Do you think anybody wants to be arrogant? Is there somebody out there who actually aspires to haughtiness?
I doubt it. At the same time, do you really want to be ‘humble’? Does the very word conjure up an image of someone lacking presence and self-confidence, an easily manipulated wallflower shyly averting his gaze?
The Torah wants us to live energetically, actively engaging the world and bringing it to a meaningful place. How do we reconcile that with humility, if that means passivity and submissiveness?
Humility means being honest with yourself, and seeing yourself for who you really are.
Humility isn’t merely a self-effacing attitude, one that denies – to yourself or others – your value, strengths and talents. That’s not humility, it’s [self-] deception.
No, humility means being fully aware of your talents; it means total consciousness of your advantages in life – genetic, societal, financial etc.
Humility is the attitude with which you approach your gifts and talents.
We all need to look at ourselves and take honest stock of our G-d-given ‘toolbox’, the gifts with which we’ve been endowed. Then we need to recognize that each of those life-advantages comes with a responsibility. G-d grants us gifts for a purpose. We need to develop and utilize our gifts as ‘tools’, making them into accessories for accomplishing meaningful living.
We need to look at each of our strengths and ask: Am I doing it justice?
We also need to consider that people without our specific talents have simply been dealt a different tool box. That’s G-d’s business, not mine.
To a humble person, the real measure of life isn’t which tools we’ve each been dealt; it’s what we’re doing with them.
So humility is a sense of responsibility. We need to be who G-d created us to be. Humility means competing against our own potential, not against anyone else. Humility is a sense of always being conscious of new opportunities to be the best we can be.
Humility means authentic ambition for a life well lived.
Rabbi Mendy Herson's Blog
Humble Ambitions
The Power Of Passivity
Humans need to be active and productive. We feel better that way, because that's the way G-d designed us. But sometimes our growth actually comes through passivity, through silence.
For example: When I’m about to enter an important appointment or meeting, I may pause to calibrate myself. I want to make sure that I’m attuned, emotionally available and receptive.
Look at the Jews’ historic seven-week journey from Egyptian slavery toward Mt. Sinai, where they would receive the Torah. During those seven weeks, the Jews were busily implementing a 49-step, self-refinement program known – through this day - as ‘Counting the Omer’. They weren't just marching in the sand; they were gaining ground on their own self-improvement.
Finally, they arrived at Sinai. One can only imagine their excitement! The former slaves, freshly freed from centuries of physical, emotional and spiritual bondage, could finally see the mountain that represented their ultimate emancipation. This formerly beaten people had arrived at history's threshold, waiting to receive G-d's Manual for a meaningful life, and transition into becoming a nation.
So what did they do on that especially significant day?
Nothing. Even Moses, their passionate leader and guide didn't say a word. Why not? The Talmud tells us that it was because of the people's “travel-induced weakness."
All of a sudden? At one of history's most powerful moments, they needed a lazy-day???
Chassidic masters explain that "weakness," in this context, means the Jews’ psycho-spiritual surrender to G-d. They let go of their attempts at control.
The Jews suddenly understood that the Torah wasn’t only going to be a brilliant document for their study and analysis. They recognized the majesty of receiving the Torah. They realized that they needed to stop reaching out for G-d, and allow themselves to be reached by Him. They needed to make space for the Divine in their lives.
Once they put their egos aside, allowing themselves to be molded by G-d, they were - in the words of the Torah - "like one person with one heart."
This Sunday and Monday, we will celebrate Shavuos, when we received the Torah.
It is a great time to think about your place in the universe, your commitment to the Torah and to your Oneness with the world. Join Holiday services and make space for the Divine in your life.
Let’s make the day count.