The Secret of the Combination: How Torah and Chessed Nullify Pride
Class No. 115 | Sunday, Parashas Lech Lecha, 2 Cheshvan 5758:
In order to attain true humility and nullify pride, studying Torah alone is not enough, nor is performing chessed (loving-kindness) alone. This article explains how the combination of the two protects a person, leads to tremendous spiritual attainments, and draws the Shechinah (Divine Presence) down into the world, as expressed in the story of the Ten Martyrs.
To nullify pride, a person must undergo several stages. First, as our Sages of blessed memory said: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, nor the strong man boast of his strength, nor the rich man boast of his riches." Beyond this, he must believe in all the tzaddikim (righteous ones), believe in the intermediate individuals who are also righteous, believe in all baalei teshuvah (returnees to Judaism) and in every single Jew, and finally—recognize his own lowliness.
Moshe Rabbeinu reached tremendous levels of lowliness. He viewed himself as worse than the tzaddikim, worse than the intermediate individuals, worse than the wicked, and even lower than a person afflicted with boils whose limbs are falling off and rotting. Moshe gathered all the humility from all the tzaddikim in the world, and after gathering it all, he said, "And I am even lower." The ultimate goal is for a person to know that he knows nothing. If a person thinks he has reached the realization that he knows nothing—then he already knows something. The true ultimate goal is to literally know nothing in the face of the Creator's greatness.
The same is told of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, who was the glory of his generation and reached awesome spiritual heights, yet considered himself as absolute nothingness. He gathered the humility of every person and viewed everyone as greater than himself. The higher his spiritual attainment became, the more he realized that his divine service was considered as nothing compared to His blessed greatness.
The Danger of Torah Without Chessed
The question arises: How can a person attain such humility? The Gemara in Tractate Avodah Zarah (17b) answers this. The Gemara says that during the time of King Asa, who was a righteous king, everyone studied Torah. Asa eradicated idol worship and opened yeshivas, but he did not educate the Jewish people to perform chessed and teach the weak. Therefore, it is said about his generation:
"For many days Israel was without the true God."
The Gemara explains: "Whoever engages in Torah alone is like one who has no God." If a person studies Torah only for himself, in order to become a great rabbi or scholar, and feels that it is a waste of his time to help the weak because he could accomplish twice as much in his own studies—it is as if he learned nothing. He cannot reach the point of truth and feel God, because his learning stems from pride.
Torah alone leads to pride, and chessed alone also leads to pride. If a person only opens gemachs (free-loan funds) and distributes food baskets to thousands of families without studying Torah, he will think he is the redeemer and savior of the world, and that no one compares to him. But when he combines Torah and chessed together—his pride is nullified. When he studies Torah, he sees that there are scholars greater than him, and when he performs chessed and studies with a chavrusa (study partner) who is weaker than him, he discovers good character traits, humility, and holiness in the other person, and thus he acquires lowliness.
The Departure of the Shechinah vs. the Addition of Spiritual Intellect
Every thought of pride causes the Shechinah (Divine Presence) to depart from the earth. "Whoever is prideful pushes away the feet of the Shechinah." When the Shechinah departs, disasters and murders come to the world. Even the slightest thought of pride, when a person thinks, "I did this," causes a departure of mochin (spiritual intellect and awareness).
In contrast, when a person dedicates his time to others, he merits tremendous abundance. "Whoever prolongs his time at the table, his days and years are prolonged." If a person eats with a friend or hosts a guest, or when he studies with another person, he is repaid twofold. He is given twice the intellect, his desire to learn is opened, and he is granted long, high-quality days without interruptions.
The Difference Between Rabbi Chanina and Rabbi Elazar
The Gemara illustrates the difference between Torah alone and the combination of Torah and chessed through the story of the Ten Martyrs. When Rabbi Elazar ben Perata and Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion were captured, Rabbi Elazar said to Rabbi Chanina: "Fortunate are you that you were caught for only one thing—studying Torah, and you will surely be saved. Woe is to me that I was caught for five things."
Rabbi Chanina answered him with Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration):
"Fortunate are you that you were caught for five things and you will be saved, and woe is to me that I was caught for one thing and I will not be saved. For you engaged in Torah and in acts of loving-kindness, whereas I engaged only in Torah."
The Gemara asks: But wasn't Rabbi Chanina a faithful charity warden who distributed Purim money to the poor in secret? The answer is that managing a charity fund is not considered fully engaging in chessed with one's own body to the extent that was required of him.
In the merit of combining Torah and chessed, Rabbi Elazar ben Perata merited open miracles. When the Romans accused him of being a rabbi, studying Torah, and also being a thief, he proved to them that the accusations were contradictory—for one who studies Torah is not a thief. When they said to him, "If you are not a rabbi, why do they call you 'Rabbi' in the street?" he answered them, "I am the master of the weavers."
To test him, they brought him two bundles of threads and asked him to identify which thread was the warp and which was the woof. A wondrous miracle occurred for him: a bee came and landed on the warp, and a wasp came and landed on the woof. Through these signs, he knew how to answer them, and thus he was saved from all the accusations in the merit of the power of Torah and chessed working together within him.
Part 1 of 2 — Lesson No. 115
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