Transcript

וכל שכן שתנצל מן הכעס ותעלה על לבך מידת הענווה שהיא מידה טובה מכל המידות הטובות שנאמר עקב ענווה יראת ה' ובעבור הענווה תעלה על לבך מידת היראה כי תיתן אל לבך תמיד מאין באת ולאן אתה הולך ושאתה רימה ותולעה בחייך ובאף כי במותך ולפני מי אתה עתיד ליתן דין וחשבון לפני מלך הכבוד שנאמר הנה השמים ושמי השמים לא יכלכלוך אף כי לבות בני אדם ונאמר הלוא את השמים ואת הארץ אני מלא נאום ה' וכאשר תחשוב את כל אלה תירא מבוראך.

So the Ramban says that it's so important and so fundamental to cultivate middat ha'anavah because middat ha'anavah is the basis for yirat Hashem. Shlomo HaMelech says עקב ענווה יראת ה', right? In the aftermath, on the heels of anavah comes yirat Hashem. So the relationship between anavah and yirat Hashem, the Ramban elaborating on this pasuk in Sefer Mishlei, is that anavah brings a person to yirah. That's also in the Braisa of Pinchas ben Yair, the way we have it in the Bavli is also ענווה מביאה לידי יראת חטא. That's the progression from anavah to yirah. Now le'umat zeh, the Rambam has in perek bais of Yesodei HaTorah,

היכא הדרך לאהבתו ויראתו? בשעה שיתבונן האדם במעשיו וברואיו הנפלאים הגדולים ויראה מהם חכמתו שאין לה ערך ולא קץ מיד הוא אוהב ומשבח ומפאר ומתאווה תאווה גדולה לידע השם הגדול כמו שאמר דוד צמאה נפשי לאלוקים לקל חי. וכשמחשב בדברים האלו עצמם מיד הוא נרתע לאחוריו ויירא ויפחד וידע שהוא בריה קטנה שפלה אפלה עומד בדעת קלה מעוטה לפני תמים דעות כמו שאמר דוד כי אראה שמיך מה אנוש כי תזכרנו.

So in the Rambam, if anything, the sequence is inverted. The Rambam says that a person is misbonen, a person attains some understanding of gadlus Hashem, of gadlus haBorei. This instinctively arouses within a person a sense of yirah, of pachad, and together with that comes the recognition

שהוא בריה קטנה שפלה אפלה עומד בדעת קלה מעוטה לפני תמים דעות.

So the Rambam certainly is not describing the progression of Shlomo HaMelech, of anavah leading to yirah. The truth is that in the Rambam, yirah and anavah there is no progression. Truth is the Rambam seems to say that the yirah and the anavah emerge hand-in-hand. They emerge simultaneously.

וכשמחשב בדברים האלו עצמם מיד הוא נרתע לאחוריו ויירא ויפחד

and all this is happening, all this like a torrent which is engulfing him, וידע שהוא בריה קטנה שפלה אפלה וכולי. So on the one hand, we have the progression of Sefer Mishlei, of Pinchas ben Yair, of the Ramban, that first comes anavah, then comes yirah. In order for a person to open his heart to have Yirah, so a person has to first be mashpil himself. A person has to recognize

מאין באת מטיפה סרוחה ולאן אתה הולך למקום עפר רימה ותולעה.

A person breaks the Gaivah, then he can have Yirah. But as long as a person is shackled by Gaivah, so we know, we see that a person who's a Baal Gaivah can't be Kofuf, can't be Kofuf, has tremendous difficulty being Kofuf. A person who's a Baal Gaivah bechlal has tremendous difficulty thinking about others, even the Ribbono Shel Olam. So Eikev Anavah is Yiras Hashem. A person has to break that Gaivah. A person has to be mashpil himself to open a gateway for Yiras Hashem. That's the progression of Shlomo HaMelech. The Rambam, with a Pasuk in Tehillim, says no, says that the Anavah emerges together with the Yirah. A person is Misbonen, M'chashev, and as a result, he's overcome with this sense of Yirah and he also has this sense of being a בריה קטנה שפלה אפלה. So let's try to understand a little bit these two different schemes in terms of the relationship between Anavah and Yirah. Now, to begin with, we have to notice a very very important He'arah in this Rambam itself. Let's reread for a minute.

