And why, indeed, is this so important? One reason a person must pause his learning so he can help others is simply to diminish his hubris. It is very important to engage in helping others, so that his גאוה is diminished—because hubris destroys everything and robs a person of everything. And for this reason, the Ribbono shel Olam requires us to go among people and to be normal.
You must sit among others and schmooze with them. You must move tables with them when needed. Yes, we know that you’re a big askan, and that everyone is waiting to talk to you—and the Ribbono shel Olam knows it as well. But He says to you, “Do you want to hold onto all the chassadim that you do for others, or do you want to throw them away?! Surely you want to hold onto them! If so, you must learn how to do the chessed like a Yid. If you can’t learn to do your chessed like a Yid, it’s a sign that this was never about Hashem. It was all to build yourself up.... Let go of your Gemara and do what everyone else is doing.
