We’ve been discussing humility and bitachon, which is very relevant now in the three weeks, in that humility is extremely connected to the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash. The pasuk in Yirmiyah (9,20), which we read on Tisha B’Av, talks about the horrific happenings in the time of the Churban Bet Hamikdash:
כִּי־עָ֤לָֽה מָ֙וֶת֙ בְּחַלּוֹנֵ֔ינוּ בָּ֖א בְּאַרְמְנוֹתֵ֑ינוּ
Death came through the window. It had entered our palaces..
The rabbis explain that normally, when guests enter, they come through the front door. They knock on the door, and you open the door for them. That's the normal way to greet a guest. If has v’shalom man passes away, after 120, on his bed with his family around him, after a full life, that’s called ‘death came through the front door.’ But when death comes through the window, it’s like a thief who comes in, hiding. And now it even entered the palace, the most fortified of places. And what's happening? Lo Alenu,
לְהַכְרִ֤ית עוֹלָל֙ מִח֔וּץ בַּֽחוּרִ֖ים מֵרְחֹבֽוֹת
He's taking down children and teenagers.
And it goes on to talk about many other negative occurrences.
Then comes the famous words, with which we end the Haftarah:
כֹּ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר ה׳ אַל־יִתְהַלֵּ֤ל חָכָם֙ בְּחׇכְמָת֔וֹ וְאַל־יִתְהַלֵּ֥ל הַגִּבּ֖וֹר בִּגְבֽוּרָת֑וֹ אַל־יִתְהַלֵּ֥ל עָשִׁ֖יר בְּעׇשְׁרֽוֹ
So says God, the wise man should not be proud of his wisdom, the strong man should not be proud of his strength, and the wealthy man should not be proud of his wealth.
כִּ֣י אִם־בְּזֹ֞את יִתְהַלֵּ֣ל הַמִּתְהַלֵּ֗ל הַשְׂכֵּל֮ וְיָדֹ֣עַ אוֹתִי֒ כִּ֚י אֲנִ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה ה חֶ֛סֶד מִשְׁפָּ֥ט וּצְדָקָ֖ה בָּאָ֑רֶץ כִּֽי־בְאֵ֥לֶּה חָפַ֖צְתִּי נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה
What should you be proud of?
Knowledge of God, for I am Hashem, I do kindness, justice and charity in the land. This is what I want, says Hashem.
What a nice, happy ending- but does it have to do with the Churban that was mentioned right before it? Rav Dovid Soloveichik, in his Shiurim Al HaTorah, explains that this is telling us the cause for the Churban. The cause of the Churban was that people were priding themselves in their wisdom, in their wealth and in their strength, and not priding themselves in knowledge of God.
What exactly does that mean?
The Ramban Al HaTorah (Devarim) says the pasuk (17,20) that says, about a king,
לְבִלְתִּ֤י רוּם־לְבָבוֹ֙ מֵֽאֶחָ֔יו
That he should not be arrogant over his brothers,
is the source for the sin of arrogance. We mentioned at the beginning of this series, that it's not clear where it says in the Torah that you can't be arrogant. The Ramban says this is his source, because if the king, with all his greatness, shouldn't be arrogant, then it’s surely true for regular people. And the reason for this is because arrogance (or greatness) is to God, and Hashem is the One that's deserving of praise. Man becomes praiseworthy through knowledge of God, as the pasuk says, this is what he should be proud of.
So the Ramban is quoting this pasuk to explain what was wrong with the pride of the wise, the wealthy, and the strong- because that pride rooted in arrogance. Rabbenu Yona, in Shaare Teshuva (third gate, 34th letter), cites this same pasuk as the source for arrogance, and he also brings down the pesukim quoted above from Yirmiyhu, that the wise man shouldn’t be proud of his wisdom etc…
He says, what should you be proud?
Serving God, fear of God, reliance on God, love of God, and cleaving to God. This is how he explains what Yirmiyah means by Knowledge of God. What does it mean to know God? It means to serve Him, to fear Him, to rely on Him, to love Him, and to cleave to Him. And the Churban HaBayit came because they didn't have that.
The arrogance brought about the Churban HaBayit. That's why, as we’ve said before, this, more than any other time of the year, is the time to focus on fixing our arrogance- because that's the way we bring about the building of the Bet Hamikdash.
B’Ezrat Hashem, tomorrow, we will explain some practical steps to work on humility.