetzer Hara compared to a fly? The Or Yisrael answers, Because as many times as you yell at him, swat at him or blow on him, he doesn't go away. You have to keep sending away. He keeps coming back. That's the Yetzer Hara. He doesn't give up. And that's why even when we're working on something good, and we're trying to send him away, he comes right back. You have to be always aware of him. That's the only way to fight him- to take your fly swatter and keep swatting away. He gives a nice hint- the Gemara in Berachot 10A says that the Isha Shunamit , when describing Elisha, said, I know he's holy. How did she know? One of the reasons is that she never saw a fly on his table. There were never flies around him. He says this is a mashal - There were never flies meant he was able to keep chasing away the Yetzer Hara.

Welcome to our Anava series. A while back we said that the goal of Yetziat Mitzrayim was to make us humble. Somebody recently shared with me a sefer Tiferet Shlomo , on Parashat Beshalach , that says, Anytime a person wants to merit any level of greatness, he has to start off with the understanding that, 'I am not fit for this.' It's not my merit, but rather than merit of my forefathers that opened the path for me, and set me on the road. The Gemara in Berachot 10B says, כל התולה בזכות עצמו תולין לו בזכות אבותיו כו' ע"ש. If you think that you're worthy on your own, God will reciprocate and say, "I gave this to you because of your forefathers. " The very fact that you take credit makes you less worthy so you need the merit of others. But when someone says, I don't have merit, that in itself is the merit, because humility is the merit! As the pasuk in Devarim 7,7 says לֹ֣א מֵֽרֻבְּכֶ֞ם מִכׇּל־הָֽעַמִּ֗ים חָשַׁ֧ק יְהֹוָ֛ה בָּכֶ֖ם / God likes you because you are not great, but you humble yourselves. That's why we always say Elohenu V'Elohei Avotenu / Our God and the God of our forefathers, which means the whole Elohut / the whole connection to God comes because we realize it's Elohenu avotenu . It's not enough to simply understand, I got it from my father. No, the fact that you make the statement and realize it's from your father, is how you create your connection. Conversely, somebody who lifts themself up and thinks I'm worthy on my own, is going to go down, as we see in many cases in history The Tiferet Shlomo points out that Az Yashir starts with, כִּֽי־גָאֹ֣ה גָּאָ֔ה ס֥וּס וְרֹכְב֖וֹ רָמָ֥ה בַיָּֽם׃ He threw the horse in the rider. Why do we say that? Because Paroah was the one that said, I am a god. So Hashem is showing us what happens to those that think they're gods. The Jewish people were saved specifically because they were humble. He then goes through the Nusach HaTefila that we say every morning. ממצרים גאלתנו כו' וים סוף להם בקעת כו' על זאת שבחו אהובים כו' שירות ותשבחות ברכות והודאות למלך אל חי וקים . God took us out of Egypt… He split the sea….Those beloved ones sing songs Wonderful! We are talking about Keriat Yam Suf and we are going to say Hashem Yimloch L'Olam Vaed- that's our daily introduction to our prayers. You have to have Keriat Yam Suf on your mind, so that you are ready to pray. You're supposed to make Keriat Yam Suf alive every day of your life. In middle of that discussion, we say רם ונשא כו' משפיל גאים ומגביה שפלים . Ram V'Nisah God is great. He brings down the arrogant What does that have to do with anything? Then we go back to תהלות לאל עליו ן Why, in the middle of my discussion about God saving us from Mitzrayim , do I have this little Mussar on Anava ? He explains, That's the point. Without the Anava, they never would've gotten out of Mitzrayim . And without the Anava you can't connect to Hashem. So every single day, I'm not just Zecher LYetziat Mitzrayim as a philosophical concept. Rather, with that Zecher LYetziat Mitzrayim comes my daily dose of Anava , and then I'm ready to pray. And he says, we see this built in to the famous Rashi on Zeh Eli V'Anvehu, Rashi15B, which says שראתה שפחה על הים מה שלא ראו / So the Jewish people saw tremendous things and yet they remained humble. That's what we want to say. מוציא אסירים ופודה ענוים / God took those out of jail and He redeems the humble. Why did He take them out of jail? Why did He redeem them? Because they were Anavim . And he says, an unbelievable thing ועונ"ה לעמו הוא אותיות ענו"ה /We say God answers ועונה Onah which has the same letters as the word Anava humility ענוה indicating that what caused Hashem to answer us is our Anava . In Arbit, we say the same. בוקע ים לפני משה זה אלי ענו ואמרו. God split the sea for all the Jewish people . He says, Moshe is the symbol of humility. משה עניו מכל אדם. ( Bamidbar 12,3) The sea was split in the merit of Moshe Rabbenu, in the merit of Anava . It says זה אלי ענו ואמרו Answer ענו has the same letters as ענו Anav humble They saw these great, great revelations and they still remained anav . That's one explanation. Annu/ Anav, they remained anav . The other explanation is because they were Anav they were able to say is Zeh Eli, which is Kabalat Ohl Malchut Shamayim. You can't accept the yoke of God's kingdom unless you're humble. Another unbelievable explanation- It says in the war with Amalek, Shemot 17, וּמֹשֶׁה֙ אַהֲרֹ֣ן וְח֔וּר עָל֖וּ רֹ֥אשׁ הַגִּבְעָֽה׃ Moshe and Aharon went to top of the mountain. And in Bamidbar 23, 9 it says, Bilam says וּמִגְּבָע֖וֹת אֲשׁוּרֶ֑נּוּ / I see them from the mountains, Rashi says that refers to the Avot , who are considered the mountains. So says Moshe and Aharon went to top of the mountain, when going to fight Amalek. Amalek is all about Ga'ava , and we fight him with humility, by realizing we'll go on top of the mountain. There is a phrase from the Rishonim, the Kananas al gavei Anak/The Jewish people are like dwarfs on top of giants. So before we go to fight against Amalek, we can't stand on regular ground. We're going up on the mountain, as if to say I'm a dwarf and I'm standing on top of a giant. That humility is what caused us to win against Amalek. And that's why at Keriat Yam Suf, we aroused Zechut Avot. As it says in Shemot 14,30 וירא ישראל . /And Yisrael saw. But Tiferet Shlomo says we can read it as, they saw Yisrael, their grandfather referring to Yaakov Avinu. I'd like to add that Rav Wolbe says Shema Yisrael also means Listen Yaakov . When the tribes were standing around Yaakov Avinu's bed and they said, Shema Yisrael/ Listen, our father Yisrael. And that's what we're saying every single day. When I say Hashem Elokenu Hashem Echad , it's not because of me , it's because of Shema Yisrael, because of my grandparents , and that in itself is a statement of humility. It's not just Zechut Avot. It's the expression of humility, that I need to come on to them. This is a fascinating thesis by the Tiferet Shlomo. It says in Devarim 26,7 ונצעק אל ה' אלהי אבותינו We cried out to the God of our fathers, וישמע ה' את קולנו . and He heard our voice. And I was always bothered that it starts our our fathers and then our voices. But based on what we said before from the Gemara, that if you are humble and you say, I need my parents zechut, then Hashem says, well then I could do it on your zechut alone. As it says in Shemot 2,24 (שמות ב, כד) וישמע אלהים את נאקתם ויזכור אלהים את בריתו את אברהם את יצחק ואת יעקב. He heard their groans and He remembered the Brit with Avraham Yitzhak and Yaakov. When he wanted to hear their cries, Hashem said, Oh, they're arousing zechut Avot. They're not doing in their own merit, then I'll answer them. Shemot 2,25 וירא אלהים את בנ"י Hashem saw Benei Yisrael. This is an unbelievable explanation. He saw that there were Bnei Yisrael, He saw that they realized they needed zechut Avot, and וידע אלהים God knew. The simple explanation is, that this refers to the interference with intimacy. because that's something that only God could know. But he adds, Only God knows when you are praying, if you're praying because you think you're worthy, or you're not. Every single day before we say Az Yashir, we quote from Nechemia 9,9 ותרא את עני אבותינו / You saw the poverty, you saw the humility. And again, quite clear, the only way God heard our prayers at Yam Suf was because he saw the עוני , he saw the humility. As Rashi says at Zeh Eli , לא אני תחלת הקדושה / I'm not the beginning of Kedusha מימי אבותי it's my forefathers. He offers an unbelievable explanation of why Keriat Yam Suf needed Anava . Because when it came to time for Keriat Yam Suf Moshe wanted to pray but Hashem said it's not about praying. And he uses the term that's a Zohar that says, בעתיקא תליא מילטא / it's dependent on the Atika /the ancient One (on God). There are different explanations of what that means (Zohar volume two, page 52B.) The Nefesh HaChaim, Rav Chaim Volozhin says, Atikah means you need bitachon , it's not about prayer, it's about relying . But the Tiferet Shlomo explains it's about humility . Keriat Yam Suf needed humility. What does humility have to do with, with Hashem being called the Atikah/ the ancient One? In creation, Hashem hides Himself. The word Olam is from the Lashon of He'Elam/hidden . God is referred to as Sanua . He is hidden . We don't know where He is. And in Keriat Yam Suf, we know the wind's blew as the sea split. Why not let the sea split in a very open way? Because all miracles are done in a way that the nature is also involved. Noah had to get on an Ark. Why? An ark can't hold the whole creation. The answer is Because God is humble in His miracles. So if we want miracles to happen, we have to emulate God and also be humble. That's what it means by בעתיקא תליא מילטא The whole KeriatYam Suf was dependent the on humility of the Jewish people, to emulate the humility of God*. And that's why it says in in Tehilim (113,6) המשפילי לראות בשמים ובארץ . God humbles Himself every time He comes down and looks at the heavens and earth. Through the Anava , Hashem brings down the miracles. Again, if we want to arouse the humble God's miracles, we too have to be humble. I once heard an unbelievable explanation from Hacham Yeuda Moalem, one of the Roshei Yeshiva of Porat Yosef (there is a sefer written on him called Gaon HaAnava) He was humble, beyond humble. He says that when the sea split, it split at different times for different peoples. He asks, Why did it split for one person at one point, and for another person later? He says that it says that when the water hit Nachshon's nose, it split. And everyone is different. Someone who walks with his head down low, who's humble, the water hits his nose earlier, so the sea split earlier. Someone who walks with the head high in the air, is arrogant (Of course this is being said in a a figurative, joking way) and if the person is arrogant, his head is high up in the air, so it took longer for the water to reach his nose, and longer for the sea to split. He says the same is true in our lives. If we want our symbolic sea to split our problems, we have to lower our noses a little bit. We know there are two things that are as difficult as Keriat Yam Suf- Parnasa and Shidduchim , and both of those things are humbling. When does our sea split? When we're humbled? Oh, you have a business? You you know what you're doing? Not so simple. Oh, Everyone's going to want want my family. Everyone will want my son or daughter. Let's see.. The shidduch process is humbling. Why is it humbling? Because we need you to put your nose down for the sea to split. That's the way we arouse Hashem's mercy. If you want to see the miracles of the humble God, we too have to reciprocate with humility. * For a source that Hashem is considered humble, a pasuk in Mishleh 8,30says, וָאֶהְיֶ֥ה אֶצְל֗וֹ אָ֫מ֥וֹן I will be by Him an Amon Amon can mean different things, and one of which is craftsman. The Midrash in Bereshit Rabba 1,1 uses the term Amon M'Tsuna/ humble craftsman. Rav Wolbe used to quote this on this concept that God is called a Humble Craftsman.

