We are commanded to
appoint a king to rule over the Jewish people. However, there are various
warnings given to the king. He should not acquire too many horses; he should
not take too many wives, and he should not amass too much gold and silver.
The Daas Zakainim
explains that each of these excesses is singled out to protect the king from
a particular danger. The danger of amassing too much wealth is that it leads
to arrogance.
We are obligated to treat a king with great
respect
This Daas Zakainim is
difficult to understand because, as the Rambam explains, we are obligated to
treat a king with great honor; it is vital for his effectiveness as a ruler.
As a result, any individual walking into the chambers of a king must bow
down full face to the ground, even if he is the greatest talmid chacham or
even if he is a Navi. Additionally, no person is allowed to sit in the
presence of the king, and the King must also guard his honor. He isn’t
allowed to stand up for any man in public. He isn’t allowed to use titles of
honor for anyone else. If he commands a person to leave the room and that
man refuses, the king has the right to have him killed.
At the same time, a
king is expected to remain humble. The Torah isn’t afraid that the great
honor accorded to him will bring him to arrogance. He is capable of
maintaining his sense of balance by understanding that honor isn’t due to
him, but rather his position. He is still a mortal human. As a servant to
HASHEM, he plays his role as everyone else does.
Why is money more dangerous than honor and power?
The question then
becomes obvious. If the king is capable of maintaining his humility despite
the extraordinary honor accorded to him, why is the Torah so fearful that he
will become arrogant if he amasses wealth? It’s as if the Torah is saying,
“Honor he can handle without becoming pompous, but wealth? Impossible!”
Why would it be so
difficult for him not to be conceited if he acquired wealth? The answer to
this question is based on a deeper understanding of the human personality.
The antidote to honor
Honor is a difficult life test.
When a person is given status and accord, it is natural for him to feel
different, apart and above the rest of the human race. Power, too, is a
grave test. When a person feels that he can control the destiny of other
people, he runs the risk of feeling self-important, significant, and mighty.
However, these are situations that a person can deal with.
The antidote to
honor is to remember where I came from and where I am going. I must
understand that today I am being given great honor, but it will pass
quickly. Very quickly. Today they sing my praises; tomorrow they will forget
my name. That is the way of the world.
Power is also
something that a person can learn to deal with. As I stand here now, I
control the destiny of others. But do I? Do I really have power? I can’t
even control whether I will be alive tomorrow or not. When I lay my head on
the pillow this evening, it is not in my control to will myself alive
tomorrow. When my time is up, it’ll be over, and there is nothing that I can
do to change that. The big, powerful, mighty me can’t even control
whether I exist or not.
In that sense, honor
and power are potentially dangerous, but that a person can be humble despite
them.
The danger of Wealth
Great wealth is different. Wealth brings a
person to a much more dangerous sense of himself — a sense of independence.
“I am rich! I don’t need anyone! I don’t need my wife! I don’t need my
children! I don’t even need HASHEM! I can buy and sell the whole world!”
This sense of independence is almost a natural
outgrowth of wealth, so the Torah warns a king of Israel not amass too much
of it. Wealth will almost certainly lead to arrogance, and it is something
that even a man as great as a king in Israel will not be able to resist.
In our world
This concept has great relevance to us.
Whether we enjoy wealth as compared to others or not, the reality is that we
enjoy great bracha, living in the 21st century. Today, we all
enjoy material possessions, luxuries, and opportunities that were unheard of
in previous generations.
One of the great dangers of living in these
times is the sense of independence. “I am young, strong, and healthy. I can
forge my own way…. I don’t need anyone; I can make it on my own. I am
independent.”
While on one level, this sense is central to
being an effective human being, it is also fraught with danger. A person
must remain clear-headed in his understanding of Who is really in charge
here. I am not the Master of the universe, nor even the master of my
destiny. I am dependent. I depend on my Creator for my daily bread, my
health, my success, and my existence. With this understanding, a man can
enjoy great bracha and still remain humble.
When a person is humble, the rest of his
character traits naturally fall into place. But when a person is arrogant,
the rest of his middos are out of balance as well. An arrogant person
becomes angry easily. A humble man doesn’t. An arrogant individual doesn’t
feel the pain of others, but a humble man does. The pivotal point of all
good middos is humility.
Just as humility is the center of a person’s
character development, so too is it the cornerstone of his avodas HASHEM.
The Chovos Ha’Levovos explains that just as a master needs a servant; a
servant needs a master. One cannot exist without the other. Any sense of
arrogance is a denial of my dependence upon HASHEM. It revokes my status of
a servant of my Master.
This sense of dependence upon my Creator
brings a person balance and internal happiness because it rings true.
Ultimately, it leads a person to success in this world and the World to
Come.
For more on this topic please listen to
Shmuz
#58: Arrogance: misdirected Greatness of man, and
#59: Humility: an Issue of Perspective
