Kohelet 12,13 states: "The sum of the matter, when all has been considered: 'Fear the Lord and keep His commandments, for that is man's whole duty.'" This is a reference to the commandment stated in our portion to revere G–d, to serve Him, to cleave to Him and to swear in His name. It is a commandment of a general all-embracing nature. Because the commandment covers so much ground, the Torah introduces it (10,12) with the words: "And now, what does the Lord ask of you, etc.?" I have explained the meaning of יראת שמים reverence for G–d, at length in my treatise עשרה מאמרים. It includes awareness of the unity of G–d as well as serving the Lord, especially the commandments listed in this פרשה. This commandment includes that we must be aware of G–d's unity and the need to serve Him. Why would the Torah have to tell us separately to swear by the name of G–d only? The reason must be that the very mention of G–d's name one reminds one of the duty to serve Him and to revere Him. Once one does so one would certainly not perjure oneself.

The warning to remove all vestiges of idol-worship is part of the overall directive of סור מרע, "stay away from evil." The wording of the prohibition not to covet appurtenances of former idolatry is a reminder that once one covets something one is liable to take steps to acquire it. When the Torah says: לא תביא תועבה אל ביתך, this is not the same as saying: לא תביא תועבה לביתך. The wording of the Torah teaches that the transport of the item is culpable, even before its arrival in your house. Following examples of distancing oneself from evil, the Torah continues to urge us ועשה טוב, to actively engage in doing good. An example of the latter is the commandment to love the stranger, i.e. the one who has forsaken the path of idol-worship. These converts are so beloved by G–d that He associates one's loving them with loving G–d Himself. This is why the Torah uses the word אהבה both for the feelings we are to harbor towards G–d as well as for the feelings we are to harbor and display towards the stranger who has embraced Judaism.

We are also to "unite" i.e. cleave to Torah scholars upon whom there rests a spirit of purity in contradistinction to association with pagans who are surrounded by a spirit of impurity. Since words of Torah are halachically incapable of becoming impure, association with Torah scholars from whom these words issue is part of displaying reverence for G–d. When the Psalmist 19,10 speaks about יראת ה' טהורה עומדת לעד, that reverence for G–d is pure and endures forever, he alludes to the fact that the words of the Torah retain their purity forever.

Prayer, i.e. our thanks to G–d, our praising Him, as well as our petitioning Him, is part of what is called עבודת ה', as is our eating and drinking when it is designed to help us serve the Lord better. Nowadays, our "table" fulfills the mystical dimension of what used to be the Temple Service. Instead of the sacrificial offerings being consumed by the altar, we consume our meals after and before a benediction expressing our awareness of Who it is that supplies our needs. You will find more about this in my comments under the heading "ק" in my treatise on sanctity in conjunction with eating. We become like angels when the food we consume is of the right kind and we consume it in a state of sanctity. Just as physical food is the basis of our continued existence on earth, so the souls are the "food" of the angels and assure their continued existence. We know that they need to feed on something from Nechemiah 9,6: ואתה מחיה את כולם, "You provide sustenance for them all." [The subjects of this verse include the various beings that populate the different layers of the Celestial Regions. Ed.] As regards human beings, their consumption of food can become similar to the spiritual forces released by the offering of sacrifices.

This is the reason why the Torah links saying grace to the gift of the land of Israel and its goodness in 8,10. The reference is not to terrestrial ארץ ישראל, but to its "opposite" number, to Celestial ארץ ישראל. [If this were not so, why should we have to say grace for meals consumed in the diaspora? Ed.] The mystical element involved is that the Celestial ארץ ישראל is perceived as at the top of the domains of the emanations, the 10th emanation, the עולם האצילות. The Zohar on our פרשה, (Sullam edition page 18), describes the relationship between the ten rules governing the way in which we must consume our meals as an allusion to this tenth emanation. The ten rules [based on the Sabbath Eve meal. Ed.] comprise: 1) washing our hands; 2) preparing two whole loaves of bread; 3) consuming three meals. 4) lighting a candle on the table to symbolize the candlestick in the Temple which stood next to the table with the showbreads. 5) the benediction of ויכלו over a cup of wine. 6) speaking words of Torah during the meal. 7) To ensure that poor people are invited to the meal. 8) washing one's hands prior to reciting grace. 9) Reciting of grace. 10) Drinking the wine of the cup over which grace has been recited. [The author may have referred to a subsequent part of the Zohar in which 10 rules are listed governing eating on weekdays, including such details as to which hand to wash first, which hand to raise, not to eat hastily, etc. Ed.] Just as there are ten rules, הלכות, pertaining to eating, there are also ten הלכות governing the way the cup of wine over which grace is said is to be held, to be drunk, etc. I have written at length about the mystical significance of all these rules in my above-mentioned treatise under the heading of "ק". The important thing to remember is that our "eating" is the substitute for the sacrifice, and our "table" is the substitute for the altar. The overriding consideration to remember is that sacrificial service was one expression of our reverence for G–d.

The Zohar explains the nature of יראת ה' in his commentary on פרשת בראשית (Sullam edition page 185, volume 1). He says that the main element of יראה is that man should fear the Creator of the whole universe who is his Master and the original cause of the whole world, compared to whom everyone and everything is totally insignificant. Man should concentrate his desire in a place called יראה. These words which are very few but contain deep meaning need analysis and clarification. The author of ראשית חכמה deals at length with this quotation of the Zohar. I myself have also dealt at length with the subject of the relationship between fearing G–d and loving G–d in my treatise עשרה מאמרות.