Welcome to our class on Anava . We've been talking a lot about working on humility. Rabbi Chaim Friedlander's sefer Siftei Chaim , on the topic of Middot (page 133) asks a powerful question. He points out that the Mesilat Yesharim bases his sefer on the ladder of levels that are described by Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair, starting with Torah. Learning Torah brings to Zehirut/being careful, which brings one to Zerizut/being fast, which brings to Nekiut/being pure and goes on to Prishut/separating oneself physicality , purity and Hasidut/piousness. All the way at the end is humility . Humility is one of the last of the levels. It brings to one to Ruach , Hakodesh etc, and then we reach perfection. So seemingly, if we go step by step up the ladder, if we haven't yet conquered purity and piousness, how are we even talking about humility, which is so high up? To answer, the Siftei Chaim quotes a mashal he heard from Rav Yerucham Levovitz, the famed Mashgiach of the Mir in Europe, who says: When a person goes to a feast of kings, there are many, many portions and courses. There's the first course, the second course, the third course . I was once told that at the queen's table in England there are four forks and three knives! There are so many different hors d'oeuvres, appetizers, entrees, desserts… But what happens if a poor man walks in during the meal when they're up to the third course? Do they say, " Let's go back to the hor d'oeuvres ." No. He doesn't even ask for that. Whatever they're up to at that time is what they give him, and that's enough for him at that point. He's not worried about courses or etiquette or about the proper way to do things. He's hungry . That's the mashal . The nimshal is that we are poor when it comes to Avodat Hashem. Yes, 'wealthy' people of old such as Rabbi Pinhas ben Yair and others, of course had an order. He's like the chef telling you how you're supposed to serve the meal. Each one is going to lead to the next one. Yes, you want ices after the hors d'oeuvres to cleanse you palate, and yes, you want to have tea at the end. But a person who is spiritually poor has to grab whatever they give him, even if it's out of order, and even if he doesn't understand exactly what he's doing and why he's doing it. He has to take what he can get. The Gemara says, ' This world is like a wedding, Grab and eat. Grab and eat. ' What does that mean? It means sometimes you're not eating in a specific order, with all the rules and regulations. You're just grabbing and eating. That's the way it is with our Ruchaniut/spirituality. I'll grab and eat, I 'll nosh on this and that. This is similar to the story that the Chafetz Chaim witnessed once. A girl was selling apples in the marketplace. Someone came and knocked over her basket of apples and they were rolling all over the street. Ruffians started grabbing the apples. The girl was just standing there crying, until a wise man told her, Grab something for yourself also . When the Chafetz Chaim heard this, he said, That's what's going on in our lives. The Yetzer Hara turned over the apple cart and he's grabbing away everything from us. So grab something back for yourself . We don't have to do everything exactly according to the proper system. We, too, can work on humility. We may not have the full depth and the understanding that we'd have if we did it with the recommended approach, on the regular road. Here's an example of another Middah . He says, hessed - we all know what kindness is. We do kindness, but if you want to really dissect it, true kindness means that I am not an egoistic person. I'm not someone that's focused on myself. I'm giving because the other person needs and all the other niceties- we'll call it the icing on the cake to do a hessed properly . But just because you can't have a cake with icing, that doesn't mean you have can't cake at all. Sometimes you might only have the icing, but if you're hungry, you'll take cake without the icing or icing without the cake. You can't be picky. At the end of the day, it will give you nourishment. It might not give you exactly what you need, but, as the famous saying goes, Perfect is the enemy of good (quoted by Rabbi Frand at the Siyum HaShas, and attributed to French philosopher Voltaire). This means that sometimes people try to do something exactly the way it's supposed to be but end up do nothing. It's like a very perfectionist housewife saying, If I can't have the perfect meal, I'm not going have any guests at all. That's really counterproductive. Just because you can't have all the niceties, with waiters and china and a ten course meal, that doesn't mean you shouldn't have guests at all. It's the same thing when it comes to working on our Middot, says Rav Yerucham Levovitz. We might not have everything perfect, and it might not be the way it's supposed to be, but perfect is the enemy of good. Therefore, when we're working on humility, don't say, how can I work on humility? I'm far, far from it. You can also have a connection to humility. The Chafetz Chaim once met a baker and asked, " How's business? " The baker replied, " It's so hard to be a baker. The housewives are so picky and they're always complaining, 'It's too hard… it's too soft.' "Then a few years later he met the baker again and asked how business was. This time the baker said says, " Business is great!" The Chafetz Chaim asked what had changed, and the baker replied, " Well, it's wartime. There's a shortage of bread. If anyone can get any bread, they're thrilled and happy to take the it. There are never any complaints." The Chafetz Chaim said it's the same thing with Ruchaniut . In the days of old where there was plenty of spirituality, and plenty of people serving Hashem, in a world that was much more pristine, of course in Shamayim, they were picky. The chef in Shamayim's kitchen was very picky and very exacting, Everything had to be organic, everything had to be fresh, everything had to be Whole Foods. But in you're in a time of famine, no one gets picky on what they're going to eat or serve. If they get picky, they die. Like the sad story in Masechet Gittin , of the wealthy woman who sent her aid out to buy fine wheat in the marketplace. There was no fine wheat left but by the time he came back to tell her, and she sent him out to buy a lower grade of wheat, there was none of that left either. She then sent him for barley and the same thing happened, and on and on until eventually there nothing was left to eat at all. So smart people realize, and Hashem's Bet Din up there is quite smart, that w hen there's a famine, we're happy with what we can get . We don't have the perfect meal. We don't have the right silverware, we don't have the right ingredients, nor the right dishes. But it's like making sprinkle cookies with your children on a day off, with all their germs and mess…They're so proud and you're so proud. Well, that's the way Hashem looks at our Avodat Hashem today. So make your little cookies, put some Anava sprinkles on them and be proud.

