The Secret of Humility: The Key to Techiyas HaMeisim and Eternal Life
Lesson No. 44 | Tuesday Morning, Parashas Bereishis, 23 Tishrei 5756, Isru Chag Sukkos in the Yeshiva. (Continued in No. 45)
Why is humility the simplest thing to attain, and how is recognizing our flaws the true key to meriting Techiyas HaMeisim (Resurrection of the Dead) and the delight of Olam HaBa (the World to Come)? A profound article on the power of shiflus (lowliness), from the teachings of Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a.
Humility is the simplest thing in the world. It is impossible for a person, no matter what spiritual level they are on, to reach absolute perfection. In this generation, no perfection is possible. Even the most perfect person in the generation inevitably has many flaws. These flaws stem from various reasons: either from his nature and habits—he finds it difficult to learn, difficult to pray, and this alone is the greatest disgrace; or from his family; or from events that happened to him in the past; or from his actions and the sins he has committed, for "there is no tzaddik on earth who does good and does not sin."
The Mesillas Yesharim explains that these blemishes leave a person with no room for arrogance whatsoever. Arrogance simply does not apply; there is no such reality. Even if a person possesses many wonderful virtues, what does he have to be proud of when he has endless flaws?
"Even if he has many virtues, because his flaws are always more numerous than his virtues... they are enough to darken all of his good qualities" (Mesillas Yesharim).
The blemishes a person creates every moment and every day are enough to darken all the good virtues he possesses.
The Essence of Greatness is Humility
People come to the tzaddik only to learn one thing: humility and shiflus (lowliness). Not to say, "I am the most important of all." If a person has not learned humility from the tzaddik, it is a sign that he lacks understanding and does not comprehend what is being spoken to him at all. When one comes to see the tzaddik, they receive greatness, and the essence of greatness is only humility. Moshe Rabbeinu was called humble, and Hashem praises Himself with His humility, as Chazal (our Sages of blessed memory) said:
"Wherever you find the greatness of Hashem, there you find His humility."
A person's Techiyas HaMeisim (Resurrection of the Dead) will be exactly according to the points of humility he possesses. However many points of humility a person has, that is the body he will have for the Resurrection of the Dead. Initially, everyone will rise with their blemish—one who blemished his eyes will rise without eyes, one who blemished his hand will rise without a hand. He will suffer disgrace before the eyes of the whole world, and everyone will know exactly which sin he committed. Then he will begin to cry, to do teshuvah (repentance), and to feel ashamed before everyone, until they have mercy on him. The tzaddik will come, Moshe Rabbeinu will come and have mercy on him, just as at the Giving of the Torah when the blind saw and the lame received legs.
A Neighbor to the Dust in His Lifetime
Our spiritual work is solely focused on humility. To love all the tzaddikim and all of the Jewish people endlessly. A Jew who fulfills Torah and mitzvos, keeps Shabbos, and walks with peyos and a beard—there is nothing higher than this. One must feel: "Who knows when I will even reach the dust of the sole of the simplest Jew." All that will remain for the Future to Come are the thoughts of humility that a person acquired during his lifetime.
"Awaken and sing, you who dwell in the dust" (Isaiah 26:19)—this refers to one who made himself a neighbor to the dust during his lifetime.
A clear example of this is Rabbi Avraham ben Rabbi Nachman of Tulchin. He knew the entire Shulchan Aruch by heart, along with the Shach and the Taz, word for word. When he was old and nearly blind, people would place an ear near his mouth and hear him whispering holy books word for word, 24 hours a day. Despite his immense greatness, in Breslov and in Uman he was the most despised person. They called him "Der Meshugener" (the crazy one). He never showed off his scholarship or took pride in what he knew.
Among Breslov Chassidim, they never showed off their scholarship. Their entire aspiration was only how to succeed in saying a chapter of Tehillim (Psalms) and shedding a few tears. But in order to shed tears while saying Tehillim, one must first learn eight hours of Gemara. You cannot just pick up Tehillim and start crying. What will you cry about? About the ice cream and chocolates you ate? When do you cry? When you learn eight hours of Gemara. The Gemara purifies the heart and the mind, and then you begin to see where your soul is holding, you feel the pain of your sins, and you shed a tear. The Gemara was not meant for arrogance, but rather to feel humility.
Winning the War from Within the Darkness
There are tzaddikim and Admorim (Chassidic Rebbes) who grew up in immense holiness and purity from infancy. They are guarded from all sides, learning for long hours with absolute guarding of the eyes, and they merit Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration) and the ability to see from one end of the world to the other, like Rabbi Shmelke of Zvhil or the Chozeh of Lublin.
But we are simple people; we were not born angels and we were not holy from the womb. We need to win the war with our own strength, from within the falls and the descents. If a person wins the war from within his humility, his end will be very beautiful and he will reach even higher spiritual levels.
The physical substance of a person is a block of arrogance. Even a person's humility is often hidden arrogance—"Look how humble I am, I need to tell you that I am humble." It is told of Rabbi Yitzchak, the son-in-law of the Maggid of Mezritch, that he searched for counsel against arrogance. He went from tzaddik to tzaddik, until he understood the intention of Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli: the True Tzaddik is the one who will tell you that there is no counsel against arrogance.
When a True Tzaddik tells a person that there is no counsel, and the person realizes that he is lost and entirely a bundle of arrogance that he hates with absolute disgust—specifically then, he receives a profound shock. He begins to search for the true counsels, attains genuine humility, and begins to truly become "Ayin" (nothingness).
When a person merits true shiflus (humility), he transcends the boundaries of the material world and begins to experience the delight of the World to Come. Suddenly, he will feel a different blood flowing through his veins, a different rhythm; everything changes and becomes effortless. This is the delight of Shabbos, which is a taste of the World to Come—a complete, eternal life without limits, entirely dependent solely on the attribute of shiflus.
Part 2 of 3 — Lesson No. 44