Acquiring true reverence for G–d is in direct ratio to one's immersion in Torah and one's appreciation of G–d's greatness as a result of this immersion in Torah on all levels. There is no target, no ultimate goal for this reverence. When a person believes that relative to others he has attained great insights both as regards the understanding of the physical as well as that of the Celestial part of the universe, these insights are as nothing compared to the grandeur of G–d Himself. The ultimate source of all wisdom is G–d Himself. This is the reason Solomon taught us in Proverbs 22,4: עקב ענוה יראת ה', "The result of humility is fear of the Lord." What Solomon means is that the more fear of the Lord one acquires the more humble one becomes. Expressed differently: The more understanding one gains of the greatness of G–d the more one becomes aware of one's own insignificance. What does man have to offer that he should consider himself significant, important? The cause of humility then is reverence for G–d. The more learned the scholar the more humble he is apt to become. Greatness equates with humility because the truly great keep finding out how much is beyond their ability to ever comprehend. The ultimate wisdom we can acquire is the knowledge that we know very little. We will explain this later in connection with the attributes of G–d who is described in 10,17 as הא-ל הגדול, הגבור, והנורא, attributes which can be appreciated only by observing manifestations of these attributes, G–d in His פעולותיו. In view of what we have just said it is natural that Moses is described as the most humble man who ever lived, for he had acquired more insights into the workings of G–d and of the universe on all levels than anyone before or after him. A truly humble and modest person is a sign of one's deep insights into the greatness of the Creator. Anyone displaying arrogance, pretending to be superior, reveals that he is both shallow and hollow inside. Having explained the nature of the virtue of humility we can understand why G–d allows His Presence to rest on the humble, the modest, and the most unassuming people. It rests on them because they have acquired the greatest insights, have the deepest appreciation of HIM. Even people who are not intellectually equipped to become humble through their studies, i.e. through recognizing the wide gap between what they know and what there is to know, may experience G–d's Presence if they are poor, suffer afflictions; these people make a point of putting their trust in G–d. They are far more likely to do so than a rich man who believes that he does not need G–d's help.

When Rabbi Yochanan said in Megillah 31a: "Any place where you find evidence of the greatness of G–d you also find evidence of His humility," he quotes scriptural proof from the Torah (10,17) as well as from verses in the Books of the Prophets and the Hagiographa. The essence of reverence for G–d then is an awareness of His greatness.

We find allusions to this יראה both at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of our פרשה. At the beginning, it is the very word עקב which alludes to fear of the Lord. In the middle of the פרשה, (8,12) the Torah warns that our material success in the Holy Land must not cause us to forget the Lord our G–d who is the source of our good fortune. At the end of our פרשה, the Torah speaks about the subject we have commenced this paragraph with (10,12).

והיה עקב תשמעון . In the previous paragraph (7,7) the Torah explained that G–d's love for the Jewish people is not based on our superior numbers, seeing that we are "small," numerically speaking. The Talmud Chulin 89a states in the name of Rabbi Eliezer that the meaning of this verse is that G–d likes the Jewish people because even when they are riding high (economically) they still humble themselves, i.e. they behave as if they were מעט מכל העמים, the least significant of all nations. Abraham, for instance, described himself as: אנכי עפר ואפר, "I am but dust and ashes" (Genesis 18,27). Moses and Aaron (Exodus 16,7) said of themselves: ונחנו מה, "What do we amount to?" David described himself as: ואנכי תולעת ולא איש "I am only a worm, not a man" (Psalms 22,7). On the other hand, the "great" men among the Gentile nations did not react in this fashion to the greatness I (G–d) have bestowed upon them. I have given greatness to Nimrod; he responded by building a Tower in order to assert himself against Me. I gave greatness to Pharaoh; he responded by claiming "Who is the Lord that I should listen to Him?" (Exodus 5,2). I made Sancheriv a mighty ruler and he reacted by saying: "Who among the gods of all these lands has saved them from me that you should imagine that the Lord will save you from me?" (Kings II 18,35). Similar expressions of arrogance are recorded as having been used by Chirom the king of Tzor, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and others. Rava or Rabbi Yochanan are reported to have said that the continued existence of the universe would not have been permitted had it not been for Moses and Aaron and people of their caliber, all of whom said of themselves: "what do we amount to?" It is interesting that G–d is described in Job 26,7 as תולה ארץ על בלימה, "suspending earth over merely מה" (hardly something), a reference to Moses and Aaron who had described themselves as נחנו מה. Rabbi lla'i, also on folio 89 Chulin, suggests the meaning of the verse in Job to be that the earth will be allowed to survive for the sake of people who בולם את עצמם, "put the brakes on their ego" at times of strife. Rabbi Abahu, on the other hand, says that he who considers himself as if he did not exist is the "salt of the earth." He uses Deut. 3,27: ומתחת זרועות עולם, in the sense of "he who is trampled by the world is the real 'arms' supporting the universe." Rabbi Yitzchak derives this same message from Psalms 58,2: האמנם אלם צדק תדברון מישרים תשפטו בני אדם. He understands this verse to mean that maintaining a silent (אלם) profile and speaking out only in matters of צדק, i.e. Torah, is what keeps the world going.

The greatest virtue of all the virtues that exist is the virtue of humility. This is why the greatest of all prophets is credited in the Torah with only this virtue. Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair lists a number of virtues, possession of each one is a stepping-stone to still higher virtues, the highest one being ענוה, humility. If the first human being who was the direct creation of G–d Himself (and could have displayed pride therefore) is described as having been formed of earth, this is a subtle hint that we must practice humility. Man was also called אדם because this word is an acronym for the words אפר, דם, מרה, as mentioned in tractate Sotah. The title אדם was bestowed only on the Jewish people, to the exclusion of the Gentile nations. We became heir to this title because of the humility of our great leaders.

Vayikra Rabbah 20,2 speaks about תפוח עקיבו של אדם הראשון מכהה גלגל חמה, "the protruding part of Adam's heel was capable of inflicting harm on the sun's orbit." Rabbi Shimon ben Menassyah concludes that if this was the effect of Adam's heel, what must have been the effect of his face! [The passage following is based on a discussion of the monthly, daily, or hourly "mazal" and its decisive influence on the fate of a person. It is presumed here that only the hour of birth is of importance but not the zodiac sign of the month, etc. Ed.] The Talmud Shabbat 156a states that if someone is born when the "mazal" of the sun serves, he is apt to be handsome, will be financially independent; on the other hand, whatever secrets he wants to keep will be revealed, i.e. if he steals he will not get away with it. If the sun has so much influence indirectly, how much more influence must it have directly! The expression חמה, sun, is equated with חכמה, wisdom. Our sages interpret the opening verse of our פרשה also to mean that he who makes יראת שמים his objective in life will wear חכמה as a crown on his head. This is what David meant in Psalm 111,10: "The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord; all who practice it gain sound understanding." By making humility one's slipper, wisdom will become one's crown.

[The author continues in this vein for several pages. I have decided to quote only very selected allusions, especially those which relate to the Hereafter. Ed.]

