Musar su Salmi 22:78

8) Our sages of blessed memory have said (Ibid.): "The Holy One Blessed be He does not reject the prayer of the many, it being written (Job 36:5): 'G-d is mighty, and will not reject [the many].'" This, as opposed to one praying alone, when each blessing is scrutinized for proper intent. As we find in the holy Zohar on the verse (Psalms 102:18): "He will turn to the prayer of the devastated one, and will not reject their prayer" [that of the many.] And it is well known that today there are many disturbances and it is almost impossible to find a man who prays one prayer with proper intent, unless he labors on it greatly. Now does not each man wish his prayer to be accepted above? If so, in any event, he must fall back upon this counsel, to pray with the congregation, of which it is written (Job, Ibid.) "G-d is mighty, and will not reject [the many]."

Dost thou not see that humility is the highest degree of the nobles and of the prophets, distinguished by their divine rank?³Cf. Bahya, vi. 8 and 10; Briill (p. 75, note i). One of them said (Gen. xviii. 27), "I am but dust and ashes "; another said (Ps. xxii. 7), "I am a worm and no man"; and so forth. They were praised for their actions and were honored. A man of intelligence should know that lowliness and meekness cause him to realize his desire in regard to present things, as thou knowest from the account of what happened to the captains of Achaziah, because of their folly; and what happened to the third captain who gently spake to Elijah (II Kings i. 13), "I pray thee let my life and the life of these thy fifty servants be precious in thy sight." Him there befell the reverse of what had befallen the former. Verily, fame and glory will be the reward of whosoever is lowly. The recompense of meekness is honor and prosperity, and also the deserving of honor. Thus it is said (Prov. xxii. 4), "The reward of humility and the fear of God are riches, and honor, and life."

By following this approach we can also understand the Midrash in Eichah Rabbati, 2,6, on Lamentations 2,3: "He has cut down in blazing anger כל קרן ישראל, all the might of Israel." The Midrash comments that there are ten קרנות, i.e. "strongholds" termed Keren. Abraham is one such קרן; he is referred to in Isaiah 5,1, as כרם היה לידידי בקרן בן שמן, "My beloved had a vineyard on a fruitful hill." Isaac is also known as a קרן, in Genesis 22,13 נאחז בסבך בקרניו, "caught in the thicket by its horns." We find a reference to Joseph as קרן in Deut. 33,17 where his קרן is described as וקרני ראם קרניו וכו' "He has thorns like the horns of a wild ox." Moses is referred to as קרן in Exodus 34,29: כי קרן עור פניו, "for the skin of his face emitted rays (like a horn)." The Torah is also described as קרן, since we read in Chabakuk 3,4: קרנים מידו לו, "it gives off rays of light in every direction." Priesthood is referred to as קרן, in Psalms 112,9, קרנו תרום בכבוד, "his horn is exalted in honor." (Possibly the word כבוד, used here which is also used in connection with the garments of the High Priest, is the reason the Midrash interprets this verse as alluding to the priesthood.) The Levites collectively are referred to as קרן in Chronicles 1 25,5: כל אלה בנים להימן חוזה המלך בדברי האלוקים להרים קרן. [The chapter traces the genealogy of the tribe of Levi Ed.] Prophecy is called קרן, in Samuel I 2,6: רמה קרני בה'. (Hannah prophesies about Samuel's future). The Holy Temple is also described as קרן, as in Psalms 22,22: מקרני רמים עניתני. Israel itself is also described as קרן in Psalms 148,14: וירם קרן לעמו. Some people add that the קרן of the Messiah should also be included, per Samuel I 2,10: ויתן עוז למלכו, וירם קרן משיחו. The Midrash continues that all of these "horns" were placed on the heads of the Jewish people, but they forfeited them due to their sins. This is alluded to in the verse we quoted earlier from Lamentations 2,3 that in His blazing anger G–d cut down every קרן of Israel. These "horns" subsequently were given to the Gentile nations, as is written in Daniel 7,20: ועל קרניא עשר די בראשה ואחרי די סלקת ונפלו מן קדמיה. "About the ten horns which were on its head, and the other one which came and fell." In verse 24 of the same chapter Daniel speaks about ten kings and kingdoms arising from the fallen horns. Provided Israel repents, G–d will restore these horns to their rightful place viz. Psalms 75,11: "And I will cut off all the horns of the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up." This refers to the horns that the “Righteous One of the world,” i.e. G–d, had cut off. When is the time that He will restore them to their righful position? It is when G–d will raise the horn of His anointed: "He will raise the horn of His anointed" (Samuel I 2,10). Thus far the Midrash in Eychah Rabbati.

