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Opinion & Comment
Gaivah: The Origin of Sin and the Fruits of Daas

by Rav Shlomo Furst

A midrash cited in the sefer Kol Eliyohu (Parshas Bereishis 5), explains why Odom Horishon sinned. Very cryptically, it declares: "Because he saw two and did not see three."

According to the Vilna Gaon's explanation, there is nothing puzzling about this statement at all: "This is an explicit mishnah in Ovos (3:1): `Consider three things and you will not come into the hands of sin: Know from where you came, to where you will go and before Whom you will give justification and reckoning. . . .' Since Odom Horishon was the handiwork of HaKodosh Boruch Hu, he was only able to consider only two of these three." Odom was a perfect and direct creation of HaKodosh Boruch Hu. Consequently, he had no biological origin to contemplate.

According to the Rambam, Rabbeinu Yonah and other commentaries on this mishnah, giving serious thought to our biological origin should bring us to humility. Hence, we will be saved from the middoh of gaivah. Odom could consider the grave, for Hashem warned him that the consequence of disobedience is death. Also, he was certainly aware that all this thoughts, speech and actions are known and judged by HaKodosh Boruch Hu. However, since Hashem created Odom, he did not have the benefits of the humbling thought of, "know from where you came."

Similar to the way the Gaon understood the midrash, the sefer Maalos HaMiddos, based on the Pirkei DeRebbe Eliezer, traces the source of Odom Horishon's sin to gaivah. The thirteenth perek of Pirkei DeRebbe Eliezer quotes the posuk in Bereishis (2:20), which describes how, "Odom gave names to all the animals and to the birds of the sky and to every beast of the field . . ." With this feat, Odom's wisdom surpassed the intellect and understanding of the mal'ochim, for Odom succeeded in naming Hashem's creatures whereas the mal'ochim did not.

The sefer Maalos HaMiddos then comments that as a result, Odom's "heart swelled and he became proud, and sought a higher excellence inappropriate for him." When Odom's sechel triumphed over the mal'ochim he felt a spark of pride, just enough to give rise to a notion of superiority that was inappropriate and beyond his calling. The Pirkei DeRebbe Eliezer continues to describe how the mal'ochim became jealous of Odom. They conspired against him, and employed the Nochosh to bring Odom to sin.

Odom was thus faced with a test, and of all the tests possible, Odom was most appropriately tested through the middoh of pride. Being only able to see two instead of three made Odom vulnerable to gaivah, for he lacked a vital safeguard against pride. Appropriately then, in order to give Odom an opportunity to triumph over this susceptibility, Odom was ultimately going to be faced with a nisoyon of gaivah.

His failure cast him out of Gan Eden and fated him to die. Death was an appropriate remedy for Odom's condition, blessed with sechel and prone to gaivah. Can we imagine anything more humbling than death?

*

We must be very careful not to misjudge or adopt an overly simplistic understanding of Odom Horishon. The Midrash Tanchuma (Parshas Chukas 16) discloses that after their deaths, all the tzaddikim appear before Odom Horishon and complain, "You caused us to die." Odom answers them by saying, "I have one sin, [whereas] each and every one of you has no less than four transgressions."

Odom Horishon proved that he was wiser than the mal'ochim; nonetheless, the ultimate and sole source of all his wisdom was Hashem Yisborach. To acknowledge this is true wisdom; to forget it is death. The posuk in Tehillim (111:10) "Reishis chochmoh, yiras Hashem . . ." is generally understood to mean that the beginning - - the source of wisdom -- is yiras Hashem. "Reishis" usually means: "the start or source of something."

However here, the Chossid Yaavetz explains "reishis" with a different and novel interpretation. Namely, that within the context of this posuk, "reishis" means: "that which is praiseworthy and that which is the purpose of it." Therefore, according to the Chossid Yaavetz, the posuk is teaching us that the purpose and praiseworthy goal of wisdom is yiras Hashem.

If we are given wisdom, it must be used to fear our Creator. Gaivah subverts all this.

The Ramchal writes in his sefer, Mesillas Yeshorim (Chapter 22) that, "Chochmoh, more than anything else, brings a person to conceit and pride, for it is the inherent virtue of man himself; his distinguishing quality -- intelligence." However great one's intelligence may be, as in the case of Odom Horishon, nevertheless there is no comparison to the infinite Wisdom of our Creator -- and this should be a humbling thought. As great as Odom's triumph of intellect over the mal'ochim was, it was nil in comparison to the Divine wisdom of his Creator, for it is written in Tehillim (147:4,5) "He counts the sum of the stars; giving names to all of them. Great is our Master and abundant in strength, His understanding is infinite!" Could Odom's achievement of naming animals and birds compare to that?

*

With infinite wisdom, Hashem deemed that gaivah be an essential aspect of Odom's personality. Moreover, the middoh of gaivah was required in order that there be an acid test of Odom's perfection; to see if Odom would perfect himself.

