Anavim

2 Nissan 5782

“Then the kohen shall order, and the person to be cleansed shall take two live, clean birds, a cedar stick, a strip of crimson [wool], and hyssop.” (Vayikra 14:4)

Rashi explains why he must bring a cedar stick along with crimson wool and hyssop: “Because lesions of tzara’as come because of haughtiness [symbolized by the tall cedar] … He must humble himself from his haughtiness, just as symbolized by the crimson [lit., ‘a worm,’ which infested the berries from which the crimson dye was extracted to color wool], and the [lowly] hyssop.”

Our Chassidic Masters elaborate, “If the point is that he should show humility, why does he bring both a cedar and hyssop? But the true meaning of humility is not to broken and bowed, but to be humble even as one stands straight and tall.”

“But divine service performed without arousing one’s fear and love to a revealed state even in one’s mind … such service remains below in this ‘World of Separation,’ in the externality of the worlds” (Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 39)

It is not self-hate we must cultivate, it is a loving passion for serving Hashem that will lead us to closeness with Him. The Alter Rebbe explains that mitzvos done robotically, out of pure habit, merely drawing on the innate, hidden love for G‑d present in every Jew, remains in the “World of Separation,” “it has not the power to rise and to be absorbed in G‑d’s Unity, meaning the ten holy sefirot, as is written in Tikkunei Zohar, that ‘Without fear and love, it does not fly upward, and it cannot rise to stand before G‑d.’”

“I have set the L‑rd before me at all times; because He is at my right hand, I shall not falter. Therefore my heart rejoices and my soul exults; my flesh, too, rests secure.” (Tehillim 16:8-9)

Self-deprecating humility, hatred of and sadness over one’s bad qualities, is simply not a service appropriate for this generation. We are so deep in the throes of gollus that we cannot break free by logical means. We need to draw upon something that defies and transcends all human logic: pure joy in His presence. Pure joy in the fact that Hashem is with us at all times, even when we cannot see His hand at work. Our heart can rejoice, our soul can exult, we can rest secure at the promise that our redemption is imminent, and we will soon behold Moshiach on the roof of the Temple saying, “My children, don’t be afraid, all that I have done–I did it only for you … Humble ones (anavim), the time of your redemption has arrived” (Midrash Yalkut Shimoni Yeshaya Chapter 60 remez 499).