Welcome to our humility series. Today we are going to explore the contrast of arrogance and the proper outlook. We know we should not be arrogant, showy, boastful people who take credit for our accomplishments and feel that we're special. That is Gaava , which should not be confused with something called the Rommemut HaNefesh/an uplifted soul, a feeling of how special I am. I come from good stock. I have Tzelem Elokim, I'm not an animal. I'm a human being. I have a certain royalty to me. That's not a feeling of Ga'ava . What's the difference? Ga'ava is I'm better than somebody else. Like it says of Hashem, Ki Ga'oh Ga'ah /He is arrogant bove the arrogant. His kiseh kavod is above the most arrogant of the wild beasts- the lion, the domesticated cow, the eagle. They're the most arrogant and Hashem is above them all. That's the term of Ga'avah . But there's another term used of Hashem, הַמֶּלֶךְ הַמְּרוֹמָם לְבַדּוֹ מֵאָז. /Hashem is the King that was uplifted alone from way back when. What does that mean? The Maharit, Rav Yosef of Trani and the Bet Aharon explain that this means that even before there was a world, where there was no one compare oneself to, Hashem was Ram . That's what we also have to be. I'm not great if I look at myself, where I come from and what my sources are and see that I'm royal. I'm not comparing myself to you. That's an inherent greatness and that is a prerequisite to having good Middot . Rav Yehezkiel Levenstein says that when a person has that feeling of Rommemut , he doesn't need to start looking down on others. He has an inherent greatness. He doesn't need to become great by pushing others down. The Elder of Kelm says that the force against the Jewish people is Amalek . What did Amalek do? We left Mitzrayim b'Yad Rama/with an outstretched hand, with Rommemut They were like a bubbling bath. They were on the top of the world. But along came Amalek, and like a person that jumps into the bubbling bath, cooled them down, didn't let them feel their Rommemut , or feel how special they were. Amalek wanted to take away the feeling of Beni Bechori Yisrael. That's what Amalek came to do. So how do we fight off Amalek? Says the Elder of Kelm, וכאשר ירים משה ידו, :Moshe Rabbenu lifted up his hands and כשישראל נושאים לבם לאביהם שבשמים, the Jewish people lifted up their hearts. He says this means שהתחזקו ברוממות נפשם they strengthened themselves in the exaltedness of their souls. And they looked and had they honor then V'gavar Yisrael. He adds that later Amalek was Haman, who also tried to break the Jewish people, להכניע רוממות הנפש מישראל, to break that exaltedness. But it didn't work. How did we fight back? לא יכרע ולא ישתחוה, Mordechai would not bend, he would not bow. We have to realize that this is not just about Amalek the person or Haman the person. Bereshit 6, 5 says וְכָל יֵצֶר מַחְשְׁבֹת לִבּוֹ רַק רַע כָּל הַיּוֹם: / The Yetzer of his heart said only bad all day . So simply it means that all day the Yetzer Hara is giving you bad ideas of what to do. The Nefesh HaChaim, in Shaar 3,Perek 8 says this means that the Yetzer Hara's trick is to say all day to you, You are no good. He wants to break you. He wants to make you feel shafal . And once he breaks you, you'll do anything. You need to have Rommemut HaNefesh. But part of his ploy is to make you think that being shafal/ being lowly is how you're supposed to feel. The Imrei Emet says something unbelievable about the words רק רע כל היום The last letter of רק is ק The last letter of רע is an ע . The last letter of כל is ל . The last letter of היום is מ , which spells עמלק Amalek. We all have an Amalek inside of us that wants to tell us all day, " You're no good. " But don't think that's Anava . It's Shiflut . And the Nefesh HaChaim in Shaar א perek ד וזאת תורת האדם כל איש ישראל אל יאמר בלבו ח"ו This is the Torah of the human being, to ant Jewish person, Don't say in your heart, Who am I? What's my strength? What's my power? What can I do? Who am I? " No, you have to realize, he says, and put steadfast in your heart. Every deed, every speech, every thought that you do every second of the day has impact. ומה רבו מעשיו ומאד גדלו ורמו. How great are your deeds! How powerful they are! Rabbi Ades once said, Imagine a man sitting in front of the control tower with all kind of buttons and levers, and that's the place where they hit the button to launch a nuclear attack. Will he sit there and they'll say, " Who am I? What am I? What can I do? " It's not about you, it's about what you connected to, where you're positioned. You're a Jewish person! Your soul came from beneath the Kiseh Hakavod. You're powerful. And this is throughout all our writings. Mesilat Yesharim chapter 19, when talking about praying for the Bet Hamikdash to be built, says, "if a person says, מִי אֲנִי וּמָה אֲנִי סָפוּן שֶׁאֶתְפַּלֵּל עַל יְרוּשָׁלַיִם What am I? What's my value? I'm going to pray for Yerushalayim? My prayers are going to cause the Galut to come and the Yeshua to happen? And he says, Yes. The answer is Man was created alone, because everyone has to say, בִּשְׁבִילִי נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם" I am the only one to pray for the churban. I am important. I'm the only person in the world. We have to walk around with these feelings of Rommemut HaNefesh . The Sefer Kol Mevaser on Parashat Yitro quotes Rav Bunim of Peshishcha who said, Every Jew has to have two pockets . In one pocket, it should say, " בשבילי נברא העולם / For me the world was created And in the other pocket should say אנכי עפר ואפר , /I am but dust and ashes If you're getting a little too carried away, remind yourself I am but dust and ashes And if you're getting a little down, you have to take out the בשבילי נברא העולם / For me the world was created. It's a balance. You have to have both. So much so that Rav Hutner brings down in that in the Gemara in Masechet Rosh Hashana 26 B, there's a discussion of How the shofar of Rosh Hashanah is supposed to be. Should it be bent or should it be straight? One opinion says, כמה דכייף איניש דעתיה / the more you bend yourself in humility, the better it is And another opinion says, No כמה דפשיט It's better to be straight. What are these two approaches? Rav Hutner, in his sefer on Rosh Hashanah, Maamar 15 says that, yes, there's a concept of bending yourself. That's important. It's Rosh Hashanah. There's Kabalat Ohl Malchut Shamayim. accepting the yoke of God's kingdom. I am going to humble myself and bend myself. But that could be dangerous. We don't want you to feel like you're a piece of dirt. So the other side is, you have to stand up straight, stand with your head high and say, I belong to the army of Hashem. I'm a proud card-carrying Jew. That's not a contradiction to Anava . You can know who you are, know your family, know your roots, know your greatness. And at the same time, after all that, you say, but did I do it? It's a gift that Hashem gave me. It's the car that God gave me to drive. It's not my car, its all His gifts. It's the talents that God gave me. Anava doesn't mean walking around lowly. That's the Yetzer Hara talking to you. When you walk around feeling down and low and it's not allowing you to produce, then you know it's coming from that Rak Rah Kol HaYom. You have to see what it's producing, what it's causing. He wants to break us. And that's why we sometimes think that it's the Yetzer HaTov saying, " You have to be humble. You have to be xyz.." No. You are great. And there's nothing wrong with saying you're great. And there's nothing wrong with saying Bishvilli Nivrah Olam . There's nothing wrong with saying Banim Atem Hashem Elokechem I once asked one of the gedolim, Rav Berel Povarsky, what a healthy person that's feeling depressed should do. And he said, " What should you do? You say the Beracha Ohev Amo Yisrael- God loves you. You're part of the Jewish people. The Creator loves you." Those are the thoughts that a Jewish person has to have. Rav Haskel Levenstein says, the more Rommemut you have, the better your Middot will be, the less you'll be brought down, the less you'll be stuck over pettiness and silliness. Rav Ades says he was once on a plane, looking out the window at all the cars in the parking lot getting smaller and smaller and smaller. What happened? Who was shrinking all the cars? Of course, he was saying that in jest. The cars didn't get smaller, he said. I got higher. And when you lift yourself up, you see that all the things that are seemingly important, that people get busy with, are really small. You lift yourself up and the challenges disappear. Rav Yerucham Levovitz once said, " How many people have to go for therapy to get out the sandbox and stop playing in the sand? How many people have to go therapy to stop playing with their dolls? How'd you stop?" The answer is, You matured. You grew up, you became uplifted. It says in HaAzinu Devarim 32,2 thar the Torah is compared to a wind that blows through the grass, and just like the wind strengthens the grass and makes it grow, it lifts you up, it makes you greater, it makes you above. Now, someone might say, and again, the Yetzer Hara talking, "what do you mean? Ma Anu, We say every morning, what are we? Ma Hayinu/What's our life? Ma Hasdenu/What's our kindness? Ma Sidkatenu/What's our righteousness? Ma Yeshuatenu/What's our salvation? Ma Kohenu/What's our strength? And we go on..: and we say, רוֹב מַעֲשֵֹיהֶם תֹּהוּ וִימֵי חַיֵּיהֶם הֶבֶל לְפָנֶיךָ It's hot air, man is nothing more than an animal… it sounds horrible, But you have to continue. Now we go into a whole different story לְבַד הַנְּשָׁמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה שֶׁהִיא עֲתִידָה לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶךָ: We're Your nation the the children of Your convenant, of Avraham Yitzhak and Yaakov, that You love them and You're happy with them. And we're called the Yisrael Yeshurun, and therefore we have to be thankful and praise You and bless You, אַשְׁרֵינוּ מַה טּוֹב חֶלְקֵנוּ וּמַה נָּעִים גּוֹרָלֵנוּ וּמַה יָּפָה יְרֻשָּׁתֵנוּ: How lucky we are, how fortunate we are, We come to shul in the morning and we stay late at night and we say, Shema Yisrael.. what a positive switch. You can't get stuck in the What are we?Of course there is truth to that. What is our strength? And what is our abilities? But we have a Neshama, and that gives us Rommemut. These are the thoughts that we have to have. And they're not contrary to Anava.

