I apologize to those that feel like they are being overdosed on the topic of humility, but what can I do? It is what it is. We know that probably, the most important prayer of the year is Neila. That is when the gates close and that's when it's all over. Neila is an additional prayer. But there’s a question-what exactly is Neila? Is it an additional prayer? Is it additional line? So get ready for this hiddush:
The Gemara in Masechet Yoma 87B asks what is Neila. Rav says, it's another Amida with seven blessings. Shmuel says, No, that's not the key. The key of Neila is the following words,
Ma Anu, Ma Hayenu/ what are we and what is our life?
It’s fascinating, that that is the takeaway.
Rav Yochanan says, you're supposed to say, “Not because of our deeds are we pouring our heart out to you..” Unbelievable. Two quotes of humility. That's Neila. And if you look in our Neila, that's what’s there. We say,
Ma Anachnu/What are we?
Ma Chayenu/ What's our life?
Ma Chasdenu/What are our acts of kindness? Ma Kochenu/What is our strength?
Ma Gevurotenu/What is our power?
Then we go on to say, “All the strong men are like nothing…The people of fame like unknowns..., the wise men… like they have no knowledge”
The Sefer Otzer Tefilot, quoting the Sefer Dover Shalom says there are three qualities that people are proud of: their wealth, their wisdom, and their physical prowess.
As the prophet Yirmiya, in 9,22, says, The wise man shouldn't be proud of his wisdom. Nor the strong man his strength, nor the wealthy man his wealth.
That’s what we're saying here. The strong men are like nothing. The men of fame, which refers to wealthy people, it’s like they never existed and wise men like they no knowledge. That’s the bottom line. That's the takeaway. It starts on Rosh Hashanah with Hashem is the King. If He’s the king, I'm the servant. I humble myself to the Boss that's in charge. That's the whole story.
Rav Wolbe says that the main teshuva is not so much repenting on a specific sin, but on returning to God. What does it mean to return to God?
He says that the most fundamental sin is, ‘I left the hands of God as a creation of something from nothing and I made myself into a something.’ We’ve mentioned this before. This is the most fundamental source of all sin. I made myself into something. I made my money.
I did this, I did that. I, I, I. That is the fundamental sin, and the fundamental Teshuva is to come back to God and realize, I am a creation. He's my creator. That's the recognition we need. He proves it from Rashi in Avoda Zara 19a where it says, “Fortunate is somebody that does Teshuva when he's still young. Rashi says this means,
“He's fast to recognize his Creator now, before he gets old.” It's easy to recognize God when you start getting old and you can't walk, and you realize I can't do anything anymore. I'm a has-been.
But realize it when you're young, There's no difference between when you're young and when you're old. It’s the same Hashem and the same you. We can't do anything.
Rav Wolbe says that's why the first two days of Rosh Hashanah are spent just on recognizing God. Because if you don't know who He is, there's no place to return to.
That's the ultimate return. When we realize Ma Anachnu, Ma Chayenu, Ma Chasdenu.
We didn't yet say anything about sin, that's the Neila, because we're coming to uproot the fundamental source of all sin. And of course, this is all linked to bitachon because bitachon is all about relying on Hashem. We can't do anything. As we have been saying, Humility and Bitachon are two sides of the coin. We like Bitachon because “Yay! I'm gonna get what I want. Rely on Hashem!” But it’s a little bit more uncomfortable to keep hearing.
You're not doing, you're not doing, you're not doing. We don't want to hear that so much. But if we can't really hear it, then we have to question how real the Bitachon is.
That's our plea for humility, especially in the high holidays, getting ready for Yom Kippur.
Have a wonderful day.