A Talmudic Joke and the Nature of Humility
Understanding Aggada
Yeshivat Har Etzion
Shiur #24: A Talmudic
Joke and the Nature of Humility
By Rav Yitzchak Blau
When Rabban Yochanan ben
Zakkai died, the splendor of wisdom ceased. When Rabban Gamli'el the Elder died, the
honor of Torah ceased, as did purity and abstinence. When Rabbi Yishma'el ben Pavi died, the
splendor of the priesthood ceased.
When Rabbi [Yehuda Ha-nasi] died, humility and fear of sin ceased.
(Mishna, Sota
9:15)
Rav Yosef said to the
tanna (the person who recites Mishnaic sources): "Do not include [the
line about] humility, because there is [still] me."
(Sota
49b)
The compilers of the
Talmud certainly understood the humor in Rav Yosef's statement when they placed
it at the very end of the tractate; indeed, the vast corpus of the Talmud
incorporates more than a few jokes.
At the same time, some jokes contain real wisdom along with the
humor. Perhaps Rav Yosef means to
teach us something important, in addition to helping us chuckle.
It is common that
religion prizes humility as a significant character trait, but the precise
definition of humility proves more elusive. One view might identify humility with
total self-abnegation. Such
feelings might come from a strong sense of human sinfulness or from a contrast
between limited man and infinite God; from this perspective, the truly humble
person concludes that he or she has no traits worthy of admiration.
The famed Rosh Yeshiva
of Volozhin, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin (known as the Netziv), rejects
this view in his Ha'amek Davar (Bamidbar 12:3, note 2). He argues that humility and a healthy
awareness of personal accomplishments are not mutually exclusive. According to the Netziv, a person
expresses humility when he or she does not focus on receiving public honors or
recognition. People aware of their
achievements, who do not demand to be honored at the shul dinner and do not care
about when they are called up to the Torah, reflect the humble
paradigm.
The Netziv cites the
statement of Rav Yosef as support.
According to the Netziv, Rav Yosef's comment indicates that a humble
person can exhibit real cognizance of his or her own fine qualities. In addition to intending to voice a
humorous comment, Rav Yosef also wants to say that humble people might still
sometimes point out their own abilities.
Their humility finds expression in a general disinterest in honors and
communal recognition.
This reading of Rav
Yosef's comment finds support from another Talmudic story about this illustrious
sage. Rav Yosef and Rabba were once
both candidates to become rosh yeshiva in Pumbedita (Horayot 14a). Even though the sages select Rav Yosef,
he relinquishes the title to Rabba.
During the more than two decades of Rabba's tenure, Rav Yosef refuses to
let the blood-letter make house-calls for him, as he did not want to receive any
special honors that might detract from Rabba's authority. This works beautifully with the Netziv's
vision of humility as the eschewing of honors.
Rav Yosef recognizes his
positive traits and employs humor to indicate that such recognition is not a
problem. However, he does not
demand acclaim and shows great humility when it comes to the public honors of
Pumbedita.
It is worth pointing out
that the Netziv cites Mesillat Yesharim (he presumably refers to chapters
21 and 22) as the foil to his own view.
In that work, Rabbi Moshe Chayim Luzzatto identifies "anivut,"
humility, with a "shefal berekh" (see Sanhedrin 88b), one who is
lowly. Rabbi Berlin forcefully
argues that we should not identify with these traits. As Mesillat Yesharim has become
the most prominent work of musar, Jewish ethics, it is uncommon to see
recent authorities explicitly taking issue with it; nevertheless, the Netziv
thinks that this mistaken perspective on humility must be contested.
The linguistic
distinction between "anav" and "shefal ruach" appears in other
sources as well. Rabbi Levitas,
Head of Yavneh, teaches (Avot 4:4) that a person should be "very lowly of
spirit." The Tiferet Yisra'el
(Rabbi Yisra'el Lipshutz), in his explanatory comment there, echoes the Netziv's
idea. He explains that the humble
person recognizes his or her value but does not act in an aggrandizing
fashion. The person lowly of
spirit, on the other hand, constantly focuses on his or her
shortcomings.
Moshe Rabbeinu and King
David represent these two approaches.
In the Torah, Moshe understands his own significance and worth quite
well. As the Tiferet Yisra'el
points out, "Can we imagine that Moshe Rabbeinu was unaware that he was the
chosen one of mankind whom God spoke to face-to-face?" Yet Moshe does not demand acclaim or
honor; therefore, the Torah (Bamidbar 12:3) employs the term "anav" about
Moshe. David describes himself as
"shafel" (Tehillim 138:6) and several chapters of Tehillim illustrate a
"broken spirit." Clearly, these
Psalms may reflect David's feelings following the sin of Bat-Sheva (see Chapter
51).
The Tiferet Yisra'el
does not state a preference for either of these two models, and he seems to deem
them both legitimate approaches. In
contrast, the Netziv's analysis seems to prefer the "anav" to the
"shefal ruach." Perhaps he
has excellent educational reasons to do so.
As an educator, I find
the Netziv's idea quite powerful.
Without denying the negative impact arrogance has on the religious
personality, we should understand that a lack of confidence and the loss of a
feeling of self-worth can undermine a personality as well: the quickest way to
fail in any endeavor is to decide from the outset that one cannot possibly
succeed. Many aspects of religious
life, such as beseeching God in prayer and asking solid questions on a
commentary, depend upon a certain sense of self-worth. The Netziv reminds us to not identify
humility with self-abnegation.
Perhaps Rav Yosef
intends one additional lesson. The
following line of this gemara has Rav Nachman telling the tanna not to
include fear of sin in the list of lost traits because he is still around. I submit that Rav Nachman and Rav Yosef
are not bragging; rather, they are concerned that a reader of the list found
towards the end of Sota might conclude that greatness in all respects came to a
close with the conclusion of the Mishnaic period. It is true that Judaism includes a
concept of earlier generations having greater authority; however, if that
concept leads us to conclude that we cannot aspire to more than benign
ineptitude, we will find ourselves unable to meet the challenges of our
day. As Alfred Tennyson wrote in
"Ulysses":
Tho' much is taken, much
abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in the old days
Moved
earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal-temper of heroic
hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek,
to find, and not to yield.
May we appreciate our
strengths as well as our shortcomings, yet not demand honor due to those
strengths.
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