We find a dispute concerning the meaning of Isaiah 57,15: ואת דכא ושפל רוח, usually translated as "with the contrite and the lowly in spirit." In Sotah 5a Rav Huna understands the verse to mean that the דכא is in the company of G–d, i.e. G–d elevates him to His level, whereas Rav Chisda understands it to mean that G–d lowers Himself to the level of the contrite and lowly spirit. The Talmud feels that the interpretation of Rav Chisda has more to commend it, seeing that G–d lowered Himself to the low mountain of Sinai when He gave the Torah to the Jewish people. He spurned the option of raising Mount Sinai to greater heights. I believe that we can understand the two opinions expressed here as being complementary; there is no dispute at all. In our present world G–d lowers Himself to the lowly in spirit. In the World to Come, G–d elevates the people who practiced humility in this world to His lofty level. When the Talmud described the opinion of Rav Chisda as more logical, the meaning is that on the basis of past experience this has been G–d's practice.

This does not preclude a change in the future. Jacob was אוחז בעקב "holding on to the "heel" (Genesis 25,26) i.e. to humility already from the moment he was born. This is also the mystical dimension of ויבא יעקב שלם, that "Jacob attained perfection" (Genesis 33,18). When Jacob was called ישראל because he prevailed in a struggle with the Divine, this is an allusion to the World to Come, a domain even closer to G–d than the domain of the angels. This is alluded to in Numbers 23,23 by Bileam who said: כעת יאמר ליעקב ולישראל מה פעל א-ל. "Jacob is told at once, Yea, Israel, what G–d has planned." [The author tries to demonstrate that when manipulating the spelling of the name יעקב the name ישרון which is the name used to describe the Jewish people on their highest spiritual level, can be obtained. When one omits the first letter of a "word" representing the "full" spelling of a letter such as the letter י being spelled יוד, this is called a concealed way of spelling the word, נעלם. In our example, if you spell the word יעקב "full" i.e י"וד-ע"ין-ק"וף ב"ית, and you then omit the letters I have highlighted i.e. י-ע-ק-ב, you will be left with ו"ד-י"ן-ו",-י"ת. The numerical value of the last 8 letters is 566, the same as the numerical value of ישרון. Ed.]. This is the mystical aspect of Isaiah 40,4: והיה העקוב למישור, "and the crooked will become straight," an allusion to the perception of Jacob as devious and engaging in deception as claimed by Esau. The "concealed" spelling of these names is a hint of the great good in store for the Jewish people. The three names יעקב-ישראל-ישרון correspond to the שלמות of Jacob in three areas: his body, גוף, his relationship with the material goods of this world, ממון, and his spiritual life, נפש (cf. Rashi on Genesis 33,18). These three areas are the subject of the manner in which we are to relate to G–d with love, i.e. "בכל לבבך, ובכל נפשך, ובכל מאדך. The body will be as much part of an everlasting life in the future we speak of as is the soul in our times. All the Kabbalists are agreed that this is so because the body has been created בצלם אלוקים, in the image of G–d. The names ישראל and ישרון allude to this dual "perfection" of body and soul, i.e. that both will gain everlasting life. The name ישרון symbolizes ישר, that G–d has created man ישר, upright, honest. He could not have done otherwise for ישרים דרכי ה', "the ways of the Lord are upright" (Hosea 14,10). It is relatively easy for a soul, רוח, to return to the Celestial Regions it has come from. When we speak about שלימות ממונו, the Torah means אלוהי כסף ואלוהי זהב לא תעשו (Exodus 20,23), that one must not elevate the value one places on silver and gold as something akin to a deity.

We have an allusion to this in Psalms 131. David testifies that though he had certainly attained a measure of understanding about the ways of G–d, this had not been a cause for him to become proud or haughty. In this Psalm the words לא גבה לבי allude to the שלימות הגוף, whereas the following words ולא רמו עיני allude to the שלימות הממון, seeing that it is the eye which is usually the cause of greed for money. The last words ולא הלכתי בגדולות refer to the שלימות הנפש. It means that David did not seek out merits which were beyond his ability to achieve, and when he was granted them he did not boast about such achievements. When our sages report that any halachic ruling made by David was always accepted as final this may have been the reward for his humility.

Another way of explaining our Psalm may be that David felt the need to apologize for taking credit for his humility, i.e. he apologized שלא גבה לבו, for having his humility become common knowledge. This in itself would rate as a form of boastfulness. He apologized, for not having remained silent, i.e. אם לא שויתי ודממתי נפשי. Whichever may be the case, the subject of this Psalm is the extreme importance of practicing humility.

We ask G–d daily at the end of the עמידה prayer ולמקללי נפשי תדום, "enable my soul to be silent to those who curse me." The wording seems peculiar. It would have sufficed to say: "Let me be silent to those who curse me." Why did the sages who composed this prayer add the words "my soul?" The answer is simply that unless one's humility is "soul-deep" as compared to merely "lip-deep," one has not truly attained the desired level of humility. Merely failing to respond to curses heaped upon one will not eliminate resentment and hatred carried in one's heart, and is hardly proof of humility. We may learn a lesson from nature itself. As long as the soil is hard and has not been subjected to plowing, (something which looks like abuse), it is not capable of producing crops. The same applies to our נפש. Only after experiencing some humiliating experiences is our soul capable of rising to the greatest heights it is capable of. It is clear from Proverbs 16,5: תועבת ה' כל גבה לב, "Every haughty person is an abomination to the Lord," that even if one only harbors such sentiments in one's heart, לב, G–d detests such sentiments.

There is a very puzzling passage in Sotah 49b (Mishnah) which states that with Rabbi Yehudah the Prince's death the last person who could truly be called an עניו, a humble person, had died. Concerning this statement Rabbi Yossi is reported to have remarked to a colleague that this statement in the Mishnah should be erased seeing that he himself was alive [and presumably personified humility. Ed.] Rabbi Nachman took exception to another part of the comment of the Mishnah, that there were no more G–d-fearing people, seeing that he himself was alive. How could these Rabbis make statements praising their virtues when this is the height of haughtiness? We may understand this along the lines of a conversation quoted in Chovot HaL'vavot. One pious individual asked another whether the latter had already achieved equanimity. The other replied: "in which respect?" To this the first one replied to שבח וגנות, "praise and blame." He was told that the pious gentleman in question had not yet come to terms with these problems. Thereupon the first questioner assured his colleague that he had not yet approached a level of humility. If he would keep trying, however, there was a chance he could succeed in achieving such a virtue. The "equanimity" that the author of Chovot Halvavot in chapter Yichud HaMaaseh speaks of is the ability to not even respond in one's heart to praise, i.e. not to let it go to one's head, nor to feel offended in one's heart when one hears oneself disparaged. Both Rabbi Yossi and Rabbi Nachman – in claiming to be humble or G–d-fearing respectively – indicated that they had come to terms with what the pious person in our story had not yet come to terms with. They most certainly did not mean to lay claim to possessing virtues. The only reason they spoke up was that, if the people would be left with the impression that it was impossible to achieve a modicum of humility or reverence for G–d, an impression that the wording of the Mishnah could certainly create, then everybody would stop even trying to master these virtues.