Welcome to our series on Anava . Chacham Bentzion Abba Shaul, in his sefer Or LeTzion Chochma UMussar (page 242) brings up the following point: On one hand, our rabbis tell us in Sanhedrin 37A, that everyone has an obligation to say, " The world was created for me. " That means you're supposed to look at the sun, the moon, the stars and know that everything in the world is there for me . That might sound like arrogance. But Chacham Bentzion says we see from here that humility does not mean that a person feels lowly and he is in a state of Ye'ush and despair thinking he has no value. It doesn't mean you think, "There's no benefit in what I am and in what I do." That's not the definition of humility. That's Shiflut/lowliness and negativity .. What is humility? Humility means that I believe that whatever I accomplish is a gift from Hashem. I'm a somebody. I may have a beautiful car or a beautiful watch, but someone gave me the car and someone gave me the watch. I'm not saying, This car is a piece of junk. No, it's a beautiful car, but it was given to me by somebody else . He further expounds on this by explaining a seeming contradiction: On one hand, the pasuk in Divrei Hayamim II 17:6 tells us, " וַיִּגְבַּ֥הּ לִבּ֖וֹ בְּדַרְכֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה And his heart was uplifted in the ways of Hashem." VaYigba Libo almost means arrogance . But on the other hand, Mishleh tells us in pasuk 16:5, תּוֹעֲבַ֣ת יְ֭הֹוָה כׇּל־גְּבַהּ־לֵ֑ב יָ֥ד / it's an abomination to be arrogance. He explains that one refers to the past and the other one refers to the future. What you did in the past, you're supposed to be humble about. You're supposed to look back and say it was with Hashem's help. I'm supposed to look back and say, Baruch Hashem, thank you Hashem, for giving me those opportunities. Like the famous story that the Chafetz Chaim was once overheard in a moment of contemplation and meditation, discussing his life with Hashem, " Hashem, I owe You so much. You gave me the Mishna Berurah, you gave me the Chafetz Chaim, you gave me all these things." That's all in the past . But when you go in the future , you have to have strength. You can't despair. You should say, I'm gonna do it. I can do it. Conversely, I heard from Rav Wolbe that when the Chafetz Chaim was in the middle of his Mishna Berurah , there were certain tragedies and challenges that were going on in his personal life. One day he opened the window, shook his fist and said, " You're not going to stop me!" He was talking to the Yetzer Hara. Look at that courage! Look at the energy, look at the almost arrogance. I'm going do it! That's fine. I'm going to do it is beautiful. I did a little bit. I'm going to do more. I'll keep on doing more. I have talents that Hashem gave me. I'm going to keep growing . That attitude gives the person the drive to move further in his Avodat Hashem . He used the rule, One that has aspirations will be successful even though it looks like naturally it won't happen. His example is the tremendous drive that the Americans had to put a man on the moon. If you have a drive and you have a dream, you'll get there. But many people are broken because they flip the pipes. Instead of saying, Forget about what I did in the past, let's look at the future , they make the past the main thing. They focus on the past and forget about the future. This is the dichotomy between humility (or arrogance) and lowness in the wrong way. Rav Eliyahu of Izmir (1640 -1729) was a leading Rav of Izmir, Turkey. He authored over 30 different tremendous sefarim including Shevet Mussar, that are learned all over. In his sefer Chut shel Hessed on Parashat HaAzinu, he discusses the Piyut that we mentioned previously, that we say on Rosh Hashanah. The last stanza says, " Piyut הִשְׁתּוֹנֵן, וְהִכּוֹנֵן, וְהִתְבּוֹנֵן בְּסוֹדֶךָ. וְהִבַּטְתָּ, מָה אַתָּה, וּמֵאַיִן יְסוֹדֶךָ. וּמִי הֱכִינְךָ, וּמִי הֱבִינְךָ, / Sharpen yourself and prepare yourself. Look into your secrets. What does it mean to Look into your secrets? He says, the secret refers to the fact of my humble beginnings- What am I made of ? Dust. Further, after we say, וְהִתְבּוֹנֵן בְּסוֹדֶךָ we also say, What are you Ma Atah /What are you? Like Moshe and Aharon said to Korach (Shemot 16,7) Where are your roots? So it starts off, I'm humble and I'm nothing. Well, if that's the case, if I'm humble and I'm nothing, then what is the purpose of my Mitzvot? Can a mosquito impact the king? Then we say, no, slow down מי הכינך Who set you up for this? Hashem set you up for greatness. מי הבינך Who gave you understanding ? And מי ינידך , what's making you move ? You have a soul inside of you, a Neshama, a spirituality inside of you. Realize where you came from. He quotes the sefer Bet HaElohim that says that there's a danger in thinking of yourself as the lowest of low, because you'll end up saying Hashem doesn't supervise me, He doesn't look at me . But then you can go to the other extreme and say, I'm arrogant. Mi Hashem Who is God? It's a constant balance on this tightrope, not to get stuck with being broken because I'm a nobody, and not to be arrogant. It's like the Shfeel Hazahav/ the golden path. Rav Wolbe, in Alei Shur vol 2 page 160 quotes the Hovot Halevavot in Shaar Hakniah, which is dedicated to humility. In the second chapter, he says, הכניעה היא אשר תהיה אחר רוממות הנפש והתנשאה מהשתתף עם הבהמות במידותן המגונות, וגבהותה מהידמות במידות / Humilty comes after you realize the exaltedness of your soul and that it's being uplifted. I'm not a partners with an animal in their low Middot. It comes when you realize how wise you are and how dear is your soul. You know about all the good Middot. כאשר תהיה סמוך לזה כניעת הנפש ושפלותה, אז תהיה מידה משובחת , And then then when I add a little spice of humility in there, then the humility is a good Middah. אבל זולת זה איננה נכנסת במידות המשובחות ומעלות הנפש, אך במגונות שבהן, כי ענינה בזה כענין הבהמות But if it's humility that's not coming from that, it's not considered good quality. It's just despair. It's not, humility. That's just the animal that doesn't have any recognition of what it is at all. As Chacham Bentzion said, You can feel great in who you are, and then you add that little flavor of, All those qualities I have, I got from Hashem . Like we stated at the beginning- Look at this beautiful car that I have. I have a stretch Rolls Royce. Wow, what a car. But you know what? My father gave it to me. So I'll now humble myself to my father for all that he gave me. It's not a contradiction. As long as you have that right attitude of, What I have is great, but it was given to me. And more than that, I have a responsibility to use it properly, that is the proper hashkafa / attitude , not to be brought down with this work on our humility. Further in that same discussion, Rav Wolbe quotes Rabbenu Yonah in Shaare Avodah where he says the first step to serving Hashem is that man knows his value, realizes his level, realizes who his parents and his grandparents are, how hashuv they were and where he came from- And say to yourself , Adam Gadol V'Chashuv Kamoni , something that's important like me today, with all the great qualities I have, I am the children of the greats, of the kings of old, how can I sin? So Rav Wolbe is teaching is that learning your good qualities is not a contradiction to humility. We have to make sure we have that proper outlook when we're working on humility.

Welcome to our series on Anava . All of our good Middot come from emulating Hashem. In Bereshit 1:26 before man is even there, Hashem says, וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ /Let us make man in our image. Rashi tells us, we learn from here the humility of Hashem. When it came to the time to make man, which would be in an image similar to angels, they might be jealous of him. So He first asked them their opinion. Imagine you have a company and you want to bring on a new employee, but you're afraid that the existing employees might feel some competition, so you bring them into the decision. So too, Hashem so to say, says, I want to bring the angels in. Rashi continues, He said, Na'aseh Adam/Let us make man. Even though, of course, they didn't help with the creation. So it's possible for a heretic to say, " Oh, look at that. There's more than one force here." But the Torah says, לא נמנע הכתוב מללמד דרך ארץ No says, I'm not going to hold back from teaching you a good Middah - Middat Anava. שיהא הגדול נמלך ונוטל רשות מן הקטן I have to teach you the lesson. And if I write, E'esah Adam/I will make man, we won't learn that lesson. And therefore we'll take the risk of saying Na'aseh Adam, even though it could bring one to heresy. The Midrash Raba on Bereshit 8:8 adds that when Moshe Rabbenu was writing the Torah, he asked Hashem, " Why are you giving the heretics an opening here? And Hashem said, כתוב והרוצה לטעות יטעה / You write, and the one that wants to make a mistake, will make the mistake. Hashem continues and tells Moshe, This man that I create, They'll be big people and small people. And the big people might think, "I don't have to ask any permission or advice from small people." But you'll be able to say " No, learn from your Creator. He created the world and He still advised with the angels." The Elder of Slobodka, in his sefer Or HaTzafon on Bereshit adds a beautiful thought. There is a big risk here that person may have a wrong hashkafa . They may think there were two creators. But what's the other option? Not to teach the Derech Eretz of Anava? Then we'll have a mistake in proper Middot, and a mistake in understanding Hashem and how He acts. And therefore it seems that it's better to make this mistake than the other. We don't want to take the chance. Its unbelievable- look how important Anava is, that Hashem took that risk, so to say, to give us that lesson. The Sefer Parashat Derachim , from the same author as t he Mishneh LeMelech, in his 16th derush , says a fascinating concept. Why is it that it says somebody who is arrogant is like he's worshiping idols? Because when you look at the words Na'aseh Adam, with a humility lens, you understand that Hashem is being humble. Of course He created the world, but He's being humble and advising with the angels. That's if you are a humble person. If you're a humble person, you see the pasuk teaching a lesson in humility. But if a person is arrogant, with his arrogant glasses, he can't see that God would ever seek advice. Of course not. So he'll think, " It must be that be here are two forces. " So his arrogant lens causes him to misunderstand the pasuk and therefore he's going to be an idol worshiper, because he's going to say there are two forces. God alone didn't do it. This is one of the important ways, says Rav Wolbe (Aleh Shor vol 2 pg 312) to work on becoming humble- advise with people younger than you or lesser than you. He says Rav Yerucham Levovitz gave this idea and did it himself as well. He used to do this to ask advice from others. He tells a story that one of the younger students went to Rav Yerucham with a message from his father, and Rav Yerucham asked the boy, " What's the weather outside ?" The boy said, " There's a very strong wind blowing. " Rav Yerucham said, "I have a bit of cold. What do you think? Should I go to yeshiva for Mincha or stay home? " The boy hought for a minute and answered, " I think you should stay home." Rav Yerucham replied, " I think you're right. I'm going to listen to you." Unbelievable! He was doing that to work on his Anava . He actually listened to him in a case where it meant staying home. There's a similar story that I heard Rabbi Ades tell over about Rav Shach. When Rav Shach was sitting Shiva for his wife, it was during that he had to give his shiur . There's a question, if a giving a public class overrides mourning and there's a Halacic question about whether one should go to give shiur during shiva . Rabbi Ades was one of Rav Shach's students, and when he came to pay respects, Rav Shach asked " What do you think I should do? Do you think I should go and give the shiur? If I do, people might make a mistake and think I'm being lenient on the laws of Avelut. They may not understand that I'm really being stringent on the laws of Talmud Torah/teaching Torah." Rabbi Ades thought about it for a minute and said, "I think that people won't understand, so I think it's better if the Rosh Yeshiva stays home." And he did. Wonder of wonders. Rav Shach was asking Rav Ades for advice? Of course he didn't need Rav Ades' advice, but this was the way of the Gedolim - to always ask advice. That was a way of them working on the humility. There's a story told over on this pasuk Na'aseh Adam in the sefer Lulei Toratecha- stories on of Rav Shach, on the pesukim . Once when Rav Shach was going to speak at a major event in Yad Eliyahu with thousands of people in attemdance, he asked a student, "What do you think I should speak about? The student suggested he speak about Emunah and the negativity of arguments. Rav Shach said, " Good, good. I like the idea." So Rav Shach went gave a major speech. I still remember it. He spoke about the creation and it was a major, major speech on Emunah. But he ended up not speaking about the second topic. When he came back afterwards, he met this young man and said, "I have to make an apology. I didn't listen to your advice. I couldn't because I thought I was the only speaker but it turned out that there was another speaker, so I didn't want to speak too long and tire out the crowd. But I think it was okay because Rabbi Elyashiv said that I spoke pretty well." Look at his humility! He shared with the student that Rav Elyashiv gave him a compliment, so he wouldn't feel bad that the speech didn't go well. We need to work on these things. This is practical advice - asking people less than you, even though you don't need them. These are maasim/ actions that will help you become humble. And like we said, it's our responsibility to do what we can to become humble.

