“So that he may learn to fear the Lord his God… in order that his heart not be lifted above his brothers, and not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left.” (Devarim 17:19–20)

False Humility

It is told of the Ramban, of blessed memory, that people once praised to him a certain priest who seemed very humble. He deferred to everyone, spoke even with children, and showed self-effacement. The Ramban replied that true humility can only be found in a Jew who believes in Divine Providence, yet he agreed to see for himself. He observed that the priest indeed acted humbly. When the Ramban was leaving, the priest asked: “Well then, what do you think of my humility?” At once it became clear that his conduct came not from humility but from pride in being seen as humble. To drive home the point, the Ramban said: “In our Torah it says ‘And the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on earth.’ Yet it seems you are even more humble than he!” The priest replied: “Indeed, I have long had the same question myself.” The Ramban answered: “Since you yourself have this question, I no longer do.”

Humility Through Faith

We live in a galus where even leaders conduct themselves with arrogance. Even those who appear humble do so for admiration. This prevents peace, for people fear that yielding diminishes their honor. Out of pride, they sacrifice their own welfare and that of their people rather than humble themselves. We must resist this culture and strengthen our faith in Divine Providence by learning seforim that instill it, for faith leads to true humility. The Ramban wrote to his son in Catalonia that one whose heart knows all he has comes only from God cannot be proud. “One who is arrogant in his heart toward others, is rebelling against the sovereignty of Heaven.” If with wealth, “The Lord impoverishes and enriches” (Shmuel I 2:7). If with wisdom, “He removes speech from the faithful and takes away understanding from the elders” (Iyov 12:20). But neglect of seforim that awaken awareness of Hashem’s greatness breeds arrogance. Pride brings impurity, quarrels, jealousy, gossip, anger, falsehood, and mockery. It drives away the Shechinah, as Chazal taught (Sotah 5a): “He and I cannot dwell together.” This leaves one exposed to impurity and lax in mitzvos.

The Need to Study Mussar

Over the years, I have observed that some yeshivos do not set time for mussar study. Before the First World War, certain Lithuanian leaders felt Torah study alone was sufficient. Yet the Chafetz Chaim wrote in Beis Yisrael (1928) that later, those same leaders admitted that in our times—when false ideologies spread—mussar is essential. Without it, Torah and fear of Heaven cannot endure. Chazal (Shabbos 31a) compared it to storing wheat: one must mix salty earth to prevent rot. So too, one must mix fear of Heaven with Torah to preserve it.

The Yetzer Harah’s Devices

Tehilim (36:4) says: “The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he ceases to be wise, to do good.” The Baal Shem Tov explained that the Yetzer Harah’s main deceit is to prevent a person from learning wisdom that leads to goodness—namely, mussar and Chassidus, which instill fear of Heaven. Where the Yetzer Harah blocks such study, it is less concerned with Torah itself, for Torah without fear of Heaven cannot endure. Therefore, yeshivos must establish fixed classes for mussar. We see that young men who leave yeshivos without learning seforim about Hashem’s greatness and man’s smallness often decline spiritually after marriage. Having never cultivated humility, when family life requires interaction, pride breeds jealousy and hatred, leading them astray from judgment and from the will of their Creator, destroying both spiritual and material life.

Thus the Torah teaches: “So that he may learn to fear the Lord his God”—he must study works of awe and mussar. “In order that his heart not be lifted above his brothers”—to avoid arrogance. Through this he will merit “not turning aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left.”