והאיש משה עניו מאד מכל האדם . "Moses was more humble than any other human being." We can appreciate the value of the virtue of humility after we see that the only praise the Torah accords Moses, the father of all prophets, the man who maintained closer contact with G–d than anyone before him or since, is the reference to his humility. This teaches us to try and practice this virtue to the extreme. We are reminded of the Mishnah (Avot 4,4) which says: "be very very humble." When the Torah here says "more than any other human," we know of three humble people, Moses and Aaron who had said of themselves: "נחנו מה," who are we? (Exodus 16,7); then there was Abraham who said of himself: ואנכי עפר ואפר, "and I am only dust and ashes," (Genesis 18,27). Finally, there was King David, who said of himself: ואנכי תולעת, "and I am a worm." The most humble one of them all was Moses, since he did not even compare himself to anything else, but said:"We are nothing!" This is what the Torah meant when it said “מכל האדם”. The three letters in the word אדם, are the first letters respectively of אברהם, דוד, משה.

And, likewise, one who is accustomed to eat unkosher meat or to feed it to a Jew. And this is intimated in the Torah, it being written (Shemoth 23:1): "And men of holiness shall you be to Me, and flesh torn in the field you shall not eat. To the dog shall you throw it," after which it is written (Ibid. 23:1): "You shall not spread a false report." It emerges, then, that the verse of "To the dog shall you throw it" is found between these two sins — eating treifah [torn flesh] and speaking lashon hara, to teach us that for these two sins, a man may be reincarnated as a dog. And this is what King David, may peace be upon him, intimated in (Psalms 22:21): "Rescue from the sword, my soul; [rescue] from the dog, my soul," followed by "I will speak Your name to my brothers, etc." That is, I do not use my tongue to speak lashon hara, to be punished therefor by this dreadful reincarnation, but I use it to praise You and to exhort Israel, that they should fear You and praise You. And know that the Kabbalists have said that even though when a man is reincarnated in the form of another man he is unaware of his prior state, still when he is reincarnated as an animal or as a bird, he is aware of his prior state and suffers terribly at having descended from heaven from the form of a man to the form of a beast. Therefore, every man should fear and tremble and be soft of heart while he yet lives, while he yet has free will and knows his G-d, so that He forgives his sins and removes His wrath from him. And when his soul leaves him he will rest in peace and repose in His shade in Gan Eden. For He is gracious and merciful and abundant in lovingkindness. And (Berachoth 34b): "In the place where penitents stand, absolute Tzaddikim cannot stand." Until here, the words of the Sefer Charedim, in short.

Know that with regard to the repentance which a man does, let him not think that the moment he repents and takes upon himself the obligation that he will not return to his sin, his sin will be forgiven; but only after a length of time in serving God will his repentance be accepted. For the heart is not humbled in one day or two, but in many days. Just as in the case of a king’s son who sins against the king. Even though the king has pity upon him, and intends to do good to him, he will not show him a pleasant countenance except after a long period of affliction and crying out and weeping, just as King David, of blessed memory, did in the case of Absalom. Even though he consented to restore him to Jerusalem, Absalom stood waiting for two years and did not see the face of the king until his heart was completely subdued. Such is the way of the penitent, to plead for many days and to cry out, and then his repentance will be accepted, as it is said, (Psalms 22:3), “O my God, I call by day but Thou answereth not; and at night there is no surcease for me.” And as Habakkuk, the prophet, lamented (1:2), “How long, O Lord, shall I cry and Thou wilt not hear?” Now the prophets are not answered except after much affliction, imploring, crying out, and petitioning, all the more so a man who sins and acts wickedly even in the midst of his affliction. Now, the cause of this is the need to purify the heart, for even though the heart may have a sincere intention, it is necessary to subdue it for many days by intense service to God, by self-affliction, by fasting, and by weeping; then the uncircumcised heart will be humbled. When it is humbled, it will be clean and when it is clean, then the Creator will accept it, as it is said (Job, 13:16), “That a hypocrite cannot come before Him.” And as it is said, (Psalms 24:3), “Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord and who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart.”

