Lechteich Mussar Podcast
Join us as we explore the depth of bitachon, as explained in the timeless sefer Shaar HaBitachon.
Lechteich Mussar Podcast
Bais HaLevi #31 - Introduction to Anavah
Join us as we begin our journey of learning about the middah of Anavah through the words of the Beis HaLevi.
"In his timeless essay on Anavah (humility), the Beis HaLevi, Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, delves into the essence of this foundational trait and how it enhances our relationship with Hashem, with others and with ourselves. What does true humility look like? And how can we cultivate this vital quality in our own lives?" -ArtScroll Beis HaLevi on Anavah
Okay, everybody, welcome back to the Lech Teich Moshe podcast. We continue with the brand new Sefer, the Bais HaLevi, on Anova. We're starting day 31 of the Chach Sech calendar. We begin with Parakal of chapter 1. We're going to learn all about the intricacies, nuances of this terrible Avera of Gaiva, something that Hashem wants us to stay very far away from, and we will now delve into all about it, how to do so and the severity of engaging in this terrible character trait Paragalif. It's not just bad Gaiva. Haughtiness is among the most severe sins in the Torah. V'masei, chesot, edafhei, azhar, le'gasus, haruch minayin, amurava, amar v'zotra, me'hocha shimu v'hazinu, la'altek bo. The Gemara wants to know where's a warning against haughtiness, against this terrible behavior. So Rava says, in the name of Amar Zotra, we learn from the Palsachim Yirmiah, which says Listen and be attentive, do not be haughty. So that's the Mekar. We always encounter people who ask when is it? Where does it say in the Torah? So it's right here. You want to know where not to be a Vagayva? It says. Yirmiah Novi tells us Listen and be attentive, do not be haughty. Now the Mekar, the Gemara, says, says it's learned out from the, from the Torah itself, which says and your heart will become haughty and you will forget Hashem, and obviously this is something that we would never want to do to forget Hashem himself. So if we want to stay close, we want to stay connected with Hashem, we want to always be cognizant and a result of his kindness, an investment of the Ebershter, we must disdain and remain far away from this terrible character trait.
Speaker 1:Parak Beis, chapter 2. Horiness agayava shava laveis chamus is equivalent to severe sins. O yidisa omer v'yichon ha'mishomer v'shem v'neichai ko'al v'meshesh v'gasis ruach. Anyone who has horiness ki, anyone who has haughtiness, it's as if he worships idols. It says in Proverbs and Mishle an abomination to Hashem is anyone who has haughtiness of spirit. It also says in Devarim do not bring an abomination into the midst of your house. A person has haughtiness. It's as if he's denied the fundamental of Hashem's existence. That's something quite severe Tape. We do not want to cut A red line, we don't want to cross, as the passage says. Your heart became haughty and you forgot Hashem. On to Parak Gimel, chapter 3.
Speaker 1:Haughtiness and havaidizara, idol worship, are essentially sins of thoughts. What does that mean? Indeed, we do see that haughtiness gaiva is like idol worship. So we can perceive horiness as just something to stay away from because it's not as hard in the Torah. And now we're seeing from the Beis Alevi that it's not stam, it's not just a suggestion or a nice practice that a person should stay away from it. We see it's.
Speaker 1:Hashem does not link a sinful thought to a sinful deed, which means that contemplating to do a sin is tantamount to committing it. So we don't say that. We don't say except for a sinful thought. How do we know that of a v'vayidah zarah, except for a sinful thought of a v'vayidah zarah? How do we know that it says in the Pasuk, in order to grab hold of b'nei Yisrael, for a sin in their heart, v'gam ga'e v'havi rak b'lev and horiness is a sin that is committed through their heart. It says your heart is hori. What's the reason? It says your heart is hori. What's the reason If a sin that requires an action, such a sin, hashem does not punish for the thought alone?
Speaker 1:The essence of the sin is that he accepts the person, the Ovid of the Zohar, he accepts the idol in his heart as a God and similarly with Gaiva, the essence of the sin is through thought and says the base lady, that the fact that both of Verus are rooted and stem from the heart.
Speaker 1:Just like of a Dezara, which a person gets punished, it's Makhshava K'maisa. A person has it's punished, it's attached. We associate the Makhshava Kemaisa. It's punished, it's attached. We associate the Makhshava because he had the thought in his heart, he accepted in his heart to be Oivet HaVadizor. He accepted the thing, the object, whatever it is, the Gechka. He accepted it in his heart as HaNavadizor, as a God. So too, haughtiness is with the acceptance, with the recognition in one's heart that he has the ability that he's one to be a Ba'al Ge'evah. And because of that, because it possesses the same virtue of something that's terrible, something that's deeply rooted in evil and corrosion, distortion in the heart, the Ba'al Ge'evah is as if it's over the Bedezerah, because its position is the same exact Ra and Mido.