היכן הדרך לאהבתו ויראתו בשעה שיתבונן האדם במעשיו וברואיו הנפלאים הגדולים ויראה מהם חכמתו שאין לה ערך ולא קץ מיד הוא אוהב ומשבח ומפאר ומתאווה תאווה גדולה לידע השם הגדול כמו שאמר דוד צמאה נפשי לאלהים לאל חי.

That's the Rambam's description of the initial sense of Ahavah and the initial desire for a much deeper and more profound Ahavah. A person has some, albeit infinitesimal, Musag of Gadlus Hashem, of Chochmas Hashem. So that's the beginning of Ahavah. That's the beginning of Ahavah. Okay. וכשמחשב בדברים האלו עצמן, meaning the same

מעשיו וברואיו הנפלאים הגדולים ויראה מהם חכמתו שאין לה ערך ולא קץ, וכשמחשב בדברים האלו עצמן,

says the Rambam, מיד הוא נרתע לאחוריו ויירא ויפחד. It's the beginning of Yirah also. But now there's an important disparity. Now the Rambam adds:

ויודע שהוא בריה קטנה שפלה אפלה עומדת בדעת קלה מעוטה לפני תמים דעות.

When the Rambam defines Ahavah, there's nothing relational about Ahavah. The feeling, not the feeling, the Hakara which is the beginning of Ahavah, there's nothing relational. It reflects again the paltry, infinitesimal understanding that we have about Chochmas Hashem. It doesn't say anything about our relation vis-a-vis him, right? When the Rambam says מיד הוא אוהב ומשבח ומפאר, he doesn't say because I'm Nispale that the Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows so much more than me. It doesn't, it's not because the Hakadosh Baruch Hu's Chochmah is אין לה ערך ואין לה קץ and K'negdo so everything is k'ayin v'tohu nechshavu. Rambam doesn't mention that in the depiction of these initial stages of Ahavah. But yira is relational. Yira is the sense of yira that the person has. Part of the yira, the essence of the yira is understanding what the relationship is that one has, that exists between oneself and Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The definition of yira is yarei v'yifachad

ויודע שהוא בריה קטנה שפלה אפלה עומד בדעת קלה ומעוטה לפני תמים דעות.

So ahava, a person is inspired to ahava just by again whatever paltry hakara that we have on whatever level of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. But lav davka that it's the definition of ahava is relational. Mah she'ein ken yira, the Rambam says, is relational. Now, at least in terms of the yira side of the equation, the Maharal also defines yira that way also. That the essence of yira also, again, unlike ahava, where there's no self-definition in ahava, the Rambam's definition of ahava doesn't say anything about the contrast or the relationship between the person and Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It's just a reflection of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The ahava a person has is a reflection of his, again, again, infinitesimal, meager understanding of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. But the definition of yira is a reflection of his relationship, of his standing vis-à-vis Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Now the Maharal defines yira, the Maharal on ahavas Hashem is in a different derech. The Maharal defines yira the same way. Maharal says etzem hayira in Nesiv Yiras Hashem in Nesivos Olam

כי עצם היראה כי זה עצם היראה כאשר האדם הוא עלול אל העילה.

The essence of yira is when a person understands that he's an alul, that he's the effect, that he's the, he's the creature, el ha'ila to the cause, to Hakadosh Baruch Hu who's the yotzer. That a person recognizes and feels that he is yetzir kapav and that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the yotzer hakol, that's the essence of what yira is. Again,

כי עצם היראה מה שהוא עלול אל השם יתברך שהוא העילה.

Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the ila and the alul, the person, literally the effect, the creature, יש לו קיום בעילה. Now the emes is, it's interesting that not only is yira, is the definition of yira in the Mishnas HaRambam a relational one, but as this halacha itself suggests, the definition of anava is also relational. It's also relational. It's already implicit here in this halacha again of

ויודע שהוא בריה קטנה שפלה אפלה עומד בדעת קלה ומעוטה לפני תמים דעות.

