Humility has nothing to do with inadequacy nor arrogance anything to do with greatness.
(ZK:XY TYwARB) „.RPAW RPE YKNAW Y-NDA LA RBDL YTLAWH AN HNH :RMAYW OHRBA IEYW ‰
“And Avraham answered and said, “Behold I have taken upon myself to speak to my Master and I am but dust and ashes.” (Beraishis 18:27)
Avraham is lauded for his humility here, in describing himself as dust and ashes. In a way, these descriptions were a praise of Hashem, as this is what would have become of Avraham Avinu had he been killed in the war with the kings (dust) or in the furnace by Nimrod (ashes.) Part of humility is recognizing what Hashem has done for you and that our own strengths are truly His.
There is another aspect to these words to be appreciated. Both dust and ashes are wispy and fragile, essentially worthless and powerless. However, dust or dirt can be combined with water and used to build things. Mud, cement, and bricks, all utilize it as a key component.
A human being is indeed made up of dust, and he must realize that he has the opportunity to build the world through his actions. Avraham’s comment about being dust could be understood as recognizing that whatever he had done was not even a beginning to what he could potentially do. A person who feels he has achieved much and can rest on his laurels will not live up to all he can. Rather, a person must feel that he's just scratched the surface of his capabilities and continue striving his entire life.
But dust differs from ashes.
Ashes are quite the opposite of dust. Instead of a building block of potential, they are the remains of something that once existed but was consumed. A home that burned down to ashes can never be rebuilt from the same materials. The potential is gone. The strength that once existed has been turned into nothingness.
The message here, again, is that one should not take arrogant pride in his accomplishments, and certainly not in his strength, intellect, or wealth, which are only tools of potential. As the Navi tells us (Yirmiya 9:23), “Rather in this shall the proud take pride, be thoughtful and come to know Me...”
Avraham’s position, then, was to acknowledge to Hashem that he was limited, and whatever achievements he’d made could be negated by Hashem. Only in this way could he plead for the people of Sodom, with the understanding that whatever his intentions were, his perception was limited and he would bow to Hashem’s will. Though it might seem humane to spare their lives, the people of Sodom may have reached a point of no return. Indeed, they had, and they were destroyed as part of Hashem’s plan for the betterment of the world.
When one connects with Hashem in this manner, he has torn down the barriers between his humanity and Hashem’s greatness, and is ready to be lifted and molded by his Creator.
R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l was once walking on Shabbos in an area that had a Kosher eruv. He saw an older man shlepping a heavy bench down the street, while his two grown sons followed him, empty-handed.
He asked why they weren’t helping, and they responded that they had a certain chumra (stringency) which prevented them from carrying in this area. The student who recounted this story reported that R’ Shlomo Zalman was so upset by it, that it took him several days to get back to himself, and he even canceled one or two of the shiurim he normally gave.
©2023 – J. Gewirtz