People sometimes think, " Do I really have to work on humility? Is that an obligation? I've heard of Yirat Shamayim, But where is humility on the list of things that I have to work on?" At the beginning of the Bet Halevi's essay on arrogance and humility, he points out that arrogance is a sin. So of course you have to work on it. But there are a lot of things that are sins. Is this something that has to be at the top of my radar? Is it a priority? We hear about movements of Ahavat Yisrael/love your fellow man , and we have movements about that. There's a movement to guard your eyes, as well. But I haven't yet seen a Ga'avah movement where people say, Make Klal Yisrael Humble Again. We don't find such initiatives out there. So let's quote a pasuk in Mishleh from the wisest of men, Shlomo Hamelech, טו ( כח) לֵב צַדִּיק יֶהְגֶּה לַעֲנוֹת: /The heart of a righteous person will considers what to answer. Simply speaking, Rashi and other commentaries understand the word לענות means to answer . Rabbenu Yonah, in his commentary on Mishleh, has a different explanation.. He says the root of the word לענות is the same as ענו / humble or עני /poor Rabbenu Bachye, in his introduction, Parashat Bahar Vayikra 25:1 brings down this pasuk (as in his introduction to many, parshiot, he brings down a pasuk in Mishleh) and he says that the word laanot is the same as the term used when Hashem spoke to Paroah So said God, the God of the Hebrews, עד מתי מאנת לענות מפני / Until when do you refuse to humble yourself in front of Me . Rashi says on that word, לענות follow the Targum. The Targum says, להתכנעא which means to be to be humble . And the root of the word he says is Ani/poor . Base on this Rabbenu Yonah explains the pasuk. He says, the Sadik is always thinking of ways to humble himself. Rabbenu Bachye in that same spot says that's the defining aspect of a sadik. The sadik is someone who humbles himself. And now for Rabbenu Yona's powerful words, יש צורך למערכי לב להתמדת הצעות במחשבות להגיע אל הענוה ולאהוב את השפלות, A person must create compositions in his heart to constant ideas and thoughts to reach humility into being lowly. So Rabbenu Yonah doesn't just say it's a fleeting thought. Rather, there is a need to create compositions constantly, with new ideas on how to become humble. Rav Wolbe used to quote another Rabbenu Yonah in Shaare teshuva (Shaar ג letter 15 ( , where he's talking about the requirement to have Yirat Shamayim . And he says people that are not constantly creating compositions and thinking and understanding, the prophet says strong words about them, Rav Wolbe used to say the term, Orchim Maracha is used by Rav Akiva Eiger, one of the great giants of yesteryear, who wrote a 20-30 piece essay on a topic and called a Maracha . It's like a composition. He says, that's what you have to do for Yirat Shamayim. And I'll add that Rabbenu Yona uses the same word of Orchim Machshevot on humility . These are similar words- where in Shaare Teshuva he says, Letitbonen Tamid, here he says, hatmada/ consistent thoughts. So it may seem like it's a contradiction, to have Anava and Yirah at the same time but we can answer based on another pasuk in Mishleh 22:4. עֵ֣קֶב עֲ֭נָוָה יִרְאַ֣ת יְהֹוָ֑ה עֹ֖שֶׁר וְכָב֣וֹד וְחַיִּֽים׃ / The result of humility is fear of Hashem. The Artscroll commentary on Mishleh quotes from Siftei Chaim, that says, " Arrogance is the primary obstacle to recognizing Hashem. Such a person finds it hard to acknowledge that his abilities are gifts of Hashem for such an awareness would impinge upon his sense of self-importance. A humble person, however, knows he is a minute creature controlled by Hashem, so he automatically develops the fear of Hashem. So we no longer have a contradiction. Rabbenu Yonah is saying both are true. You need to constantly think of ways to have Yirat Shamayim and you have to constantly think it's about being humble because it's one and the same. Rav Wolbe, in his sefer Alei Shor (vol 2 Page 141) on the topic of the learning Mussar in the unit Marechet Limud Mussar/Composition on Learning Mussar, mentions sources and discusses how Mussar is not a new creation. Everything we have is tradition. He quotes from different Amoraim from the Gemara that use the technique of mussar , which is repeating to yourself important principles to penetrate your heart. He quotes from Sanhedrin7A, that when Rav, an Amora, would see a crowd of scholars following him, (fearing that he might get arrogant) he would say the following verse from Iyov 20:7 to himself: כְּֽ֭גֶלְלוֹ לָנֶ֣צַח יֹאבֵ֑ד רֹ֝אָ֗יו יֹאמְר֥וּ אַיּֽוֹ׃ If his stature rises to the heavens, he shall perish forever like his waste Rav quoted this pasuk to avoid getting haughty from all the people are following him . He reminded himself, Calm down. As high as you get, you're not going to be here forever. In a similar practice by Mar Zutra Hasida/the pious, his students would carry him on their shoulders during the Shabbat of the festival discourse when everyone would gather together He would say the pasuk from Mishleh 27:24 כִּ֤י לֹ֣א לְעוֹלָ֣ם חֹ֑סֶן וְאִם־נֵ֝֗זֶר לְד֣וֹר (דור) [וָדֽוֹר]׃ / For riches are not forever And does the crown endure for all generations? So these greatest of the greats were giving themselves Mussar, lest they fall prey to the challenge of arrogance. For a more modern story on the same topic, there is a story is in the Maggid Speaks , the original book by Rabbi Pesach Krohn, which are stories and parables of Rav Shlomo Schwadron z'l the Maggid of Yerushalayim (see page 154). Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer the great Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Etz Chaim (1870 to 1953) was always careful not to write on Chol Hamoed. (People are careful not to write unless it's an emergency, or some kind of a loss or damage would be incurred if you don't write.) but he asked his nephew for a pen and ink to write something. The nephew wanted to know what the emergency is. Under pressure, Rav Isser Zalman revealed that, " On Chol Hamoed, a lot of people come to visit me. I have the ability to look into people. When I'm talking to them, I'm immediately aware of a person's virtues and faults. It hurts me to know the faults of people who come to visit me. Additionally, knowing another's faults can lead me to become arrogant. So I devised a plan: Shlomo Hamelech in Mishleh 4:25 writes, עֵ֭ינֶיךָ לְנֹ֣כַח יַבִּ֑יטוּ וְ֝עַפְעַפֶּ֗יךָ יַיְשִׁ֥רוּ נֶגְדֶּֽךָ׃ / Let your eyes seek honesty and your brows search straightforwardly before you. Now the word lenochach which here is used for honesty , is usually translated towards yourself . So now there's a new meaning. Let your eyes seek yourself. In other words, look at yourself. See your own faults instead of the fault of others. I always keep this pasuk in front of me on a small piece of paper as people are talking to me. It helps me avoid Gaava. But now I can't find that slip of paper. It's an emergency. I have to write this down now, lest I fall into arrogance." Many years after Rav Isser Zalman passed away, Rav Shlomo Schwadron was sitting in the Succah of Rav Isser Zalman's son-in-law on Chol Hamoed and he told over the story. Rav Isser Zalman's daughter, who was listening to the story as well, left the Succah and came back with a smile on her face and a sugar bowl in her hand. She said, " This is the sugar bowl my father kept on his table and on the sugar bowl was etched this pasuk עֵ֭ינֶיךָ לְנֹ֣כַח יַבִּ֑יטוּ וְ֝עַפְעַפֶּ֗יךָ יַיְשִׁ֥רוּ נֶגְדֶּֽךָ׃ He kept it in front of him, but in a hidden way, to give himself this message. This is how the Greats became great, by constantly looking for ideas to humble themselves.