The definition of anava is also relational, but it also emerges from the Rambam's discussion in perek bais of Hilchos Deios of anava. Halacha gimmel,

יש דעות שאסור לו לאדם לנהוג בהן בבינונית אלא יתרחק עד הקצה האחר

v'hu gova halev

שאין הדרך הטובה שיהיה האדם עניו בלבד אלא שיהיה שפל רוח ותהיה רוחו נמוכה למאוד ולפיכך נאמר במשה רבינו עניו מאוד ולא נאמר עניו בלבד ולפיכך ציוו חכמים מאוד מאוד הוי שפל רוח.

Fine. So anava is one of the exceptions to the Rambam's rule. rule of the derech hamemutza, a person is supposed to go all the way to the extreme.

ועוד אמרו שכל המגביה לבו כפר בעיקר. שנאמר ורם לבבך ושכחת את ה' אלקיך.

This was the Rambam's girsa in a Gemara in Sotah. The Rambam says that כל המגביה לבו כפר בעיקר. It's not כאילו כפר בעיקר. There's no, there's no kaf hadimyon here, it's not tantamount, it's ממש כפר בעיקר. ממש כפר בעיקר, the Rambam says. Haughtiness is kefirah. Haughtiness is kefirah. How can that be? That it's a מידה מגונה עד למאוד is clear, but mamash kefirah without any—there's nothing, there's nothing rhetorical about, about the, the formulation here. The Rambam says it and means it literally. כל המגביה לבו כפר בעיקר. So the teretz is, what, what's the essence of anavah and ga'avah respectively? Not the manifestations, not the, the way the person carries himself, whether in a self-effacing manner or, or in a, or with self-aggrandizement. That's all, those are the manifestations. What, what's the essence of anavah or ga'avah? So the essence, zichrono livracha used to say that people think that a ba'al ga'avah is someone who says, "Oh, I know Nashim Nezikin klall," and an anav says, "No, I don't know anything." He says no, if the person doesn't know Nashim Nezikin and he says he knows Nashim Nezikin, he's not a ba'al ga'avah, he's a metupash, he's a meshugeneh. He's not, he's just out of touch with reality. It's not, it's not the, his problem is not ga'avah, he has, he has different issues. The difference, and on the other hand, the anav doesn't lack the self-awareness. All the Gedolim throughout the generations who took upon themselves the achrayus of, of making such weighty and grave decisions, they obviously had the self-awareness to know that they were supposed to do it. The difference is that a ba'al ga'avah has a sense of כחי ועצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה. He attributes his success to himself. He feels autonomous, he feels self-sufficient, whereas an anav realizes, yes, I made hishtadlus. There's a mitzvah to make hishtadlus and I was ameil and I was yagei'a, but ultimately everything is from the Ribono Shel Olam, everything depends upon the Ribono Shel Olam, my very existence is through the Ribono Shel Olam. Mimeila says the Rambam, כל המגביה לבו כפר בעיקר. A person is magbi'a libo, he feels that he's autonomous, he feels, because why else would a person feel haughty? If a person is totally dependent upon Hakadosh Baruch Hu for everything, for his very existence, he exists through Hakadosh Baruch Hu who's הממציא כל נמצא ובו קיום and their kiyum is and our kiyum is through Him, there's no room for govah lev. A person feels that govah lev, he feels that that he's self-sufficient, he feels he's autonomous. That's mamash against the ikkarei hadas. So anavah is also relational. Anavah then is also relational. Also that it represents a person's understanding of an absolute, absolute existential dependence upon Hakadosh Baruch Hu. That we exist not only because of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, we exist through Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Okay, so that's a very, very important point that yirah, the Rambam, the Rambam defines in a relational sense. The yirah that a person has is the yirah of who he is standing before Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Who he, בריה שפלה אפלה בדעת קלה is עומד לפני תמים דעות. But still, let's try to... But still let's try to understand so what is what Shlomo HaMelech depicting and what's the Rambam depicting here? What would the Rambam say about that pasuk in Mishlei? So l'chora what the Rambam will say is of course, of course it's emes, emes l'amito that עקב ענוה יראת השם. That a person anava, again, he's misbonen