והיה עקב תשמעון . In the previous paragraph (7,7) the Torah explained that G–d's love for the Jewish people is not based on our superior numbers, seeing that we are "small," numerically speaking. The Talmud Chulin 89a states in the name of Rabbi Eliezer that the meaning of this verse is that G–d likes the Jewish people because even when they are riding high (economically) they still humble themselves, i.e. they behave as if they were מעט מכל העמים, the least significant of all nations. Abraham, for instance, described himself as: אנכי עפר ואפר, "I am but dust and ashes" (Genesis 18,27). Moses and Aaron (Exodus 16,7) said of themselves: ונחנו מה, "What do we amount to?" David described himself as: ואנכי תולעת ולא איש "I am only a worm, not a man" (Psalms 22,7). On the other hand, the "great" men among the Gentile nations did not react in this fashion to the greatness I (G–d) have bestowed upon them. I have given greatness to Nimrod; he responded by building a Tower in order to assert himself against Me. I gave greatness to Pharaoh; he responded by claiming "Who is the Lord that I should listen to Him?" (Exodus 5,2). I made Sancheriv a mighty ruler and he reacted by saying: "Who among the gods of all these lands has saved them from me that you should imagine that the Lord will save you from me?" (Kings II 18,35). Similar expressions of arrogance are recorded as having been used by Chirom the king of Tzor, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and others. Rava or Rabbi Yochanan are reported to have said that the continued existence of the universe would not have been permitted had it not been for Moses and Aaron and people of their caliber, all of whom said of themselves: "what do we amount to?" It is interesting that G–d is described in Job 26,7 as תולה ארץ על בלימה, "suspending earth over merely מה" (hardly something), a reference to Moses and Aaron who had described themselves as נחנו מה. Rabbi lla'i, also on folio 89 Chulin, suggests the meaning of the verse in Job to be that the earth will be allowed to survive for the sake of people who בולם את עצמם, "put the brakes on their ego" at times of strife. Rabbi Abahu, on the other hand, says that he who considers himself as if he did not exist is the "salt of the earth." He uses Deut. 3,27: ומתחת זרועות עולם, in the sense of "he who is trampled by the world is the real 'arms' supporting the universe." Rabbi Yitzchak derives this same message from Psalms 58,2: האמנם אלם צדק תדברון מישרים תשפטו בני אדם. He understands this verse to mean that maintaining a silent (אלם) profile and speaking out only in matters of צדק, i.e. Torah, is what keeps the world going.

We can better understand the reason that the Torah permits Edomites and Egyptians (of the third generation after conversion) to become fully fledged members of the Jewish people if we take a look at the historical development of Abraham, the first convert to Judaism. Both the second generation after Abraham, i.e. Isaac-Ishmael, and the third generation, i.e. Jacob-Esau, still contained a considerable amount of פסולת, spiritual refuse. Only the fourth generation of Abraham's descendants, Jacob's sons, were completely pure and had divested themselves of their spiritual waste. Esau actually became the means that Jacob received the blessing. As a recognition of this the third generation of converts descended from Esau/Edom are admitted as full fledged members. The Torah acknowledges this in 23,8: "Do not despise Edom for he is your brother;" this means that after living as a Jew for the third generation Esau once more qualifies as a brother of Jacob not only biologically but also spiritually. The same law applies to the absorption of Egyptians into the community of the Jewish nation. Our exile in Egypt actually commenced at the time G–d foretold Abraham about it at the covenant of the pieces in Genesis 15,13. Abraham was told that the fourth generation of his descendants would return to the land of Canaan. While in Egypt, the souls of the Jewish people were refined to the extent that they were able to become a nation comprising over 600,000 men of military age, a people that qualified for the title "Israel," the honorific title bestowed by G–d on Jacob. It is appropriate therefore that the third generation of an Egyptian convert to Judaism should enjoy full equality with other Jews just as Jacob who was the third generation counting from Abraham's conversion, was pure and had shed all the spiritual פסולת which had remained from the pollutant of the serpent. Israel, too, had remained גרים, strangers, in Egypt for three generations. The prohibition of bringing the wages of harlotry to the altar of G–d is explained simply by the fact that the harlot is beholden to Lilith, the antithesis of the שכינה. It is a domain where the dogs cry out because the angel of death is constantly around. This is why David prayed in his Psalm 22,21: "Save my life from the sword, my precious life from the clutches of a dog."

(Ibid. 14:1): And the entire congregation [(the Sanhedrin, according to Rashi)] lifted their voice and clamored, etc." For, in truth, the greater the man, the more he recognizes his lowliness. As we say each day: "Are not all the strong ones as naught before You, and the men of name as if they never were, and the wise, as lacking knowledge, and the understanding, as lacking intellect, etc.?" Therefore, he [the great man] is especially lowly in his eyes, as David said (Psalms 22:9): "And I am a worm, and not a man, the shame of men and the despised of people." Therefore, when the spies put it to them that their generation was not significant in the eyes of the L-rd because of the evil of their acts and the stiffness of their necks, and was not worthy that a miracle be performed for them to overpower these giants, this seemed very reasonable to them.

(Ibid. 14:1): And the entire congregation [(the Sanhedrin, according to Rashi)] lifted their voice and clamored, etc." For, in truth, the greater the man, the more he recognizes his lowliness. As we say each day: "Are not all the strong ones as naught before You, and the men of name as if they never were, and the wise, as lacking knowledge, and the understanding, as lacking intellect, etc.?" Therefore, he [the great man] is especially lowly in his eyes, as David said (Psalms 22:9): "And I am a worm, and not a man, the shame of men and the despised of people." Therefore, when the spies put it to them that their generation was not significant in the eyes of the L-rd because of the evil of their acts and the stiffness of their necks, and was not worthy that a miracle be performed for them to overpower these giants, this seemed very reasonable to them.