Welcome to our special Shovavim series on Anava . We're going to go through pesukim that show how the Galut was accepted by the various beholders (for, as we said yesterday, Galut is in the eye of the beholder). וַיֵּשֶׁב יַעֲקֹב בְּאֶרֶץ מְגוּרֵי אָבִיו בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן: / Yaakov dwelled in the land that his father's sojourned in . Rashi famously says ביקש יעקב לישב בשלוה קפץ עליו רוגזו של יוסף : Yaakov Avinu wanted to sit in serenity, and the anger and disturbance and turmoil of Yosef jumped upon him. The famous question is, What did Yaakov Avinu do wrong? He wanted to wanted sit in shalva/serenity. He wanted sit and learn. What's wrong with that? The answer is, We're in Galut . And in Galut , you have to feel like you're in Galut . Yaakov Avinu didn't do anything wrong. But the way he was setting himself up, he wasn't cognizant of Galut . The pasuk uses two terms- Vayeshev Yaakov , whereas for his father it says, Gureh Aviv . One is a dweller and one is a sojourner. (Like Avraham Avinu says, Ger V'Toshav Anochi Imachem . Rashi says it's a contradiction. And he says, Really, I'm a ger . I'm a sojourner . I don't own the land, but if you don't give it to me, then I'll exercise my Toshav rights) So that's the contrast of Ger and Toshav . וַיֵּשֶׁב יַעֲקֹב בְּאֶרֶץ מְגוּרֵי אָבִיו בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן: Yaakov Avinu felt like a dweller , a permanent citizen in the land where his father felt like a sojourner . Yitzhak Avinu was a Ger , so he was okay. The Chatam Sofer on Bereshit 37,1 says that Eretz Yisrael is called ארץ העברים Eretz HaIvrim/ the land of the Hebrews, but we see that Yaakov Avinu refers to it as Eretz Canaan, the land of Canaan . What doesn't he call it Eretz HaIvrim/The land of the Hebrews ? The Chatam Sofer says that he called it Eretz Canaan because he wanted to remind them that We don't own this land. We are only guests. It's not ours yet. Yaakov Avinu was trying. He said, What am I supposed to do? I have a yeshiva, I'm learning, everything's fine, but וַיֵּשֶׁב יַעֲקֹב בְּאֶרֶץ מְגוּרֵי אָבִיו how am I going stop from feeling like we belong here? I'll call it Eretz Canaan to remember that it's not my land. I'm just a guest. Furthermore, the Rama MiPano, one of the great Kabbalists, in his essay called Meah Kesita chapter 30, says that the root of the word כנען is כנעה which is humility . So when we're in Eretz Yisrael, we have to be humble. We can be humble through Galut or can be humble by simply humbling ourselves to Hashem. The Rama MiPano adds something unbelievable- the numerical value of the word כנען Canaan is 190, because the 190 years of Yitzhak Avinu and Yaakov before the point of ביקש יעקב לישב בשלוה werein Canaan, which means humble . And because they were humble, they were able to subtract the 190 years. In the Hagaddah shel Pesach , the pesukim of Bikurim describe what was going on: וַיָּגָר שָׁם. / They sojourned there מְלַמֵּד שֶׁלֹא יָרַד יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ לְהִשְׁתַּקֵּעַ בְּמִצְרַיִם אֶלָּא לָגוּר שָׁם /This teaches us that Yaakov didn't go to get himself entrenched, but rather, to be a sojourner / וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל פַּרְעֹה, As the brothers tell Paroah לָגוּר בָּאָרֶץ בָּאנוּ , כִּי אֵין מִרְעֶה לַצֹּאן אֲשֶׁר לַעֲבָדֶיךָ, כִּי כָבֵד הָרָעָב בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן. / There's a famine, we have no grazing. וְעַתָּה יֵשְׁבוּ נָא עֲבָדֶיךָ בְּאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶן And therefore we want to dwell in Goshen. So yes, we're going to be dwellers, but in Goshen , in the ghetto. The Meshech Chochma 26,44 says, Yaakov is teaching us a lesson for the generations, for how we are supposed to act: We're supposed to realize we don't belong here, and know that we're not going to become entrenched here. We're not citizens . He says, that's why Yosef and the brothers all said their bones should be taken out -to remind them that this is not where we belong. Similarly, Rav Yaakov Kaminetzsky says, that's why Yaakov Avinu wanted his bones to be taken out. And that's why Yaakov spoke about where Rachel was buried when he spoke to Ephraim and Menashe. Why did he have to mention that? To let them know This is not where you belong. Grandma is buried back in Eretz Canaan; this is not our land. Now look at this unbelievable Shem MiShemuel on Parashat Vayechi in the year 5472: He's bothered that when Yaakov Avinu dies, the brothers fall in front of Yosef and say, " We're slaves." Slaves ? What's going on? And he says something unbelievable. They knew when ever Yaakov Avinu died, the shibut was supposed to start. They knew Middat HaDin as upon them. They knew there would be be all kinds of issues. But they knew that any time a person has a challenge, the whole goal is to humble yourself. Therefore they said, Why should we be subjugated by the Egyptians to cause us to be humbled? Let us bring about self - humiliation! Let us go Yosef and humble ourselves to him! Humbling ourselves to Yosef will make us fulfill the Galut ! As we said, Galut is in the eye of the beholder. He goes on to say something fascinating. Eliezer Eved Avraham, the Midrash says, in Bereshit chapter 60. Who's an Eved Maskil , a wise slave ? What was so wise about it? He said, " I come from Canaan. I'm going to be cursed anyway. Let me at least be enslaved by Abraham Avinu!" That's brilliance. You have to have it, so you do it in the best possible way. That was their idea. By humbling ourselves to him, they wouldn't need to have come onto it. And it worked. This final piece is a lesson for everybody: וזה לימוד גדול לכל איש להכנע תחת רצון השי"ת, ובזה יסיר מעליו כל הצרות וכל הפורעניות ולא יצטרך להכנעה אחרת Humble yourself to all . And this will remove (from him) all the problems, and all the punishments . You won't need to have any other cause to humble yourself. You're not going to need the building department, the IRS, the lawyers, the doctors, whatever it may be. You won't need that anymore. Why? Because you fulfilled it on your own. Rav Gedalia Schor, in Parashat Shemot, points out that it says the tribe of Levi did not go into Galut . This was because the tribe of Levi committed themselves to Torah. They got their Galut through the Torah. What a fascinating concept- that it says that the Jewish people worked with chomer/mud, with Bilvenim /bricks, and avodat Hasadeh/all the work in the fields and says the Zohar, the chomer/mud to kal v 'chomer , one of the Talmudic eruditions that we use to learn out things in pesukim. He also says Bilvenim /bricks refers to Binyan Av , when I apply one law to another. And finally, Avodat Sadeh/ the outside work refers to a Brita , which is not in the Mishna, it's outside. What was the Zohar talking about, connecting work in the fields with Gemara learning? He answers, Yes. They fulfilled their Galut through the learning, they fulfilled it by humbling themselves through their learning. And he quotes Rav Gedalia Schorr who says these exact words of this Midrash, " I'd rather be a slave in this house than a slave someplace else. I'm going to suffer anyway. Let me humble myself through Torah." That is this unbelievable concept. As we go through Galut and as we endure the challenges- it's all in the how we view it . BeH We will continue on with these pesukim in the in the history of Yetziat Mitzrayim.

Welcome to our special Shovavim mini-series, on the topic of humility . If you ask people what the purpose of Yetziat Mitzrayim was, you'd probably get a few different answers. Most people would say that it was a Gezera /decree. God told Abraham at Brit Ben HaBetarim that we'd be in Galut . What was the reason? Was it due to a sin? The Abarbanel in Bereshit chapter 15 tells us in the name of the Ran that this Galut was not due to any sin. Rather, it was in order to humble the hearts of the Jewish people so that they should be fit to receive the Torah, or what we call, Yisurim shelAhava/ suffering that Hashem gives, not as a punishment but out of love, to make us better. The Chida, in his sefer Chomat Anach , Chapter 54, pasuk 11, he says that since the Torah is a spiritual existence, it can't be held by a person who has improper thoughts, namely arrogance . So the purpose of Galut Mitzrayim was to break that arrogance, in order to allow them to receive the Torah. The Chida, in his sefer Yosef Tehilot on Tehilim 119,72 offers an additional nuance. He asks, Why are we in exile so long? What did we do that was terrible ? He answers that the Torah we have today is like hot air compared to the Torah that's going come in the time of Mashiach, which will reveal all the secrets. And in order to be a receptacle for that high level of Torah that we're going to receive in Mashiach's time, we need to have extreme humility that can only to come through a long and difficult exile. This is a whole different way of looking at what we're going through. It's not that Hashem is just beating us up for no reason. No. He's purifying us. And the purification is specifically in the area of humility. When things don't go right, when things are difficult, man becomes humble and realizes he's not in control. The Bnei Yisaschar, in his essays on Nissan (essay 9) quotes this Chida, and says that this is the meaning of the pasuk in Shemot 1,11: וַיָּשִׂ֤ימוּ עָלָיו֙ שָׂרֵ֣י מִסִּ֔ים לְמַ֥עַן עַנֹּת֖וֹ בְּסִבְלֹתָ֑ם וַיִּ֜בֶן עָרֵ֤י מִסְכְּנוֹת֙ לְפַרְעֹ֔ה אֶת־פִּתֹ֖ם וְאֶת־רַעַמְסֵֽס׃ Paroah put taskmasters on the Jewish people to humble them. The purpose of Galut Mitzrayim was to humble them, to get them ready to receive the Torah. It says in Shemot 3,12, that Hashem told Moshe, בְּהוֹצִֽיאֲךָ֤ אֶת־הָעָם֙ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם תַּֽעַבְדוּן֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים עַ֖ל הָהָ֥ר הַזֶּֽה / Take them out of Egypt. You will serve Hashem on this mountain.. So the there's a goal here. It's not just for no reason. The Bnei Yisaschar gives a beautiful Mashal- If, lo Alenu, someone is sick, the doctor gives him all kinds of difficult medicines and treatments and he suffers through it. But at the end, when he is totally healed, and he sees how this difficult treatment cleansed him and purified him, he hugs and kisses his doctor for bringing him the Yeshua /salvation by healing him. That's the way we're going to look back at all the things that happened to us in Galut . We'll see how it purified us. The Bnei Yisaschar, in essay 12 on Nissan, says that's why every single year between Pesach and Shavuot , we have Sefirat HaOmer , a time to work on our Middot , specifically being humble . The students of Rabbi Akiva did not respect each other. So every year we reaccept and recommit ourselves to the to Torah, and go through that purification process to get rid of our arrogance. And now for the real clincher, which now seems so obvious and simple: The Kli Yakar in Vayikra 6,9 says that the whole Pesach is all about staying away from hametz , which rises. Hametz symbolizes arrogance , whereas Matzah is Lechem Oni , לחם עני The bread of affliction , And as we said, Oni , has the same as the root as the word Anava ענוה . So the goal of the days of Pesach is to eliminate every drop of arrogance; hametz, is completely forbidden, even a drop. Rambam says that for all Middot, we are supposed to take the middle road, except when it comes to arrogance, as it says in Pirkei Avot 4- מאד מאד be extremely humble. So since the whole purpose of Galut Mitzrayim was to humble ourselves, come out humble people and eradicate our arrogance, it's no wonder that the whole theme of Pesach is all about getting rid of the hametz and humbling ourselves. It's black on white. Of course the purpose of Galut Mitzrayim was to humble ourselves, and to eventually get ourselves to have a heart that's pure, with proper Middot and get ready to receive the Torah, whether at the original Yetziat Mitzrayim, or every single year. One final point from that Bnei Yisaschar on Nissan: it says we count 49 days which is numerical value of לב טוב . So we are going to get ourselves a good heart . And a good heart is a humble heart. As it says in Tehilim 5 1,19 זִ֥בְחֵ֣י אֱלֹהִים֮ ר֤וּחַ נִשְׁבָּ֫רָ֥ה לֵב־נִשְׁבָּ֥ר וְנִדְכֶּ֑ה אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים לֹ֣א תִבְזֶֽה׃ The sacrifices of God is broken spirit, a broken heart, a humbled heart, God does not despise. The best heart is the broken heart. As the famous Kotzker Rebbe once said, there is nothing more whole than a broken heart.

The 156th episode of The Jewish Drinking Show features Nadav Jesselson, co-founder and general manager of Anava Vineyards, speaks on Israel's first "vineyard as a service". Support the Show.Thank you for listening!If you have any questions, suggestions, or more, feel free to reach out at Drew@JewishDrinking.coml'chaim!

What Brings Anava?