מאין בא ולאן הוא הולך ולפני מי הוא עתיד ליתן דין וחשבון,

it breaks gaiva. The Rambam comments on that mishna in Avos, it also breaks a person's תאוות והנאות עולם הזה when he thinks what the end result of it all is in terms of just the pleasure and material pursuit for their own as an end unto themselves. L'an ata holeich, of course anava brings a person to yira. There's no question, that's what Shlomo HaMelech is saying. But Shlomo HaMelech was not seeking to define the ultimate yira. Avada anava's mevia l'yidei yira, but he's not defining here the process or the progression to the yira ha-tachlisit, to the ultimate yira. And that for two reasons, but shnayim she-heim echad. First of all, when the Rambam says

היכי הדרך לאהבתו ויראתו בשעה שיתבונן האדם במעשיו וברואיו הנפלאים.

The Rambam here l'chora is following up l'shitaso on what he's been discussing in perek alef of Yesodei HaTorah. In perek alef of Yesodei HaTorah, so the Rambam writes that

יסוד היסודות ועמוד החכמות לידע שיש שם מצוי ראשון והוא ממציא כל הנמצא.

Discusses it, he concludes וידיעת דבר זה מצוות עשה שנאמר אנכי השם אלקיך. So it's quite clear that the Rambam's of the opinion that the mitzva is not simply emuna, but the mitzva is yedi'ah. It shouldn't just be a belief, but the Rambam thinks that it's a belief which has to be rooted in yedi'ah. In yedi'ah. Similarly the Rambam says about the mitzva of שמע ישראל השם אלקינו השם אחד, not just an inyan of emuna, but

ידיעת דבר זה מצוות עשה שנאמר השם אלקינו השם אחד.

So the mitzva is that the emuna should be meyusedes u'mushreshas b'yedi'ah. Now it would appear that what the Rambam is telling us here in perek beis is that the same is true for ahava v'yira as well. Of course again, to follow through with the mashal, is there tremendous inestimable value if a person believes anochi Hashem elokecha and believes Shema Yisrael without knowing it? So the Rambam will say of course there is. The ultimate is not just to believe anochi Hashem elokecha, is not just to believe Shema Yisrael, but to know. But to know. So too is there tremendous inestimable value to a yiras Hashem which isn't meyusedes u'mushreshas b'yedi'ah? Absolutely. Absolutely. But the Rambam says if you want to know what I consider the ultimate yira, so the same way the ultimate kiyum of anochi and Shema Yisrael is yedi'as davar zeh, so too the ultimate kiyum of את השם אלקיך תירא is when that yira is rooted in yedi'ah. עקב ענוה יראת השם isn't the yiras Hashem which is meyusedes u'mushreshas b'yedi'ah. It's a very real and powerful and again of infinite value, of infinite value, but the Rambam would say אף על פי כן the ultimate yiras Hashem it's not. Because the ultimate yiras Hashem just like the ultimate emuna for the Rambam has to be miyusedes, mushreshes biyediya. Zos ve'od. If you go back to the Ramban's Iggeres, so when the Ramban is describing this progression,

וכאשר תנצל מן הכעס תעלה על לבך מדת הענוה שהיא מדה טובה מכל המדות טובות שנאמר עקב ענוה יראת ה' ובעבור הענוה תעלה על לבך מדת היראה כי תתן על לבך תמיד מאין באת ולאן אתה הולך ושאתה רמה ותולעה בחייך ואף כי במותך ולפני מי אתה עתיד ליתן דין וחשבון לפני מלך הכבוד שנאמר הנה השמים ושמי השמים לא יכלכלוך אף כי לבות בני אדם ונאמר הלא את השמים ואת הארץ אני מלא נאם ה'.