The midrash (Shemos Rabboh 23:13) states that HaKodosh Boruch Hu created four species with the middoh of gaivah: "The proudest of the creations is man; the proudest of the birds is the eagle; the proudest of the animals is the ox; the proudest of the beasts is the lion. All were granted sovereignty and given greatness."

If these four sovereigns were created with a streak of gaivah, it must be vital for their success. A lion, for example, as proud as he ever will become, will not suffer because of it. No doubt, the prouder a lion is, the better a king of beasts he will turn out to be.

Only Odom is warned about and punished for gaivah. Also, and paradoxically so, gaivah was the catalyst for Odom's plunge from excellence. If so, man must have a different measure of success than any other creature.

The Obligations of Status

The gemora (Brochos 34a-b) stipulates that when a king prays Shemoneh Esrei he must bow many more times than an ordinary Jew. Tosafos explains that excess bowing is presumptuous for an ordinary Jew and therefore prohibited. For a king however, extra bowing is mandatory. Rashi explains why: "Anything that is more elevated is required to submit and humble itself." If Odom was given the middoh of gaivah it must play a vital role in fulfilling his purpose in this world, for precisely because of his elevated rank he was required to humble himself.

In contrast to the other three sovereigns, Odom Horishon was required to direct and control his pride. The Vilna Gaon, as quoted in the sefer Even Shleimoh, said, "That the main purpose of a person's life is to always intensify one's efforts to change his character and if not -- why live?" If Odom was created with gaivah, it was in order to give him the opportunity to rule over himself. Odom was created with pride in order to overcome it, and by doing so to master and perfect himself.

Odom was created as perfect as could be, but with one intentional weakness -- a non-biological origin. Thus Odom was inherently prone to gaivah. On the other hand, he was given intelligence to overcome any inclinations towards gaivah.

Life is Truth

There is an irrefutable link between life and emes. And conversely, there is an equally undeniable connection between death and gaivah.

The very first se'if of the Orchos Chaim LeHaRosh warns us to "distance ourselves from gaivah to the utmost." In his footnote to this se'if, HaRav Shmuel Halevi Schechter zt"l wrote, based on the mesorah he had from Kelm, that "there is no greater falsehood than for those who are destined to die to be haughty."

Likewise, in Mesillas Yeshorim (Chapter 11) the Ramchal writes: "Gaivah is nothing but an actual blindness by which the person's mind does not see his shortcomings or acknowledge his faults." Our greatest imperfection is the fact that we are mortal and hence must leave this world. To the extent that we chose to deny or ignore this fact, our shortcomings will increase.

Therefore acting as a counterbalance, is the primary, indispensable middoh of emes. The middoh of emes becomes corrupted in proportion to the degree that we forget or deny the truth of our origin -- and the inevitable nature of our fate. Gaivah, more than anything else, conceals these truths. Denial is sheker and death.

The gemora (Sanhedrin 97a) tells how Rovo originally thought that truth does not exist in the world for, as Rashi explains, "There is no person in the world who can always speak the truth." This was until Rav Tovus -- others say it was Rav Tovuhmi -- declared that "he would never lie, even if he were given all the riches in the world." Rav Tovus went on to describe how he once discovered and eventually settled in a place called Kushtah.

Kushtah was a place where no one ever lied and consequently, no one ever died before their time. Rav Tovus married a local woman and they had two sons. One day, while his wife was washing her hair, a neighbor knocked on their door and asked to see her. He thought that it would not be polite to tell the truth, so he said she was not home. Soon after, his two sons died. The town's people gathered and asked why this happened. After telling the story, they forced him to leave town in order to insure that no further deaths would occur.

In his commentary on this gemora, the Maharsha explains how emes was able to give life and longevity to those who lived in Kushtah. "Since the seal of HaKodosh Boruch Hu is emes, and through it the world exists . . . The one who lies destroys the seal and the foundation of the world . . . And conversely, one who does not lie establishes himself and his world with the seal of Creation, which is emes. Therefore, no person would die before their time, for it is sheker which causes untimely death."

Pride is the greatest falsehood of all, and hence the primary cause for premature death. Appropriately, when the gemora in Sotah (5a) mentions the many awful consequences of gaivah, a shortened lifespan appears high on the list. Conversely humility, the opposite of gaivah, is the basis of life and longevity.

The posuk specifically mentions life as an outcome of humility: "Eikev anovoh [the result and reward of humility] is yiras Hashem, riches, honor and life" (Mishlei 22:4). "Eikev" according to Rashi means "because of." According to the Vilna Gaon it means "the end result -- and the reward." The "eikev" (in these two senses) of humility is yiras Hashem. If preceded by yiras Hashem, the other benefits of wealth, honor and life can follow.

The Vilna Gaon explains that the two dividends of wealth and honor accrue in proportion to the nullification of the two harmful middos of greed and arrogance -- both of which are absent from the one who is humble. Life, as the Gaon continues, is the result of yiras Hashem, as the posuk (Mishlei 19:23) teaches, "Yiras Hashem brings life . . ."

