A Question of Honor

Throughout this reading of Mesilas Yesharim we have been paying close attention to how each level leads to the one above it. In earlier posts we have posited that this book describes Jewish spiritual growth not as a ladder, but as an escalator. As soon as one begins with the proper study of Torah, an organic process takes hold of the Jew in which he is naturally and gradually propelled from one level to the next. If we are to follow through on this theory, we must now explain how Anavah evolves into Yiras Cheit.

In chapter twenty-two the Ramchal defined Anavah: "Humility in thought is when a person contemplates and realizes that he is not entitled to praise or honor..." Later in the chapter, the author lists four behaviors of the humble man: "The fourth component is the distribution of honor to all people..."

We would expect the humble to eschew honor entirely; surprisingly, the Ramchal classifies honoring others as a fundamental behavior of the humble man. It seems that honor cannot be denied or suppressed. It is a reality of our world and it must be dealt with. The humble understand that honor exists not for the indulgence of their ego, but for them to bestow it upon others. (See this post.) Moreover, the very exercise of honoring others develops humility as it internalizes the sense that we have no rational claim on honor for ourselves.      

The level after Anavah is Yiras Cheit, the Fear of Sin. This poses a problem. Fear of sin was established back in Zehirus as the earliest step of this program of spiritual growth (see chapter four and this post). How and why does it reappear here near the end? The Ramchal answers this question by distinguishing between different types of "fear" (or better, awe).

... the point of both of them is to abstain from doing anything against His exalted honor, may He be blessed. However the difference between the two... is that the [first type of] awe exists either at the time of doing [a mitzvah], at the time of divine service or in a situation of sin. That is, at the time that a person stands up to pray or serve Hashem they are embarrassed, ashamed, trembling and quaking before the exalted honor of Hashem, may He be blessed. Or at the time that an opportunity to sin presents itself... he should abstain from doing it so that he should not commit a violation before His Honorable Eyes, God forbid. But [the] Yiras Cheit [that we are dealing with in our chapter] exists at all times and at every hour. At every moment he is afraid lest he err and do something, or a part of something, that would be contrary to the honor of His Name, may He be blessed. 

Note that the Ramchal used the word "honor" four times in that paragraph! In other words, Yiras Cheit is the unceasing concern for the honor of God. That would present a conflict of interest for someone who lacks humility and feels entitled to honor himself. Indeed, the Ramchal begins chapter twenty-four by telling us that Yiras Cheit is attainable "only by one who has already achieved all the previously mentioned attributes." But Anavah is more than just a prerequisite for Yiras Cheit, for Anavah is not only about eschewing honor; it is also about giving honor to others. A holy practice which can and ultimately will evolve into Yiras Cheit, in which honoring the ultimate Other - God Himself - is man's sole concern.

Taking Humilty from Mind to Heart

Chapters twenty-two and twenty-three describe level seven, the level of Anavah – humility.

“Initially, a person has to be humble in thought; after that, he can be humble in action. For if in his mind he is not humble and he wants to behave humbly, he will just be one of the fake, terrible ‘humble’ people we wrote about earlier (in chapter 11); these are hypocrites and there is nothing in the world worse than them!”

Sounds reasonable enough, but the Ramchal contradicts himself and writes the exact opposite at the beginning of the very next chapter.

“Since it is in the nature of man’s heart to be haughty and raise himself [above others], it is difficult to initially uproot this natural tendency unless he utilizes external behaviors that are within his power and – little by little – he influences his inner self which is not so much under his control, just as we described in Zerizus (in chapter 7)…”

Here the Ramchal advocates using external behavior as a means to gain Anavah, directly contradicting what wrote in the previous chapter that a person must first be humble inside before behaving humbly externally.

The answer is that both statements are true and there is no contradiction here at all, for in these two chapters the Ramchal is speaking of two different stages of Anavah. In chapter twenty-two the Ramchal argues that one must first be “humble in thought.” This means that a person must know, intellectually, that “he is not entitled to honor or praise.” The entire chapter is dedicated to convincing us of this truth, but as we have learned time and again in this work, knowing is a long way from being. Chapter twenty-three, entitled “On the Means of Acquiring Anavah,” teaches us how to take what we know and internalize it, using external behaviors to modify ourselves.

“It is in the nature of man’s heart to be haughty…” Reading chapter twenty-two and knowing that we are not entitled to honor does not change the reality of human nature. At that stage, before a person is “humble in thought,” he is a faker if he behaves humbly and it will get him nowhere. However, when a person understands clearly that he should be humble, behaving humbly is not hypocritical. On the contrary, it is the appropriate means to acquiring true, internal Anavah.