Now, וכאשר תחשוב את כל אלה תירא מבוראך, right? עקב ענוה יראת ה'. Tishmor min hacheit. Tishmor min hacheit. וכאשר... I skipped just a few words.

וכאשר תתנהג במדת הענוה להתבושש מכל אדם ולהתפחד ממנו ומן החטא.

So the Ramban is talking about yiras hacheit. Ramban is talking about yiras hacheit. So too is the braisa of רבי פנחס בן יאיר. Is anavah is מביאה לידי יראת חטא, says רבי פנחס בן יאיר. Le'umasam, the Rambam as the meforeish here says, all the meforshei haRambam point out, the Rambam is talking about yiras haromemus. The Rambam is talking about yiras haromemus. Clearly, yiras haromemus first of all requires again a foundation of yediya. Is a reflection of again whatever migo yediya, which isn't the real ultimate yediya anyway, but requires a foundation of yediya. For a person to have yiras haromemus he has to have a hassaga of gadlus Hashem. He has to have a hassaga of gadlus Haborei. And it's only to the degree that a person has that hassaga of gadlus Hashem, of chochmas Hashem, of gadlus Haborei, that a person can have yiras haromemus. The עקב ענוה יראת ה', so the Ramban is describing is a progression in terms of yiras hacheit. Is a progression in terms of yiras hacheit. What the Rambam is saying, that the anavah is part of the yirah is when we're talking about yiras haromemus. That's also why for yiras haromemus, we commented... there are other dimensions to this as well. But the difference in the Rambam between the fact that ahavah isn't relational. The ahavah that a person has doesn't dictate a certain understanding of the relationship between himself and Hakadosh Baruch Hu or the contrast between himself and Hakadosh Baruch Hu, but yiras haromemus does by its very definition, right? Yiras haromemus by its very definition means the sense of awe that a person has because of just how exalted and beyond us Hakadosh Baruch Hu is. The sense of ahavah, a person can have an ahavah for someone who's his equal. On the contrary the Maharal says that you only have ahavah between equals. He says that's why the Torah never commands loving our parents because we don't love our parents qua parents. We love them because of everything they do for us. But just in their capacity as parents, so that in and of itself can be mechayeiv in kavod and mora, but it's not mechayeiv in ahavah. So ahavah, you can have. Ahavah doesn't imply a sense of ultimate contrast. But yiras haromemus does. Yiras haromemus certainly is based... precisely because he's meromam al kol, which is why again the Rambam is emphasizing that relational aspect. Although truth be told here in the Rambam in the Yad, tzarich iyun if this is indicated, but on a very practical level, so kevor nimnu vegamru the Tomer Devorah says that a person can't attain, can't even aspire to attaining yiras haromemus unless he has a yiras hachet first. That it's only when a person develops and cultivates a profound sense of yiras chet that only then can a person hope be'ezras Hashem to graduate to a yiras haromemus. The path to cultivating the yiras chet, עקב ענוה יראת השם which Shlomo Hamelech describes, that's what the Ramban is explaining in the igeres, basically the Mishna Avos is elaborating on when it talks about

דע מאין באת ולאן אתה הולך ולפני מי אתה עתיד ליתן דין וחשבון.

So we need to constantly, not in a morbid sense, but in a sense of having perspective. When a person is when you tell someone when they're taking driver's ed that when they get behind the wheel they have to be alert to what they're doing and they shouldn't be distracted by other things, because otherwise rachmana litzlan they're prone to terrible consequences. The point is not not to intimidate, the point is not to be morbid, the point is just to give a person perspective on reality. הסתכל בשלושה דברים ואי אתה בא לידי עבירה is not morbid. It's just reality. It's a reality check. Too often, too often we lose sight of that basic fundamental reality of our original source and our ultimate destiny. And Akavya Mahalalel, it's just a reality check, a reality check of עקב ענוה יראת השם. Reality of our original source and our ultimate destiny and Akavia ben Mahalalel, it's just a reality check, a reality check of עקב ענווה יראת השם.