What would you do if you were ridiculed in public? Today we explore the profound power of silence in the face of shame, as discussed in the Orchos Tzaddikim, Ways of the Righteous. We reflect on how choosing to remain silent amidst public mockery can lead to divine favor and inner peace. Drawing wisdom from the Talmud, we hear about the spiritual light that shines upon those who practice this humility, transforming Busha (shame) into Anava (humility) and ultimately leading to a deeper sense of self-worth and dignity.We also uncover the signs of a noble character in children, focusing on modesty and humility as key indicators. Our discussion takes a historical turn as we look at King Saul's humility and how it was treasured by our sages. As we conclude our journey through the gate of shame, we prepare to transition into the gate of arrogance, eager to unravel more insights. This episode is a rich exploration of virtues that remain deeply relevant in our daily lives. Don't miss out on this meaningful conversation that promises to enrich your understanding of humility and dignity._____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)Recorded in the TORCH Centre - Levin Family Studios (B) in Houston, Texas on June 4, 2024.Released as Podcast on July 5, 2024_____________DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!_____________SUBSCRIBE and LISTEN to other podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Prayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at https://www.TORCHpodcasts.com_____________EMAIL your questions, comments, and feedback: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Please visit www.torchweb.org to see a full listing of our outreach and educational resources available in the Greater Houston area!  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What would you do if you were ridiculed in public? Today we explore the profound power of silence in the face of shame, as discussed in the Orchos Tzaddikim, Ways of the Righteous. We reflect on how choosing to remain silent amidst public mockery can lead to divine favor and inner peace. Drawing wisdom from the Talmud, we hear about the spiritual light that shines upon those who practice this humility, transforming Busha (shame) into Anava (humility) and ultimately leading to a deeper sense of self-worth and dignity.We also uncover the signs of a noble character in children, focusing on modesty and humility as key indicators. Our discussion takes a historical turn as we look at King Saul's humility and how it was treasured by our sages. As we conclude our journey through the gate of shame, we prepare to transition into the gate of arrogance, eager to unravel more insights. This episode is a rich exploration of virtues that remain deeply relevant in our daily lives. Don't miss out on this meaningful conversation that promises to enrich your understanding of humility and dignity._____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)Recorded in the TORCH Centre - Levin Family Studios (B) in Houston, Texas on June 4, 2024.Released as Podcast on July 5, 2024_____________DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!_____________SUBSCRIBE and LISTEN to other podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Prayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at https://www.TORCHpodcasts.com_____________EMAIL your questions, comments, and feedback: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Please visit www.torchweb.org to see a full listing of our outreach and educational resources available in the Greater Houston area!  ★ Support this podcast ★

Who Has Anava?

Many with celiac disease often report feeling isolated, awkward, and disheartened as they navigate the world on a gluten-free diet. But the future is bright, and there are tools you can use to maneuver the social landscape and cope with the burden of a chronic illness. In this Town Hall celebrating both Celiac Awareness Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, Dr. Anava Wren discusses her work on the social and psychological impacts of celiac disease, and shares her top tips for combatting that isolation. Dr. Wren is a pediatric celiac psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology at Stanford University Medical Center. She is also the Director of the GI Psychosocial Services & IBD/Celiac Psychological Health Programs. She has been a leader in Stanford Medicine Children's Health Center for IBD and Celiac Disease since it was founded in 2020. This Town Hall is possible thanks to our sponsor, Crunchmaster. Crunchmaster crackers are made from simple, wholesome ingredients, and are certified gluten-free. Thank you Crunchmaster! To hear more episodes of Celiac Straight Talk, head to https://www.beyondceliac.org/news-events/podcast-series/.

Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! Nikko Jenkins és un assassí en sèrie acusat de cometre l'assassinat en primer grau de 4 persones. Però el més impactant va ser el seu rostre quan aquest va aparèixer al judici. Anava completament ple de tatuatges i de cicatrius que s'havia provocat el mateix. A continuació t'ho expliquem Benvinguts a La Nit Més Fosca -- Cançó: Shodmock - Nikko Jenkins: https://youtu.be/PKnb52ZQQZw Escucha este episodio completo y accede a todo el contenido exclusivo de La Nit Més Fosca. Descubre antes que nadie los nuevos episodios, y participa en la comunidad exclusiva de oyentes en https://go.ivoox.com/sq/455079

Programa 4x85. Avui us portem una hist

Programa 4x85. Avui us portem una hist

The Rov begins Perek 22, discussing Anava, the Middah of Humility. First on e has to have the mindset and then the action.

Anava and Joela Grundy, 5th grade students at Columbia River Gorge Elementary, competed at the USATF Junior Olympics Regional XC Meet in Athol, Idaho, on Nov. 18. https://tinyurl.com/37zr8jym #WashougalSchoolDistrict #AnavaAndJoelaGrundy #ColumbiaRiverGorgeElementary #USATFJuniorOlympicsRegionalXCMeeet #BoostersMileageClub #WhisperRunning #Washougal #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

(LLEIDA, 1994) Una mestra molt coneguda a Lleida desapareix i el seu marit es bolca en la cerca, però no tot és el que sembla.

Programa 3x159. En Jean-Michel Basquiat potser

Programa 3x159. En Jean-Michel Basquiat potser

La Tina Mu

La Tina Mu

What Motivates Me?

Welcome to another spiritual visualization meditation. Join me as we journey into the four letters of the Hebrew word Anava, ענוה, humility, and discover the secrets of humility in the wisdom of the Torah that lie within these letters. Words and numerical values used in this meditation: ענוה - Anava - humility יום - 56 - day לילה - 75 - night   על פי אמרי נועם זיע"א על התורה   Please like & subscribe! Thank you. Music credits: Aetheric Dreams - Eternally - https://youtu.be/7QDhmw9s0XI Abel Mendoza - Ambient Pads - https://youtu.be/Ze8wx5hvlm8 I Surrender - Ambient Depth Music - https://youtu.be/EA4DhGQMmKk Self Care - Lee Rosevere - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn_gF0v0sW4&t=0s

What does Anava bring?

Programa 3x113. "I have a dream!" La veritat

HEBREW: Shiur Inyanei Anava V'Shiflus At The Sephardic Kehilla Center In Toronto - ליל ג יב כסליו ה'תשפ'ג - בעברית - שיעור שנמסר בבית הכנסת הגדול הספרדי בטורונטו

This presentation covers the correlation between the Torah/ Old Testament histories of the world and the cyclical conspiracy of the Free Masons to control the world thru Shadow Societies to control all of humanity and act like Gods. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/beyondtopsecrettexan/support

What Is Anava?

Professional & Business success require confidence & often publicity but does this mean that Tzniyus (modesty) and Anava (humility) are thrown out the window? In Podcast #8 Career Coach Tzvi Broker and Rabbi Gerzi teach how to walk the tightrope between exhibiting healthy confidence in our careers and falling into ego. Email us with comments and questions. Option to have the sources quoted from this podcast emailed to you too. Be in touch! pilznoworkinspired@gmail.com https://pilznoworkinspired.com https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqH7... https://www.facebook.com/PilznoWorkIn... Does work and dealing with finances leave you feeling inspired? For many people, work and finances are things that just need to get done and more often than we hope, stressful! Join Rabbi Yehoshua Gerzi Founder of Pilzno- Work Inspired and the Arba Yesodot Program and Career Coach Tzvi Broker weekly as they uncover the Torah's guidance for achieving financial and career success while living with more balance, fulfilment, and peace of mind. Each episode will bring to center stage topics the pain points we experience in our super busy, fast-paced, multi-faceted lives and give practical tools on how to thrive in our jobs or businesses.

How Should I View Success?

Lashon Hara Introduction by Rabbi Alon Anava

Lashon Hara Introduction by Rabbi Alon Anava

There are two states on Israel's eastern border: Jordan, the border of peace, and Syria, a country where Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations aim to establish themselves to threaten Israel. We will meet the men and women who make up the IDF's first responders and learn how their various units deal with the many threats aimed against them and Israel's civilians. The episode begins with a briefing from the liaison forces responsible for diplomatic and strategic relations between the countries, as well as the U.N. in the Golan Heights. This episode features: Lt. Avi, Golan Heights, Liaison Officer Sgt. Omer, Nahal Brigade, Combat Soldier. The Nahal Brigade is adopted by FIDF (open for adoption) Cpl. Michal, 595 Unit, Field Observer- the unit is adopted by WCT Chapter SSGT. Dani, SSGT. Inbar and Pvt. Anava from the Lions of the Jordan Valley Battalion adopted by Palm Beach Chapter Cpl. Yonah ,and Pvt. Zac from the 401 Armored Corps Brigade, both Lone Soldiers from NY. The Brigade is adopted by the FIDF (open for adoption) Lt. Tova from the 137 Iron Dome Battalion. Tova is a Lone Soldier from San Diego! (Original Airdate: 2/22/2022)

Anger - Avoid at All Costs, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb, given to the weekly women's group in Kehilat Ha'Ela Companion shiur to last week's installment on Anava.

Anava: Balancing Ego and Self-Confidence Part 1, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb, given to the weekly women's group in Kehilat Ha'Ela  

00 - Menucha and anava in Midos by Rabbi Daniel Kalish

Amb la Marta Cub

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://drdannielleblumenthal.wordpress.com/2021/10/17/global-elite-erev-rav-rabbi-alon-anava/

El dropshipping consisteix a vendre sense tenir magatzem, perquè els productes viatgen des del proveïdor fins al client final. Us basta amb el metre quadrat que hi ha al voltant del vostre portàtil per a obrir moltes botigues a internet. Anava a dir "una botiga", però és una limitació del món físic que no tenim. Internet és així. Hustle Got Real té els algoritmes per a fer-ho tot, i en Miquel Pieras ho explica amb tots els detalls. També aprendrem que a Hustle Got Reals fan fàcil una part, però n'hi ha una altra que haurem de cuidar nosaltres, els venedors. També aprofitem el programa per a fer una mica de cultura digital de fons, perquè la vostra botiga també podria ser a Amazon. És veritat això que diuen, que no paguen impostos? Finalment, animem a emprendre; tot el que pugui ser software serà software i hi ha moltíssimes coses per a fer. El cas del Miquel Pieras és un exemple. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/benjami-villoslada/message

La noia, de 15 anys, es va llevar la vida fa unes setmanes. Anava a l'escola Pare Manyanet de Sant Andreu, a Barcelona, i la fam

Patrycia Centeno i la imatge dels personatges de la setmana comen

Patrycia Centeno i la imatge dels personatges de la setmana comen

Dans cet épisode de Startup Story powered by ooredoo, nous avons invité Alaya Bettaieb, Directeur Général de Smart Capital, pour parler du lancement du nouveau fond des fonds pour financer les Startups. En 2ème partie, nous avons invité Emna Sayadi, MENA Head de HIIL Justice Accelerator, et Nouha Meddeb, Community Coordinator HIIL Justice Accelerator MENA. Producteur exécutif : Walid Naffati Montage & Mixage : Ghazi Neffati Enregistrement dans les studios de Jawhara FM Production : StreamingHD

Antònia Maria Bauçà (Pollença, 1931) va ser tota la vida professora d'educació física. Anava en moto d'institut en institut des de mitjans dels anys 50 fins que es va jubilar. Filla de pagesos, va ser una dona avançada als seus temps que encara conserva una intel·ligència desperta i col·labora setmanalment a la ràdio municipal del poble. Segueix-nos a: https://ib3.org/aire-radio https://www.facebook.com/AireIB3/ https://www.instagram.com/aire_ib3/

Can I Expect Hashem To Help Me?