In Numbers 11 we have clear proof that G–d rewards those who lower their own profile. It speaks of the selection of 70 elders out of a total of 72 candidates. The ones who lost, Eldad and Meydad, were rewarded for their humility: they were the only two of these 72 men who were granted the gift of prophecy on a permanent basis.

Humility can also be viewed as something that applies to one's body, to one's financial dealings and to one's mind or soul respectively. The highest level of humility is that of the mind, i.e. when a person such as Moses, the wisest of men and greatest prophet remains unassuming both in speech, manner and his heart. This is what may be termed as the "Torah" level of humilityץ The next level of humility comprises humility of the body. This may be compared to the "Prophets" level of humility. The aptness of this comparison is based on the fact that all the prophecies recorded in the Books of Prophets concern only a physical future of man, an era up to and including what our sages call the ימות המשיח, the Messianic age on earth. At that time the body will regain the perfection possessed by Adam's body before the sin. Our sages (Yuma 9) have said that since the deaths of Chagai, Zecharyah and Malachi (the last three prophets) the "white glass" has disappeared. Rabbi Alkabetz explained that the expression "white glass" is a metaphor for refinement of matter. The prophecies comprise the mystical dimension of the Holy Spirit. In order to qualify for the recording of such writings in the Hagiographa one must first have achieved this refinement of matter (the material which makes up one's body). The way to achieve this is through שלימות הממון, one's absolute integrity in matter of money. Our sages (Avodah Zarah 51) illustrated this when they said that Rabbi Menachem bar Sima'i was called "the son of holy people" because he had never even looked at a coin. People who display this kind of disregard for money merit a measure of "Holy Spirit." We find a similar definition for such people in Psalms 15: "Who may sojourn in Your holy mountain? He who lives without blame, who does what is right, and in his heart acknowledges the truth….who considers the virtue of humility as minor,…who honors those who fear the Lord; who has not ever lent money at interest nor accepted a bribe." We see that the way one handles money is an indispensable part of the definition of a person who wishes to be at home on the Mountain of G–d" One may summarize: The lower one's profile on earth the higher one's profile in a world of purely spiritual values.

The three kinds of perfections (Jeremiah 9,22) we have spoken of, i.e. חכם-גבור-עשיר, correspond to נשמה, גו, and לבוש. לבוש represents all the things that surround the body and are needed by it to preserve and strengthen it. Torah is at one and the same time both נשמה, גוף, and מלבוש, as explained in the Zohar. The mystical elements of the Torah which appear to us as a string of letters whose meaning we have not yet unraveled will only be revealed in the future. When that time comes there will be a "new" Torah in the sense that hitherto undreamt-of insights will be revealed to us. Nachmanides has written about this in the introduction of his commentary on the Torah. This is also alluded to (Psalms 29,11) in the words: ה' עוז לעמו יתן, "G–d will give strength to His people." The Psalmist refrained from using the past tense. This means that so far G–d has given us only the גוף of the Torah, i.e. the הלכות, the commandments which have to be translated into action in this world. There is a third dimension to Torah called לבוש, the virtues, etc., we are to learn from the various stories the Torah relates. These stories and their moral lessons strengthen and preserve the "body" i.e. גוף of the Torah. This is alluded to in the second half of Psalms 29,11: ה' יברך את עמו בשלום. The word בשלום comprises the same letters as the word מלבוש. Just as the Torah itself consists of a progression of three distinct levels of sanctity, so the three parts of the Holy Bible consist of three gradated parts in descending order of holiness: Torah, Prophets and Hagiographa. We may view the Hagiographa as the מלבוש. This is one meaning of the Book of Esther 5,1 describing Esther as ותלבש אסתר מלכות, which our sages (Megillah 14) interpreted to mean that she wore the Holy Spirit, since the word בגדי is missing if the meaning were "Royal robes." Jeremiah 9,23 concludes by saying that if one has to boast the only thing one should boast about should be the insights one has acquired about the nature of G–d, he means that man's שלימות "perfection" should use G–d's Perfection as his model. Since G–d has not revealed Himself except through His Torah, the reference is to the three parts of the Torah which we have cited i.e. the נשמה-גוף-לבוש.

The Bible describes the שלימות הנפש in the Torah, the שלימות הגוף in the Books of the Prophets, and the שלימות הממון in the Hagiographa.

When Moses, the man described as the most humble man who ever lived, permitted himself to say: "Any matter which is too difficult for you bring to me," G–d reacted by proving that he could not even deal with a problem that women knew the answer to, i.e. the problem presented by the daughters of Tzlofchod (Deut. 1,17, concerning Numbers 27,4-5).

We have a principle (Pesachim 50b) that studying Torah for personal rather than pure motives will eventually lead a person to study Torah for the proper motives. We also have a statement (Deut. 10,17) that G–d does not respond to attempts at bribery. If both statements are taken at face value one could gain the impression that the person studying Torah for ulterior motives will be rewarded by G–d by eventually studying Torah for pure motives. This would be similar to G–d having been bribed by the person studying for personal motives. The author therefore understands the statement מתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה to mean that during the course of Torah study one becomes aware that G–d detests people who use Torah study for their own personal advantage. Once a student realizes this he will only study Torah for pure motives in the future. Torah study for ulterior motives per se is a sin, however. These and other quotations from the Torah indicate how much perfection of one's נפש is expected of us.

The relationship between G–d and people who have achieved שלימות הגוף is indicated in Isaiah 57,15 which places G–d, whose name is holy, who towers in the lofty Celestial Regions, as side by side with the ones of contrite spirit. Our sages comment that the picture of man, אדם, is engraved on G–d's throne.

