הלכה אויף דברים 4:23

[1]"Beware (a) lest you forget the Lord your God." [Deuteronomy 4:23] This is a warning for the Israelites not to become arrogant when God blesses them with prosperity. They should not claim that all their success is due to their own efforts and hard work, thereby neglecting to acknowledge God's goodness due to their pride. This is what the verse addresses, as it also says in the portion of Va'etchanan, "Houses filled with all good things that you did not fill..." [Deuteronomy 6:11] and continues, "And you will eat and be satisfied, beware lest you forget the Lord your God." This interpretation is further explained nearby, "Lest you eat and be satisfied, and build good houses and live in them, and your cattle and sheep increase, and you gather silver and gold in abundance, and your heart becomes haughty, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt..." and "You will say in your heart, 'My strength and the power of my hand made me all this wealth,' but you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the strength to make wealth." From here (b), there is a warning not to be arrogant about what God has granted, whether it is wealth, beauty, or wisdom. Rather, one should be very humble and lowly before the Lord, their God, and before people, and give thanks to their Creator for granting them these qualities. It is written in the ethics of the song, "Do you thus repay the Lord?... Is He not your Father, your Creator? He made you and established you." The scripture praises humility, as it says, "Now Moses was very humble," and it is said in the Jerusalem Talmud in Shabbat (chapter 1, halacha 3, brought in Tosafot Yevamot 103:3): "What wisdom made a crown for its head, humility made a heel for its sandal," as it is said, "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord..." and it is said, "The reward of humility is the fear of the Lord." The Shechina (Divine Presence) dwells with the humble, as it says, "I dwell with the contrite and humble of spirit." In Sota (5a), it is taught that anyone who humbles himself is regarded as if he has offered all sacrifices, as it says, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit." Furthermore, his prayer is accepted, as it says, "A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." I have further interpreted that God listens to the desires and wishes of the humble, even if they have not prayed for it, as it says, "The desire of the humble You have heard, O Lord; You will prepare their hearts; You will listen with Your ears." It does not say "the prayer of the humble," but rather "the desire." "Prepare their hearts" means what they think in their hearts. Consider what David means by "But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people." This means that one should liken oneself to a worm that is under the dust, in disgrace, so when a person dies, the dust is above their head. Therefore, he was humble before God, dancing and whirling before his Creator, as he said to Michal, "I will be humble in my own eyes." When Shimei ben Gera cursed him, he said, "Leave him alone." All of this was caused by his great humility. Our sages elaborated on the disgrace of the arrogant in Sota, where they are called an abomination, as it is written, "Every haughty heart is an abomination to the Lord," and they will not see the comfort of Zion, as it is written, "I will remove from among you the proudly exultant ones, and you shall no longer be haughty on My holy mountain. But I will leave within you a meek and humble people, and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord." This does not mean a literally poor people, for it is written, "The islands will wait for Me, and the ships of Tarshish will come first, to bring your sons from afar, their silver and gold with them," but rather it refers to a humble people, as Yonatan translates it as "a humble people." It is also written in Proverbs, "A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor." Our sages said in Pirkei Avot, "Be exceedingly humble, for the hope of man is worms." And what distinguishes man from the animal, except for the service of the Creator, who made everything to give Him pleasure? I taught this lesson of humility to many, but it was not my intention to include this as a negative commandment or count it among the prohibitions. Even Rabbi Moshe did not include it or mention it in the count of prohibitions. When I reached the completion of the prohibitions and saw in a dream at night that I had forgotten the principal, "Beware lest you forget the Lord," I considered it in the morning, and behold, it is a great foundation in the fear of the Lord. Therefore, I decided to include it, with the help of the One who grants wisdom to the wise. Then, I reviewed the text in Sota (5a) and found it stated explicitly, "Where is the warning for the arrogant?" Rabbi Nachman bar Yitzchak said, "From here, 'And your heart will become haughty, and you will forget the Lord.'" And it is written, "Beware lest you forget the Lord," as Rabbi Avin said in the name of Rabbi Ilai: "Whenever it says 'beware,' 'lest,' and 'do not,' it refers to a prohibition.