They further said (Chulin 89a): "'It was not because you were greater than any people that the L-rd desired in you and chose you' (Devarim 7:7) - the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, 'My sons, I desire you because even when I bestow greatness upon you, you humble yourselves before Me. I bestowed greatness upon Avraham, yet he said to Me, 'I am but dust and ashes' (Gen.18:27); Upon Moses and Aharon, yet they said: 'And we are nothing' (Ex.16:7); upon David, yet he said: 'I am but a worm and no man' (Tehilim 22:7)"

To what is this similar? To a pig-herder who rose to become the king. As long as he remembers his early days, it will be impossible for him to become arrogant. Likewise, when one considers that at the end of all his greatness, he will return to the earth to be food for maggots, all the more so will his pride be submitted and his roaring arrogance quieted. For what is his good and his greatness if his end is shame and dishonor?

And when he contemplates further and pictures in his mind the moment he enters before the great Beit Din of the heavenly host, when he finds himself before the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who is absolutely pure and holy, in the midst of the assembly of holy ones, mighty servants, strong in power, obeying His word, without any blemish whatsoever, and he stands before them, base, lowly, and petty in and of himself, defiled and polluted due to his deeds. Will he then raise his head? Will he have what to answer? And when they ask him: "where has your mouth gone? Where is the pride and honor which you assumed in your world?"

We find that people who practice humility deserve to become the founders of great dynasties. Ruth, the maternal great-grandmother of David, who was herself the daughter of a king, could have demanded to be treated as a princess. Instead she went to glean among the ears of grain with the poor of Bet Lechem. David, mighty king of Israel and prototype of the Messiah said of himself "I am a worm."

One day Rabbi Yeisa the Elder found him dividing up his property. He gave away half to the poor and invested the other half in the wares of seafaring merchants. Meanwhile he sat and engaged in study. One day the rich man delivered a discourse, “If a person offers a sacrifice with all his heart the Holy One Blessed is He will come to be near him. “Come and see. The sacrifice of a poor man is valued by the Holy One Blessed is He because it is as if he offered up his own fat and blood, for although he does not have anything he nevertheless brings a sacrifice. Therefore at the moment that he offers up his sacrifice a proclamation is made in Heaven, ‘For He neither despises nor abhors the poor man’s afflictions’ (Tehillim 22:25). “Clearly the poor man’s sacrifice is the most valued of all, for on account of it I became included within the inheritance of the Holy One Blessed is He. On account of it I became included within the inheritance of the Torah. That is why I gave away half of my property to the poor, for they caused me all this…. “The essence of a sacrifice is the desire on the part of the heart and soul. That is more precious to the Holy One Blessed is He than all else.

When the Beis HaMikdosh was standing, a person would bring a sacrifice and make confession over it, at the same time repenting for his sin. Then the kohanim would slaughter the animal and sprinkle its blood on the altar and burn its fat. All this was in place of the sinner’s own body and limbs, which had incurred a sentence of death through his sin. Thus the sacrifice served as the rectification for his limbs. Nowadays, however, the recitation of the sacrifices must take the place of offering them, as it is written, “And let us pay for [the offerings of] bullocks with [the prayers of] our lips” (Hoshea 14:3). Maharam the Babylonian (Ta’amei HaMitzvos, 64) writes that when a person recites the portion of the sacrifices he should have in mind that the letters on the page represent the body of the sacrifice, while the vowels animating them represent the soul of the sacrificial animal. In this way it is considered as if he actually offered a sacrifice on the altar. The importance of reciting the portion of the sacrifices every day should not be underestimated. Every morning a certain malignant spirit called Tola is aroused (Sha’ar HaKavanos, Tefilas HaShachar, 13b; Pri Eitz Chayim, Sha’ar Olam HaAsiyah, Part III) and begins lodging accusations against Israel for the sins they committed at night. As long as the Beis HaMikdosh was standing the kohanim were able to weaken its power through the offering of the morning daily sacrifice. Nowadays one should instead have this in mind when reciting the portion, “A continual burnt offering ordained at Mount Sinai” (Bamidbar 28:6). For the word for “[continual] burnt offering” — olas [tamid] — is the reverse of the name Tola. If a person behaves with arrogance he gives power to this malignant spirit, whereas by conducting himself with humility, in emulation of the sacrifices, he weakens it. Thus it is written, “God will not despise a broken and contrite heart” (Tehillim 51:19). Concerning this King Dovid wrote, “And I am a worm [tola’as] and not a man” (Tehillim 22:7).