Worse Than Ta’avah
Let us look a little deeper: Why indeed, is ga’avah so severe a transgression—even more severe than terrible ta’avos? Ta’avah is a terrible thing! A person who falls prey to his base impulses and urges... this is the opposite of kedushah, it’s a frightening thought! This is not, chas v’shalom, to minimize the severity of ta’avah. But as bad as it is, ga’avah is even more severe—and it is important to explore why.
The teaching of the Ba’al Shem Tov mentioned above refers to the pasuk טומאותם בתוך אתם השוכן, a pasuk that is included among the worst possible aveiros in the end of Parashas Acharei. And yet, Hashem still will rest among those who transgress those aveiros—but not among those who are ba’alei ga’avah. What is the peshat?
Ga’avah: “I Can Do It Myself”
We can understand this, first, on a basic level: Haughtiness originates from a lack of basic emunah, while ta’avah—as terrible as it is—does not go as deep. A ba’al ga’avah proclaims that he is lacking in the first Ani Ma’amim, the belief that HaKadosh Baruch Hu runs the entire world—המעשים לכל ויעשה ועושה עשה. So, what are you so proud of? Why are you so invested in everyone knowing what you did? It’s not true: You didn’t do anything...the Ribbono shel Olam did it!
Ga’avah: “I Deserve Better”
The second point is that a ba’al ga’avah has a sense of entitlement.... He is a bit dismayed with the Ribbono shel Olam... “Really?! Only this is what I deserve?!”
These are the two primary thoughts of the ba’al ga’avah: 1) “I myself can accomplish what I wish,” and 2) “I deserve more than I have.” On the other hand, the humble person thinks: 1) “I can’t do anything on my own,” and 2) I don’t deserve anything, so whatever I have is a gift from Hashem.” These are the two primary components of ga’avah and, conversely, humility. There are many levels of each trait, but these are the thoughts that feed ga’avah, and if one thinks this way, he lacks the basic emunah that Hashem runs the world. The ba’al ga’avah believes in his own ability, and with this he actively chases away the Shechinah.
Not so the ba’al ta’avah who acknowledges Hashem’s superiority but feels powerless against his yetzer hara. It pains him...but his guf pulled him down, and he is deeply embarrassed by what he has done. Given this, we can understand how ga’avah is worse than falling prey to ta’avah.
Hubris Is the Foundation of Ta’avah
Looking a little deeper, we will find that, in truth, all ta’avah flows from ga’avah. In other words, if a person is humble, and he is strong in his belief that the only source of life—or anything that he wants in life—is closeness to the Ribbono shel Olam, he will turn much less to the lusts and pulls of This World.
If a person lives with the belief that any time he needs anything, and whenever he has a problem, (before doing hishtadlus) he turns his eyes Heavenward with the understanding that he cannot do anything by himself and says, “I don’t know what to do, but I know that I must turn to Hashem”—such a person is far less likely to fall prey to ta’avah.
“Hashem, Give Me the Wisdom for Hishtadlus”
When faced with a dilemma, the ba’al emunah immediately turns to Heaven: The principal called to say that his son isn’t behaving properly. The principal says, “You must speak with your son and tell him that I called you....” Most people will immediately lunge into action, the wheels in their head spinning furiously. “When will I speak to my son, and how will I say it? Why is he acting this way, causing me humiliation?”
But the ba’al emunah understands that this is a time for taking out his Tehillim, for having extra kavannah while saying Atah chonen l’adam da’as. He understands that any salvation or solution will come only from Hashem; there is no other place from where to draw wisdom or solutions. Even in an instance where action is necessary, there is only one place from where to draw the wisdom to know what to do: the Ribbono shel Olam.
A person who lives this way is far less likely to be drawn after the yetzer hara—because he feels completely at peace with everything that the Ribbono shel Olam has given him.
