healthy spiritual awareness
Parshas Balak, 5767
excerpt from a discourse of the Biala Rebbe, shlita
Spiritual awareness is a gift from Heaven, but it is not enough to make one into a good person. Man perfects himself only though his own efforts to improve his character and adapt his life to fit the wisdom he receives, since the goal of life is not just abstract spirituality, but the perfection of behavior on a day-to-day basis. If spirituality is not coupled with a commitment to self-improvement, it can actually corrupt a person, deluding him into thinking that he is better and holier than others, and thus more deserving of wealth and honor. This is the path towards arrogance - the greatest of all evils.
Unlike Moshe, whose awareness of the Divine made him the most humble man on the face of the earth, Bilam prided himself on his powers of sight. His heart swelled with thoughts of his own greatness and the belief that he was so worthy and deserving of reward that Hashem Himself must ultimately concede to his selfish desire to curse Bnei Yisrael.
If a person does not make a concentrated effort to subdue his selfish ego, then any height of spirituality he may attain will only twist his mind into further contortions of arrogance. He will convince himself that he is better than others and may well abuse them for the sake of his own grandeur.
This was the very point of distinction between Bilam and the true Tzaddikim of Bnei Yisrael, the students of Avraham Avinu, who were marked by a kind outlook, a humble spirit and an unassuming soul. As they rise to ever greater heights of spirituality, they become increasingly aware of Hashem’s greatness and their own relative insignificance. Their prophecy thus inspires them to subject themselves, body and soul, to the selfless service of the Creator.
Hashem does not grant righteousness or wickedness. He grants only the tools necessary for each person to use in whichever path he may choose. It is up to man, however, to choose his own path. The attributes of arrogance and selfishness were so deeply embedded in the hearts of the idolatrous nations that even the greatest prophet who ever lived could not reform them, since he too would ultimately be corrupted by the megalomania driven by his prophetic greatness.
We alone merited to receive the Torah, since we alone can understand it in its deepest sense - that it is far more than an intellectual endeavor, but the pursuit of character perfection and the conversion of selfish ego to the selfless desire to fulfill Hashem’s will. Therefore, we rightly merited a leader like Moshe who devoted himself to the perfection of his own middos, until he became the most humble person who ever lived, providing us with a sterling role model to follow.
In the end, Moshiach will arrive to awaken our latent potential for humility and selflessness, making us worthy of an even higher level of Torah revelation, about which Hashem promised, “A new Torah shall go forth from Me,” and through which we will all merit the eternal reward of the World to Come, may it be soon and in our days.
translated by R. Daniel Worenklein
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