Ten Minutes of Meaning (Part 184): Arrogance is Repugnant - Mesillas Yesharim

yeah good morning Booker told welcome back to 10 minutes of mini thank you for adjusting this week because of a conflict too this morning please help yourself to coffee and donuts as always and tremendous gratitude to our Anonymous sponsor is we are beginning the 22nd chapter of messila sasharam we are making our way towards the end of the rampal's March towards a better and best version of ourselves these 12 steps towards a best us and now we move over to the mid of another which is really extraordinary it's towards the end of this multi-step process that we now emphasize and focus on the character trait of manivas of another of humility and modesty in the Brice of repentance is based off of really elevates the media of anava of humility of modesty and thought in action in behavior and self-perception in projection the way that we interact with others wonders he says and modesty are the prerequisite to all middles is it that only the humble person will grow and learn and improve and can be the best version of themselves or is another is Modesty actually the Pinnacle the conclusion after you work on yourself then you could reach this height you could reach this incredible elevated state of anivas is it the goal on the destination or is it the prerequisite even before you set out on this journey almost concludes that in fact humility humility is the prerequisite you can't have a good marriage you're not going to be a good parent and you're not going to succeed in your career and you can't be accomplished in any area of life if the prerequisite the introduction is anava is humility so how can it then be described as the Pinnacle as the peak of all character traits which is it so answers the beginning the prerequisite is at least something at least there being a goal to be humble and modest be thinking and evaluating ourselves regularly am I driven by my ego is this all about me and my honor and my name or am I trying to do something for a higher purpose to truly live as another anov to truly arrive at that State of humility that already is the peak in Pinnacle but at least to have it as a goal that is the introduction that has to be the prerequisite that has to be something that comes before you cannot be great in Torah if you're not an honor if you don't have humility says it's not a coincidence that Moshe is rabenu Moshe is in perpetuity or teacher our Master Moshe is one of the ikara one of the 13 principles of faith is to believe Moshe is categorically different than all others Moshe is the greatest teacher the greatest Master he is the transmitter of Torah and simultaneously not coincidentally Moshe is on of Nicole Adam he is the most humble to be a receptacle to be a clear to be a vessel to receive Torah to transmit Torah you have to be dedicated and devoted it's all about Hashem it's not really all about us at all and with that we begin the paragraph base we've already spoken above about the goodness of Guyver what's Guinness just how repulsive how unworthy the disdain we should have for arrogance and haughtiness gaiva people who are arrogant who are driven by ego they sabotage their own success they undermine and destroy all the relationships in their life the way that we avoid arrogance is to be repulsed by it is to grow a disdain for it is to be allergic to it it's not all about us and self-promotion it's not all about honor and name it's not all about us and our ego gaiva we've shared many times that the rambam and the ramban who disagree on so many things both agree the Rama in the letter to his son that even though we walked the golden mean even though we should find that that middle path that's what Hashem told avram I love you because you walk that middle path but nevertheless there are two me those two character traits that don't belong in our recipe in any measure at all right character traits are called me though samida is a measure because life is all about this recipe for life and stubbornness good or bad stubbornness go to bed both it's bad at times when it gets in the way it's an obstacle and it blocks it's good when you stomachally can cling to your convictions so it belongs the question is what measure every character trait can be channeled in a positive way is a need that belongs in some measure in the recipe of Life question is what measure tablespoon a teaspoon quart a liter how much what measure the two character traits that don't belong in any measure whatsoever and they are arrogance and anger arrogance and anger are categorically bad character traits in no measure if they're present at all they spoil the entire recipe a person who has any arrogance at all and the same is true with anger if you give in if you indulge that impulse or Instinct for anger it undermines relationships it destroys says we've already spoken my goodness arrogance ego when a person's calculations and thoughts and interactions and relationships are always driven by ego me my name what will people think will they honor the opposite is to understand the greatness of anivas but now we won't only speak about humility as the antithesis of arrogance we'll speak about humility in its own right as a value the core of anivas is to realize to think of principle is to regard ourselves as unimportant I'm not important the world doesn't revolve around me