When the Torah writes in 10,12: ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלוקיך שואל ממך, the word מה is an allusion to Moses and Aaron who had said disparagingly of themselves, ונחנו מה. It is expected of us that we follow in the steps of Moses and Aaron, both of whom set such an outstanding example of humility. Only if we try and emulate Moses and Aaron will we attain the level of spirituality which is implied in this verse by the title ישראל. The word מה may be read as מאה, i.e. 100, seeing it can be understood as diminutive such as in the example from Moses and Aaron. On the other hand, it can also stand for unlimited expansion such as מה רב טובך, "How abundant is Your good," in Psalms 31,20. It is our task to use the word in the latter connotation when we speak about G–d and in the former connotation when we refer to ourselves. The Rabbis who suggested reading מה as מאה referred to our hymns of praise, our prayers when we aggrandize G–d's attributes. All that G–d asks of us is the minimal interpretation of מה, i.e. to revere Him. This is the only area in which humility is not a virtue. We must project a high profile in our display of reverence for G–d. The letters in the word אם in that verse (Deut. 10,12), are the first letters of the names of אהרון משה. Limits on one's own modesty are imposed when one's modesty is maintained at the expense of a public desecration of the name of G–d. The Talmud Berachot 19b rules that if one discovers a mixture of wool and flax in the garment one wears one has to remove such a garment at once and not wait until one comes home (even if one causes oneself considerable embarrassment thereby). The reason is that no personal considerations are valid when G–d's name is at stake. The sages who have composed our Prayer Book have inserted eight expressions such as מה אנו, מה חיינו, in our morning prayers to counteract the eight areas where signs of arrogance manifest themselves. All these are rooted in one's head. It begins with מחשבה, one's thoughts, whence it proceeds to the heart. A contrite heart is the counter-measure to such feelings of superiority. A second manifestation of haughtiness is the forehead, symbol of obstinacy the result of arrogance. One needs to cultivate the opposite, something the author calls מצח רצון. The third manifestation of arrogance is עינים רמות, pride. One needs to cultivate עין טובה, a generous eye instead. The fourth way of displaying arrogance is described as אזנים רחבות שמע שוא, ears open to all kinds of disinformation. Its antidote is the ability to hear oneself denigrated without feeling the need to respond; one must develop the ability to listen to people in trouble. The fifth manifestation of haughtiness is flaring up in anger. Anger is most frequently the result of injured pride. One's behaviour ought to be modelled on that of G–d described in Isaiah 48,9: ותהלתי אחטם לך לבלתי הכרתיך, "To My own glory, I control My wrath not to destroy you." The sixth manifestation of pride and arrogance is the tongue which speaks boastfully. The only remedy is to curb one's tongue. The "tongue" of scholars is considered therapeutic (spiritually). The seventh way in which arrogance is displayed is with the palate. Arrogance is often shown in what one eats and how one eats, and what one disdains to eat. The obvious remedy is to live frugally. The eighth and final manifestation of haughtiness is expressed by one's facial muscles, i.e. a superior mien. The only way to overcome such signs of pride is to train oneself to present a face radiating sympathy at all times. All of these manifestations of arrogance emanate in the head. It is appropriate therefore not to walk around with one's head held high. Our sages are on record that ההולך בקומה זקופה דוחה רגלי השכינה, "He who walks with his head held high pushes away the feet of the שכינה." This simile is used as an example of מדה כנגד מדה, punishment fitting the crime. The punishment for such a person who did not practice the virtue of seeing himself like an עקב, heel, symbolising humility, is that he has forced G–d to be humble in the presence of his own display of arrogance.

We find that people who practice humility deserve to become the founders of great dynasties. Ruth, the maternal great-grandmother of David, who was herself the daughter of a king, could have demanded to be treated as a princess. Instead she went to glean among the ears of grain with the poor of Bet Lechem. David, mighty king of Israel and prototype of the Messiah said of himself "I am a worm."

That most humble of men, Moses, was rewarded by receiving the Torah at Sinai. The letters in the word סין allude to the 120 days that Moses spent in the domain of Heaven. He restored harmony between G–d and Israel. Harmony, שלום, is the opposite of סין, strife.

Having praised the virtue of modesty and humility, we must try to understand the statement of Rabbi Chiyah son of Ashi in Sotah 5a that a "Torah scholar must possess one eighth of an eighth" (of pride). This statement is followed by one of Rabbi Hunna son of Rabbi Joshua who says: "This amount of pride crowns him just like the beard is a crown of the ear of corn." The deeper meaning of this statement is related to the eight manifestations of pride we have listed and corresponding to which we recite eight (respectively 7) times מה in the רבון prayer every morning. Our sages have said on numerous occasions that the number "one" is not really part of any count. It follows that if a Torah scholar possesses only "one" of eight parts of pride this is hardly something to be concerned about. The problem is that the eight manifestations of pride are all rooted in the same source, i.e. the head, as we have pointed out. In such a situation, even a small amount such as one eighth becomes significant because it contains some of all the eight aspects. This is why Rabbi Chiyah does not want the תלמיד חכם to cultivate more than 1 /8th of 1 /8th i.e. 1/64th of pride. The only reason even this small amount of pride or self-confident bearing is permitted to the scholar is so that the people for whom he is to represent authority should not misconstrue his humble bearing as indicating an inability to lead.

