סוטה מט

The חסידים of סאוורן were highly critical of a מתנגד רב and made life so miserable for him that he was forced to leave and relocate elsewhere. A short while later, he wrote to the רב of סאוורן the An eligible young man, who was smart, good looking, and from a fine family, rejected all the שידוכים that had been offered him. None was good enough for him. His parents approached the רב and asked that he speak with their son. The רב did so, telling him that for all his מעלות, he’s missing one מעלה and that is הענווה. “If you had this מעלה,” the רב said, “your worth would increase immeasurably.” The young man took the words of the רב to heart and decided that he would henceforth be an עניו. Several days later, he was approached by a שדכן, who suggested a very suitable match, with the hope that now that he was an עניו, he would agree to consider it. Instead, however, the young man sneered and responded: “If I wouldn’t accept a שידוך like this before I was an עניו, it’s a קל וחומר that I’m not interested in such a שידוך now that I have this additional מידה of ענווה.” When the רב heard this, he said: “Now I understand what משלי means in saying גאוות אדם תשפילנו. Namely that the גאווה of a person leads him to lower himself so that he can also boast about his ענווה.” : “The גמרא says: שני תלמידי חכמים שאין נוחין זה לזה, אחד מת ואחד גולה. I’ve done my part – I’ve been exiled. Now it’s your turn to do your part.”

06/10/2021