it's not all about the way I picture things the way I needed to go how I can micromanage the world how everyone answers to me it's not about me gaiva is the world revolves around me gaiva is everyone needs to think about me talk about me be focused on me and meet my expectations of them anivis is the opposite and Nevis is I take initiative I do the best I can with the tools I've been given and beyond that this is hashem's world it's his rules it doesn't revolve around me and they told us that come out of true anivas are the opposite the inverse the antithesis of the told us of what comes out of a life of gaiva it's been said so beautifully that humility is not to think less of ourselves but to think of ourselves less often humility is not thinking less of ourselves because you may Wonder as I often do but what do you mean you need to know your traits and your skills and your bracas and your qualities you need to know the gifts you've been given so that you can fulfill and pursue them in this world so is humility saying I'm not really so good I'm not an athlete I'm not artistic I'm not a good doctor I'm not a good lawyer I'm not a good Rabbi I'm not I'm not good at anything don't ask me I don't do I underachieve in life humility is not underachieving in life humility is embracing all the gifts talents and skills but realizing they're all on loan from Hashem they're not part of your permanent collection whatever you're good at whatever you've achieved whatever you've been granted and gifted it's not permanent and it's not due to you there are people as smart smarter than you they're not successful people creative more entrepreneurial than you they fall flat on their face the fact that it's worked for you or is working for you or you want it to work for you it's all because of the senior partner from above whatever gift skills talents we have they are alone from Hashem they're not part of our permanent collection so you could both know how good you are at something and feel the weight of responsibility to realize it and fulfill it and pursue it and express it and simultaneously say but it's all from Hashem and it could disappear in a moment and I don't take credit for it and I don't want to take credit for it our great gadola Israel lived such lives they knew how smart they were rev motion is Introduction to igorous motion ramosha wonders you'll ask how could I disagree with the notification how could I disagree who am I your emotion knew how great he was ramosa was scheduled to undergo a doctor advised him he needed to have a certain surgery and he refused to have it he hesitated and delayed why because he said we dominantly belong from undoubtedly I'll be appointed a member of the Sanhedrin and if I have a mum if I have a blemish I'll be disqualified to serve on the Sanhedrin I don't want that surgery which will leave me with the mum and leave me disqualified ravmosha uh feinsteins that saw was one of the greatest most humble people of his generation he worked with great humility he never sought attention he never sought the title of guadalador and yet he was so arrogant to say can't have this surgery because then I won't qualify to be on the Sanhedrin they're not a steer it's not a contradiction he knew the gifts and he had been given he felt the responsibility for it and he understood that it was from Hashem it wasn't emanating it didn't come from him humility is not thinking less of ourselves it's thinking of ourselves less it's not thinking less of ourselves it's thinking of ourselves less so realize that whatever gifts we have they come from above you want to know who said this incredibly well and are behind the bhima it was Mariano Rivera great Yankee closer when he talked about the cutter the one pitch he had that every batter knew he was about to throw and nevertheless got him into the Hall of Fame with the first unanimous ballot um he spoke about he said that that pitch wasn't mine it came from above and I knew that God could take it any moment he lent it to me and he credited his whole career to God it's worth listening to the interview okay and this quality of Anubis this notion not of thinking less of ourselves we're thinking of ourselves less often it expresses itself in two Realms in the way we behave how we carry ourselves but also first we'll see next week and the way we think of ourselves talks about a very powerful image how much counterfeit humility how much fake inauthentic humility there is out there right we have a word for this today in social media it's called The Humble brag a humble brag is when you say you post something and say I was so honored I'm so I feel so humble that I was honored to have received this award I'm so humble that I was honored to have been invited to the Hanukkah party at the and you should share and you post a picture it's called The Humble brag right you brag with this expression of humility that's a counterfeit humility that's a fake humility that's behaving with humility but in your mind it's really about your ego and your honor and wanting the world to know about you so that I'm how brilliantly 500 years ago was ahead of his time in coining the humble brag and he talks about humility has to be not only in action but also in the way we think pick up over the next week five minutes we start with living with emuna have a fantastic day stay healthy stay happy stay healthy