Let us analyse the eight possible sources of pride which we refer to in the prayer cited above. The words מה אנחנו refer to the ability to hear, or the loss of one's hearing. When someone has caused someone else an injury resulting in his becoming deaf, he has to compensate him with all five categories of compensation the Talmud provides for (Baba Kama 85b). The words מה חיינו refer to food and drink without which life cannot be sustained. The words מה חסדנו are a reference to the eyes, and the words מה צדקותינו refer to the forehead. We are told by Rabbi Ami in Taanit 8a that rain is granted to earth only on account of בעלי אמנה, people who keep promises made in business life. He supports this with the quotation from Psalms 85,12: "Justice looks down from Heaven." The supply of rain is considered an act of צדקה. On the previous folio Rav Shilo, quoting Rav Hamnuna said that rain is withheld only on account of עזי פנים, insolent people, people with a brazen forehead. The connection between the forehead and insolence is supported by several verses from the Bible. The words מה ישועתינו refer to one's face, as we know from Psalms 80,20: האר פניך ונושעה, "Show us Your countenance that we may be delivered." G–d's "face" is indispensable to our survival. The words מה כחינו, are, of course, a reference to strength and power, and we know that the true hero is the one who can control his rages, his temper. The words מה גבורתינו are a reference to courage, something centered in the heart. It also describes an arrogant attitude. The words מה נאמר לפניך is clearly a reference to the tongue which can and will boast. The word מה in מה ה' אלוקיך שואל מעמך וגו' is an allusion to the suppression of the eight areas in which the ego asserts itself and which we vow not to assert in our morning prayer. We go so far as to state that we consider our advantage over the animals in this respect to be nil. The word ועתה in the same verse may be divided into ועת ה', that there will be a time – namely in the World to Come – when we will no longer comport ourselves as humbly as we do in this world. At that time, G–d will שואל מעמך, will be in the position of a "borrower," (שואל). A borrower is legally liable for any damage sustained by the animal or tool he has borrowed. Allegorically speaking, G–d will have to pay us the reward for all the suffering we experience in this world. This is why our Rabbis (Berachot 6a) said that if a person intends to perform a commandment and is prevented from doing so by forces beyond his control, he is nevertheless entitled to the reward for the commandment in question. ולאהבה אותו בכל לבבך, בכל נפשך – Continuing G–d's expectations from the Jewish people in 10,12 the Torah describes love of G–d to be expressed both by the heart and by the soul. These correspond to the two kinds of perfections to be attained by Israel as ישראל and as ישרון. Such love for G–d refers to the Celestial Spheres i.e. when we are in the World to Come. There is also an allusion to perfection of the way we relate to money, i.e. to life on this earth, when verse 13 continues לשמור את מצות ה' ואת חקותיו, "To observe G–d's commandments and statutes," something that cannot be done in the Hereafter. The words לטוב לך indicate the purpose of these commandments, i.e. for our own good.

Verse 14, הן לה' אלקיך, which commences with the word הן, alerts us to the fact that the letters in this word have no partners. All other letters in the alphabet can be combined with another letter to form the number ten or one hundred except these two. The letter ה is an allusion to this present world, whereas the latter י alludes to the World to Come. Five times ten is fifty, a reminder of the 50 gates of בינה. The word הן is a reminder that all our activities in this world must be oriented towards the World to Come. The fact that these letters have no "mate" means that G–d is One and has no partner. The expression שמי השמים in the same verse alludes to the eternal existence of Israel on the ישראל and ישרון level. The words הארץ וכל אשר בה at this point tell us that the universe, i.e. הן, is made up of both Heaven and Earth. רק באבותיך חשק י-ה-ו-ה. The letters in the word חשק form an acronym of the first letters in the description of the vowel pattern חולם שוא קמץ of the four-lettered name of G–d. Maimonides, who usually advises the golden mean, states that when it comes to humility a person should practice extremism, i.e. become as humble as is possible. This is also why the advice to practice humility given in tractate Avot 4,4 is prefaced with the unusual "מאד מאד." [The author sees allusions in the vowel patterns, especially the difference between Cholam-Kometz on the one hand and Sheva and Chirik on the other. The former alludes to the World to Come, the latter to the Here and Now. Ed.] The author illustrates his point and applies it to the virtue of humility versus pride and arrogance.

The Mishnah quoted from Avot 4,4 concludes by reminding us that all we have to look forward to in the grave is רימה, i.e. worms. The editor of that Mishnah implies that this is so only when the person in question has not adopted the lifestyle suggested by the author of the Mishnah, and has instead adopted a high profile, i.e. רמה קרנו. In other words: Employing the wrong vowel in this world results in the wrong vowel becoming your destiny after death.

We have explained the reason that the רבון prayer we recite in the morning contains eight successive expressions all starting with the word מה. Since I am already on the subject I may as well explain the entire prayer.

The paragraph starts by exhorting us לעולם יהא אדם ירא שמים בסתר, to be G–d-fearing in secret. This does not mean that one should hide one's fear of Heaven. It means one should revere G–d even when there are no witnesses around to be impressed. Another interpretation might be that a person should "hide" all his good deeds and perform them only for the sake of the "One who resides in the Hidden Regions" and not in order to impress others, etc. This subject-mattter is discussed in Chovot Halevavot in the chapter called יחוד המעשה. The author describes the way in which the Evil Urge attempts to seduce us. In the first instance he suggests that we do not perform any of the commandments. When he fails in this, he suggests that we perform the commandments vis-a-vis our fellow-man in such a way that we will gain recognition by our fellow-man. When he fails in this too, i.e. when he observes that man does good and causes others to be inspired to do good also, he reverses himself and suggests that we hide our good deeds so as not to be accused that we perform these good deeds only for the sake of the admiration we receive from others. The author of our prayer counters this by saying: "Remain G–d- fearing in your deeds. Do not abandon the performance of good deeds because you do not want to be regarded as a paragon of virtue." He continues ומודה על האמת, one should make it clear that the real reason one performs these good deeds is not for the recognition one hopes to receive by one's fellow-man. The fear of having one's good deeds misinterpreted should not deter one from performing them.

The words רבון העולמים are a euphemism for the grandeur of G–d, His role as Ruler over the whole universe which is His. Although the world consists of layer above layer, G–d is the Supreme Cause of them all; we are but dust and ashes by comparison. The author of our prayer alludes to this in the words ואנשי השם כלא היו וחכמים כבלי דעת. How could we possibly base our claim to importance on our righteousness! What chance do we have to cleave to Him then? Our sages have said that a person is not entitled to prostrate himself in prayer unless he is as certain as Joshua that his prayer and pleadings will be answered. If so – asks the author of our prayer – what chance do we have to come close to G–d?

He refers to this lack of confidence that G–d will have to listen to our prayers by stating that – as distinct from Joshua – who relied on his worthiness, we do not rely on our worthiness, לא על צדקותינו אנחנו מפילים תחנוניו לפניך, "we do not submit our pleas before You because we rely on our righteousness." Instead we rely only on G–d's grace since the Torah mentions (Exodus 33,19) that G–d reserves the right to show grace and mercy to those whom He chooses (even if they do not deserve it). I have already explained the string of expressions commencing with the repeated use of the word מה.

[The author introduces a different approach to these eight references which I have decided to omit as too peripheral to our פרשה. Ed.]