The gemora Chulin (89a) cites three great individuals who were humble and all were blessed with long lives. Avrohom Ovinu, who lived to be one hundred and seventy-five years, declared, "I am dust and ashes." Moshe Rabbenu and Aaron Hacohen said, "What are we?" They both lived to be at least one hundred and twenty years old. Also Dovid Hamelech, who lived to be seventy, said, "I am a worm and not a man."

The gemora states they all remained humble in spite of HaKodosh Boruch Hu's blessings of honor and glory to them. This was proof that they were truly worthy of their distinction. As the Mesillas Yeshorim (Chapter 22) comments on this gemora: "The person with an honest heart will not allow himself to be deceived by any distinction that he may possess. He knows the truth; that even with this [distinction] he has not yet left his lowly state . . ."

Chochmas Odom

Death was not the only consequence of Odom's transgression. Odom almost lost his mind. The gemora Pesochim (118a) explains, "When HaKodosh Boruch Hu said to Odom, `Thorns and thistles will sprout for you [and you shall eat the grass of the field.] his eyes flowed with tears. Odom cried out to Hashem, `Master of the Universe! Shall I and my donkey eat from the same trough?' "

According to the Maharsha's explanation, Odom was fearful that if he were to eat the same kind of food as the donkey, his intelligence would degenerate to the same level as a donkey's. This dreadful thought humbled Odom to tears. Odom had good reason to cry, for the whole purpose of his intelligence was to acknowledge his Creator in order to serve Him faithfully. The gemora concludes by saying that when Hashem told Odom, "By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread," Odom was comforted and became optimistic that his mind and intelligence would remain human.

The decree of death did not overwhelm Odom Horishon as much as the fear of losing his mind. Odom was created betzelem Elokim, which Rashi (Bereishis 1:26) explains to be the exclusively human ability to "understand and gain wisdom." The possibility of losing this gift of creative intelligence was a fate worse than death, for Odom Horishon's whole purpose and place in Creation depended on him having intelligence and using it properly.

Chochmoh, our gift of intelligence, is thus a razor- sharp double-edged blade. Using it properly brings success. Using it improperly brings ruin. In the second chapter of Mesillas Yeshorim, the Ramchal teaches us that the only way to elude the yetzer hora is with "great wisdom and an all-embracing outlook." Furthermore, this by itself is not enough, as the Ramchal continues, "It is obvious that even if a person will be watchful over himself, he does not have the ability to save himself without the help of HaKodosh Boruch Hu -- for the yetzer hora is very powerful."

When Odom, in the slightest way imaginable, succumbed to gaivah, the Nochosh was then able to tempt Odom and thereby test his loyalty to Hashem's command not to eat from the Eitz Hadaas.

Rabbeinu Yonah writes in his sefer Shaarei Teshuvoh (1:27) that gaivah will render a person helpless against the yetzer hora, since "the haughty person is given over into the hands of his yetzer; Hashem will not be with him to help him, since he is loathsome to Hashem." Therefore, once gaivah had found even a small place in his heart, Odom lacked the full amount of siyata deShmaya that was required to succeed against the Nochosh and its arguments.

The Problem -- and the Solution

So this is the essence of the problem that is the dilemma of man: without wisdom we are surely lost to the clutches of the yetzer hora. However, the greater the intelligence, the more prone we are to fall prey to the illusions of pride, which will lead to an unfortunate fulfillment of the posuk (Devorim 8:14), "Your heart will grow great and you will forget Hashem your G-d . . ." If this should happen, we are surely helpless against the yetzer. For if we have forgotten Hashem and instead rely on our own abilities, Hashem will not send forth the siyata deShmaya we so desperately need for all success in life.

Hashem created Odom with the potential for gaivah to creep into his heart -- just enough to allow for a test. This test had the potential to create in Odom a different and greater dimension of perfection -- the perfection of Odom perfecting himself. This was Odom's predicament and the purpose of his creation; to overcome gaivah with emes and thereby abolish the paradox, emerging humble and perfect.

After his transgression, death became a necessary reality, as Rabbeinu Yonah (Shaarei Teshuvoh 2:25) writes about the posuk (Bereishis 1:31): "`And Hashem saw all that He had made and behold, it was very good.' This is death, for death is also good; to humble people and that there should be fear of Hashem in their hearts and that Olom Hazeh should not become paramount."

The foremost unbiased understanding that we must have about ourselves, our reishis daas -- the primary and paramount core of unshakable knowledge that will carry us successfully through life -- is: We are created beings and therefore destined to die. Gaivah cannot coexist with such thoughts.

Since we are created betzelem Elokim, blessed with the ability to think, we must reason with ourselves to arrive at an untainted vision of what we are, where we came from and where we are going. We need siyata deShmaya to always remember this and siyata deShmaya requires supplication and prayer.

The Ramban, toward the end of his Commentary on Parshas Bo, sums up in two words the purpose of public prayer. Every day, we gather together to publicly declare, "Bri'osecho Anachnu! -- We are Your Creations!"

Just before we stand up to begin our Shemoneh Esrei we declare that Hashem Yisborach: "Lowers the haughty and elevates the humble," and then we begin, with humility, our prayers.


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