Last week, I raised the third of Ben Zoma’s famous four
Talmudic questions: Who is rich? Thank
you for sharing your insights and answers, which will make their way into my
sermons on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Please keep them coming this week!
As promised, the answer to last week’s query: Who is rich?
Those who rejoice in their portion.
Now, on to this week’s question: “Who is honored?”
According to the Mussar masters, honor is one of the most
challenging soul traits to keep in balance.
It tends to challenge us in two ways.
First, as with wealth, so, too, with honor: no matter how successfully
we pursue it, there is never enough. There
are so many stories of actors who spend their whole careers focused on getting an
Oscar—and then, when they finally win one, they cannot stop obsessing about
attaining another. The ego’s maw is
limitless. As a result, Pirkei Avot
teaches that honor (along with lust and envy) “take a person out of the world.” The pursuit of honor prevents us from
enjoying the present and being grateful for the gifts that we have.
The other—related—issue of honor is that we tend to by
hyper-judgmental of others rather than honoring them. Perhaps by withholding honor and praise from those
around us, we think we can hoard it for ourselves. In other words, we try to lift ourselves up
by putting others down. This is the
recipe for a sad, bitter, and ultimately lonely life.
Since this is my
last e-Torah for a few weeks (I’ll be back in August), I’ll end with Ben Zoma’s
answer: Who is honored? One who honors others.
But I want to know
your thoughts. Who do you think is
honored?
Send me your thoughts at rabbidan@ahavathbethisrael.org