In connection with the debate in the Talmud (Shabbat 55a) whether זכות אבות, reliance on the merits of our patriarchs is still effective today, and if not, when it ceased to be so, the author makes the following observations: Tosafot quote a verse proving that even nowadays, i.e. after the destruction of the second Temple, this merit has not expired, and that we mention it in our prayers in order to remind G–d of it. I believe (author) that there is a difference between someone saying: "Please remember so and so," and someone saying: "Please do not forget so and so." The opinions in the Talmud which try and determine the merit of the forefathers ceased to be effective refer to G–d no longer actively remembering the merit of the patriarchs but simply not having forgotten them. The author of our prayer therefore refers to the merits of our forefathers כלא היו, "as if they had never existed," as distinct from "never having existed, having been used up." This is the difference between אין, and כאין. The חכמים mentioned in our prayer are the twelve sons of Jacob, all of whom accumulated powerful merits, so much so that Solomon describes them as a source of joy to their father (Proverbs 10,1). We also have a verse in Proverbs 24,3: בחכמה יבנה בית, "a house is built by wisdom," which is a reference to the house of Jacob. There used to be a period when the merits of the forefathers were constantly on G–d's mind. This was when the High Priest wore the breastplate. During those years the knowledge of what G–d desired flowed to us through the אורים ותומים, the oracle contained in that breastplate. Nowadays, alas, we are as if bereft of knowledge, i.e. כבלי מדע.

When the author of this prayer speaks about the נבונים, this is a reference to the matriarchs; a mother is compared to someone with בינה. We are told in Berachot 57a that if someone dreams that he has slept with his mother he may look forward to insights and understanding. Our Kabbalists refer to בינה, insight, as אימא עילאה, "Mother Superior."

In this world the merit of the patriarchs is helpful to the sons; the reverse is true when one's parents have passed on into the world to Come, where the sons still on this earth are able to stand them in good stead by such merits as they accumulate. The reason that the father's merit can exert a favorable influence on the fate of the son is that the cause always influences the effect. In other words, the effect is mystically connected with its source even after it has parted company with it. There is an original common cause to both similar to the common raw material of the physical universe, the raw-material commonly known as hiyuli. This material is referred to in the Torah as תוהו. Nachmanides explains this at the beginning of his commentary on the Book of Genesis. The hiyuli in our world corresponds to a נקודה in the Celestial Regions which is called אין, nought. This is what Job (Job 28,12) referred to when he asked (rhetorically) והחכמה מאין נמצא? This verse is to be understood as a statement rather than as a question. In other words: The source of חכמה is אין. Bereshit Rabbah states that the universe was created for the sake of the אבות, i.e. for he sake of fathers. Now we can understand the sequence in the prayer under discussion. מה נאמר לפניך, "What can we say before You in view of the cessation of the merit of our patriarchs? Even assuming that the merits of our patriarchs had not expired, what did their accomplishments ever do for us except help us in this present world? Their influence was only centred in the Hiyuli. What are we going to do in the World to Come?

After all וימי חייהם הבל לפניך, "the days they sojourned on earth are as nothing before You!" Our sages have stated that "anyone who leaves behind him on this earth a son who is a Torah scholar may consider himself as though he were still alive." Even taking this fact into consideration, what good is it, since when we arrive in the World to Come and have to account for our conduct before You ימי חייהם הבל לפניך "the days of their lives are accounted as nothing?" In Psalms 36,7 man and beast are equated, i.e. אדם ובהמה; on the other hand Isaiah 63,16 states: כי אתה אבינו כי אברהם לא ידענו וישראל לא יכירנו, "You are our father for Abraham did not know us and Israel did not recognise us." The Talmud Shabbat 89b discusses this. It is well known that the word אדם is used when describing the spiritual aspect of man, whereas the exterior part of man is described as בשר אדם. Man is also called בהמה in the context of his body not being basically different from that of the other creatures in the animal world.

ומותר האדם מן הבהמה – When the author of our prayer refers to the advantage man enjoys over the beasts as אין, the equivalent of Hiyuli in the Celestial Regions, he is telling us that in those Regions there is no-one who can help us (except G–d, as indicated by Isaiah 63,16). Hence all the salvations that we experience in this world are ultimately futile. This is what Solomon, in Kohelet 1,2, referred to when he exclaimed: הבל הבלים, הכל הבל, "vanity of vanities, all is vanity." A different approach to this line in the prayer understands it as a reference to Adam's two sons Cain and Abel. Cain has long ago ceased to exist and only Abel, or his גלגול, is still around, only because G–d accepted Abel's sacrifice. We have stated that Moses (after שת) was the re-incarnation of Abel. Since no one ever arose who could compare to Moses, the author of our prayer refers to this as the מותר האדם, the surviving remnant of original אדם.

אבל אנחנו עמך – It is a fact that the merit of our patriarchs will assist us, provided we conduct ourselves as their true descendants and follow in their footsteps. We are urged to do so in Songs of Songs 1,8: צאי לך בעקבי הצאן, "Contemplate the actions of your ancestors" (cf. Rashi). When we do this their merits will be merged with all those described by the author of our prayers as בני בריתך, because we are בני אברהם אהבך. The prayer continues to cite the promises G–d made to Abraham in return for his offering Isaac on the altar. The mystical dimension of humility is deeply intertwined with the mystical dimension of love. The three patriarchs symbolize the three kinds of perfection we have discussed, that of the soul, that of the body and that of the way we handle money. Abraham demonstrated the perfection of the soul when he offered Isaac, his only beloved son, as a total offering, something which entailed a total abrogation of self.

Isaac achieved perfection of his body when he made his whole body into a total offering for G–d.

Jacob achieved perfection in matters concerning money when he did not purchase the birthright for the material advantages this might confer upon him but for the added religious duties it imposed upon him.