Mishnayos Shiur Starting soon! To Join Mishnah4Life Search "Mishnah4Life".

Joan Guiu Candille, Director del Fanal Sant Vicenç, recorda la figura de Jordi Barre i en particular la seua vinculació amb el Fanal. Candille recorda que el Fanal Sant Vicenç va ser un laboratori per Jordi Barre per iniciar-se a la cançó catalana. Anava a cercar la inspiració en els textos de grans poetes però també creava composicions pròpies.

From Destruction To Rebuilding of Beit HaMikdash (Rabbis Anava, Reuven, Mizrachi) by Rabbi Yaron Reuven

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter Tzaddik Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s we’ll discuss the letter TZADDIK. The letter Tzaddik represents Tzidkus, righteousness, Tzaddikim, and Tzida, trapping something. The Tzaddik is the ability to capture something and rule over it in a positive way. This can take the form of trapping animals and properly training them. Esav was “tzayid b’peav, he was able entrap someone with his words.” The root of the word Tzaddik refers to the righteous person who in a sense is able to trap the Yetzer Hara in order to rule over it. Tzaddi represents trapping and the Kuf at the end of it represents the Yezter Hara. This will hopefully be explained in the class pertaining to the letter Kuf. The first time that the letter Tzaddik appears in the beginning of a word in the Torah is during the creation of man. It says “b’Tzalmeinu, in Our image,” because the perfection of man lies in being alike to his Creator as much as possible. We can thus understand that the Tzaddik points towards shelaimus ha’adom, the perfection of man: to become a Tzaddik! Nowhere in the Torah are we commanded to kill our Yezter Hara, but we must use it for its intended purpose by ruling over it to serve Hashem. In the Shema we are told, “v’ahavta es Hashem Elohecha b’chol levav’cha, You should love Hashem with all your hearts.” Chazal explain that the plural use of “hearts” is to teach “b’shney yitzarecha, both the Yetzer Hatov v’Yetzer Hara, our good and evil inclinations.” There are two forms of this letter. A Tzaddik Kafufa, a regular bent Tzaddik, and a Tzaddik Peshuta AKA Tzaddik Sofit. Currently the Tzaddik is filled with humility, but when Mashiach comes the Tzaddik will become Peshuta, straightened out and stand upright, and all will see his true worth. The letter Tzaddik is formed with a Nun Kafufa, bent Nun, and a Yud. In a previous class we discussed that the Nun represents Ne’emanus, faithfulness, and aNava, humility. Those born naturally humble who didn’t really work on themselves for that trait are not called Tzaddikim. Only a person who works hard in avodos Hashem, serving Hashem and learning Torah is called a Tzaddik. Therefore the letter is also formed with a Yud, which represents attaching yourself to Hashem. Only after you attach yourself to God can you be called a Tzaddik. It also should be pointed out that the bent Nun in the formation of the Tzaddik is very bent over. A true Tzaddik is extremely humble in front of Hashem as it says regarding Moshe that he was “aNav mikol adom, humbler than all men.” Numerically, the Tzaddik is 90. Its lower counterpart letter is TES, which is 9. Tes represents the force of good that comes back to you. The connection here is obvious: the Tzaddik will receive good in the world to come. As the passuk in Yeshaya 3:10 says, “Imru l’Tzaddik ki Tov say to the Tzaddik he’s good.” Tzaddikim and goodness go hand in hand. A smart person contemplates this world and recognizes that all good will be received in the next world, represented by the relationship between the Tzaddik and its partner letter Tes. May we merit attaching ourselves to true Tzaddikim and ultimately become such ourselves through the power of the letter Tzaddik. Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter NUN Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. In today’s Nach Daily we’ll be discussing perek 119, letter NUN. The letter Nun represents Ne’emanut, loyalty, Namichut ruach, humility, Neshama, the soul, and Netzach, eternity. The Medrash Osyios D’Rebbe Akiva explains that the Neshama was created with the letter Nun. Without the soul the body would be as inanimate as the dirt on the ground, unable to stand erect or move in any way. The Medrash continues that this is represented by the two Nuns. The regular Nun is laying, while the Nun Sofit is standing. In the simple sense, the Medrash is speaking about the Neshama as it relates to its clothing, the body. However, in the deeper sense this means that when a person does mitzvos the Neshama is uplifted. When a person sins, however, the Neshama goes downwards as if it’s sleeping. A Neshama by nature is completely pure, trustworthy, loyal and filled with sublime humility before God, but our physical desires are constantly preventing it from revealing its true identity. This is all represented by the letter Nun, as the soul is constantly expressing its dedication to Hashem. The shape of a Nun is like a person sitting with their legs in front and the head tilted forward. This points towards the Neshama, which humbly subjugates itself to Hashem. It should be noted that when a person is constantly like the Nun Kafuf, humbly sitting in front of God, in the end he will be like the Nun Pashuta, straightened out for Olam Habah. Numerically, the Nun is 50. Fifty represents the “Chamishim Sha’arei Bina, 50 Gates of Understanding, the 50 gates of Kedusha, Holiness, and the 50 days to receiving the Torah. The only way to reach the highest level is though aNava, humility. Therefore, it was specifically Moshe who attained the fiftieth level which allowed him to receive the Torah because he was aNav mikol adom, the most humble man on earth. This is all represented by the letter Nun which is numerically fifty and corresponds to humility, loyalty, and subjugation. The Nun is also a feminine letter as Nekieva, which starts with a Nun, means female. Women have an easier time humbling themselves to Hashem because they are more naturally connected, dedicated and loyal. This is why women make the bracha in the morning “asani kirtzono, Hashem created me according to His will. Generally speaking, women feel more connected to Hashem because they were created in tandem with God’s Ratzon, will. Nun is also the letter for Nefila, falling. In life we tend to fall, but we always trust that “yerida tachlis ha’aliya, every descent is really an ascent.” Every fall is really Hashem drawing you closer to Him. In this context it can be understood that every Nefilah, falling is really for the good. It’s specifically from that place of Nefilah that you can accrue credit for Netzach, eternity. May we merit constantly humbling ourselves in front of Hashem, remembering that we are Nothing, which starts with a Nun, in the eyes of the Creator. Stay tuned for our next episode in which we’ll be moving on to the letter Samech. Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.

Join Julie Emden of Embodied Jewish Learning for 10-minute meditation and yoga practices to support you in your Menschville journey. Listen to a short podcast each month to help you focus on the middah Anava or humility.

Join Rabbi Lavey Derby of the PJCC and Julie Emden of Embodied Jewish Learning for 10-minute meditation and yoga practices to support you in your Menschville journey. Listen to a short podcast each month to help you focus on one “middah” (character trait) as we move through the year.

Repassem amb Patrycia Centeno les fotografies d'actualitat: el discurs del rei Felip VI, la moda de les corbates granes, la picaresca dels pobles l'1-O, la policia nacional del vaixell...

Anava - humility II

Anava - humility

After sitting nearby one of my sweet teachers Naime Jezzeny (he helped me to see both my potential and the possibilities to be the person I am today) last weekend in his workshop which focused on the Upanishads (means to sit nearby) I was inspired to share with you these teachings inspired from our teacher Dr. Douglas Brooks . When we sit among others and share, listen and realize we all have amazing potential that is in nature. Amidst this diversity you may find a moment of feeling connected to the source (potential) and through this awareness you may discover a new way to express yourself (possibilities). I know now that I always had the potential within myself to be a yoga teacher but until it was time for me to find teachers who would show me that it was possible then I was able to connect to my own heart and could actually believe it for myself - this was huge for my growth as a person and only 5 years ago. My love for yoga took me to go deeper into Philosophy and realize that I can study seeing that I was intelligent and it was possible to enjoy learning - thanks to Douglas for his teachings open me to more possibilities than I could ever imagine within myself. We all can relate when we find gifts that are within that come out on the mat, in conversation, at work or in relationships. Tap into your potential that you were born with and see what your possibilities are and if you look to those who believe in you then let them show you the possibility of becoming more of who you are. The Mala's: On this great site that one of my friends Jessica Jennings created you can scroll down to the following words - And the next three, from which come the 3 A's, are: then you will see how the Mala's play out in Anusara Yoga. Anava-mala located in the heart Karma-mala located in the pelvis Mayiya-mala located in the 3rd eye many thanks for the listing Yoga Everyday Sequence: Level 2/3 Tadasana Urdvah Hastasana then interlace fingers and stretch palms up to Samastithi Uttansana - Standing Fwd Bend to Straight Leg Lunge Down Dog w/Twist Vinyasa - Plank, Chatarunga Dandasana , Bhujangasana (cobra) Lunge Hip Opener Chest to Floor (if possible today) Vinyasa to Uttanasana Vira II - Warrior Pose then interlace fingers and fold fwd Vinyasa Trikonasana - Triangle Pose Down Dog to Vasistasana - Side Plank Childs Pose 2X Adhho Mukha Vrksasana - Handstand REST then try Variation or try this Vrksasana - Tree Pose Urdvah Hastasana then do *Vinyasa with Leg Lifted *option for plank with knee down Crescent/Vira I - Warrior 1 back Heel Lifted into Vira III - Warrior 3 Down Dog Uttanasana Malasana - Garland Pose Standing Hold Knee to Chest Prep for Padangustasana  then Extent Leg Fwd Malasana taking it into Pasasana Variation - Ganapati's Noose Uttanasana to Plank  Ardha Bhekasana  - Thigh Stretch Dhanurasana 2X - Bow Pose Anjaneasana 2X - Low Lunge Backbend Down Dog Pigeon Prep then Twist Balasana - Child's Pose  Knee to Chest  then Both Knees into Chest Savasana Namaste!