The Baal HaTurim draws our attention to the opening verse of our פרשה, and compares it with the last verse in the previous פרשה which speaks about performance of the commandments. He arrives at the conclusion that whereas the commandment has to be performed in this life, the reward for its performance, עקב, will have to await the Hereafter. Whereas the Baal HaTurim arrives at the same conclusion as the Talmud in Eruvin 22a where the word היום is stressed as opposed to the מחר, i.e. the Hereafter, when the reward is to be collected, he derives it from a different nuance in the text of the Torah. The reason may be that the Baal HaTurim found some problems with the exegesis of the Talmud. Had the interpretation of the Talmud been correct then all the Torah had to write in 7,11 is the whole verse without the word לעשותם at the end Furthermore, the Torah could simply have written לעשות instead of לעשותם. It seems therefore that the suffix ם is to contrast the difference between לעשותם and לעשותך. The difference between these two wordings is an allusion to the motivation which governs performance of the commandments. The Torah does not want us to perform the commandments for the sake of the eventual reward but לעשותם, for their own sake, i.e. לשמה. The fact that a new פרשה begins with the reference to the reward emphasizes that the reward is a corollary, a consequence of performance, but is not in a relationship of על מנת, "on condition that," to our performance of the מצוה. The humility implied in performance of the commandments on the basis of לעשותם (as we have explained the word) is further underlined by the Torah in 7,7: לא מרובכם מכל העמים .. כי אתם המעט מכל העמים, "It is not because you are the most numerous of all the nations that G–d took a liking to you….indeed you are the smallest of all the nations, etc." There was no need for the Torah to write that we are not the most numerous nation and to follow it up with the statement that we are the smallest nation. The last statement would have sufficed. The Talmud Chulin 89a concludes from this that the Torah's choice of language means that G–d likes us because, even when we are granted importance by G–d, we do not make this a pretext to become haughty, but we deprecate ourselves, behave humbly and modestly, ממעטים את עצמכם. This is reinforced in the lesson that Rabbi Levitas in Avot 4,4 urges us to heed: מאד מאד הוה שפל רוח, "Be exceedingly humble in spirit."

The opening verse in our parsha may describe that the very משפטים which we observe will be our "reward," i.e. will be the cause that develops our humility within us. The word עקב, humility, is the result of our observing G–d's commandments. The next achievement will be יראת שמים, reverence for G–d, עקב, as a result of our having achieved a degree of humility. This could also be another meaning of the well known saying מצות אדם דש בעקביו, "the commandments a person 'threshes' with his heels." We normally understand this as a reference to those commandments which most people "trample," i.e. do not bother to observe. However, it could mean also that when one observes the commandments out of a sense of humility, בעקביו, the beneficial results could be far-reaching.

ואהבת וברכך והרבך, "and He will love you, and bless you and multiply you" (7,13). The Torah mentions the three areas in which blessings are essential, i.e. life, sustenance, and children. The first expression והרבך, refers to life, i.e. למען ירבון ימיך, an increase in the number of our days. The second expression, וברך פרי בטנך, refers to children. The third expression, ופרי אדמתך, refers to our sustenance. The three areas in which the Torah promises us blessings are analogous to the three areas in which we strive to attain שלימות, perfection. The perfection of the נפש is achieved by the righteous who live on forever. The perfection of the body is assured when we experience the blessing of children who assure our continuity on earth. The perfection in money matters is attained when we experience the blessing of ample sustenance. Relating to this blessing in the proper manner, will bring about the first part of the verse: "And He will love you and bless you," and we will be blessed more than any other nation (7,14).

ברוך תהיה מכל העמים . The words מכל העמים, may mean that because we keep ourselves apart, i.e. מ from all other nations we will experience greater blessings than any other nation. This is similar to כי לא מרובכם מכל העמים. The Torah describes examples of how the special blessings we will enjoy will become manifest. One example is verse 16: ואכלת את כל העמים, "You will consume all the other nations which G–d will deliver into your hands." This verse has to be understood according to the interpretation of Rabbi Bachyah ben Joseph ibn Pakuda, author of Chovot Halevavot. We find the following comment in the chapter שער הכניעה paragraph 7: "One of the pious people said that when the time comes for people to be shown their account (after death) they will be shown that many merits have been credited to their account of which they had been totally unaware. In fact, they will exclaim that they had never performed the good deeds credited to them in the ledger. It will be explained to them that every time someone abused them verbally in their hearing and they did not display anger or displeasure, such failure to respond was credited to them. Along this line we have an allusion in Reshit Chochmah in the fifth chapter of the שער הענוה, regarding David's reaction (Samuel II 16,10) to Shimi's curse. David speculated that perhaps G–d would turn his curse into a blessing when He saw how he, David, suffered from it emotionally, and furthermore how he had refrained from responding. David meant that G–d would credit Shimi's good deeds to his credit account.

לא יהיה בך עקר ועקרה . We have a statement by Rav Yudah in the name of Rav in Rosh Hashanah 17a that any community leader who imposes more than the necessary fear upon the people under his charge (when he is not motivated by Heaven-oriented considerations) will fail have to a Torah scholar as a son. Rav supports this statement with a quotation from Job 37,24: "Therefore men are in awe of Him Whom none of the wise can perceive." Thus far the Talmud. This is what refers to the blessing in our verse. The main reason that a person wants to have children is that these should excel in performing good deeds. Our "fruit" are our good deeds. It follows that our children should excel in good deeds.

והסיר ה' ממך כל חולי . The author of Reshit Chochmah writes in the third chapter of שער הענוה, quoting Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (author of Pardes Rimonim as well as Tomer Devorah) that people who wish to acquire the virtue of humility should use the stratagem of training themselves not to respond to slights directed at them. They should keep in mind that every slight suffered is part of the atonement for any sins they may have committed which would otherwise have to be expiated by physically harmful afflictions. By failing to respond to slights they might endure emotional pain which will not harm their bodies. This is the kind of sickness the Torah speaks of in our verse (7,15). The reason the Torah emphasizes that G–d Himself will remove the sickness may be that He Himself sent it in the first place in order to embarrass the person afflicted so that he would achieve atonement for any sins committed. This is what David (Samuel II 16,10) said about Shimi when he reacted to the curse by saying: ה' אמר לו לקלל את דוד "G–d may have told him to curse David."

והסיר ה' ממך כל חולי וכל מדוי מצרים הרעים . The greatest sickness of the Egyptians was of a mental nature, i.e. they denied the existence and authority of G–d when they said: "Who is G–d, etc.?" They were so steeped in sexual immorality that the prophet Ezekiel 23,20 compares them to emitting semen like horses. Their indulgence in these activities was a display of their arrogance.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai in Sotah 4b compares an arrogant person to an idol worshiper. This exegesis is based on the Torah applying the word "abomination" to both of these types of individual. Rabbi Yehudah castigates haughtiness as being the equivalent of heresy of the first order. He quotes a verse from our portion. It is written: ורם לבבך ושכחת את ה' אלוקיך "When you become haughty you forget the Lord your G–d." Different sages in the Talmud heap more scorn on arrogant people, each one supplying scriptural proof. The common denominator for this universal condemnation of the haughty person is that, inasmuch as G–d is our Master and we are His servants, how could a servant arrogate to himself importance in the presence of his master?