All Rise!
On Yom Kippur a few years ago I had to step out of the synagogue for a few minutes during the services. When I came back in I found myself entering the sanctuary right behind the rabbi of the shul who had also stepped out.
My rabbi is an octogenarian and a venerable sage of the highest order. He is considered to be the elder statesman and rabbinic figure of the Cleveland Heights community. My seat in the sanctuary was located in the row in front of the rabbi so I walked directly behind him from the back where we had entered, all the way up to our seats in the front.
As is the custom (and as in fact mandated by Jewish law), when the rabbi walked by each row the congregants took turns rising from their seats to accord honor to the rabbi. As we slowly made our way to our seats, row after row of congregants rose from their seats to pay homage to our rabbi. Bemused by the fact that it appeared as if everyone was standing up for ME, I whispered to a friend of mine, “I only went out so that I can follow behind the rabbi when he walked in; this way I can pretend everyone is standing up for me!” We both chuckled and I kept on moving.
A little while later I was thinking about my off-the-cuff remark. Although I was obviously joking, I thought to myself there are actually people who might in fact do just that in an effort to chase the honor that they crave so much. But what was even more remarkable to me was the following realization that struck me. Even though I knew ONE MILLION PERCENT that NO ONE was standing up for me (and I mean NO ONE), but rather they were standing up to give honor to the rabbi, there was actually a little piece inside of me that felt good having everyone stand up as I walked by! Incredible! On an intellectual level I absolutely knew the truth, yet on an emotional level, I was feeling good about something that I completely fabricated in my own mind and that I knew was completely untrue! Such is the allure of the pursuit of honor and I found it to be a fascinating insight.
What is so interesting about honor is the fact that it is so often (perhaps more often than not) illusory and phony. I am sure we can all easily think of any number of people who are accorded honor by others without truly deserving said honor. A simple perusal of any magazine that discusses “celebrities” in the sports or movie industry reveals how thousands of people fawn and genuflect to these “giants” and pay all kinds of respect to them as if they are G-d’s gift to mankind. In truth however, plenty of those people are folks you wouldn’t have anything to do with if not for their celebrity status. Certainly many of them are not people you would want to marry off your child to! And yet most people are falling head over heels trying to give them honor. And these recipients start to truly believe they are deserving of the honor! (Who hasn’t read stories of celebrities being stopped by the police only to come back with the “Do you know who I am?!” card?)
It is not only celebrities. In all walks of life we meet people who are given all kinds of honor but everyone knows they are only receiving the honor because of their money and power. And if these honorees are ever honest with themselves they must know the truth – that they don’t really deserve the honor.
Alas, such is the sweet elixir of honor – it is so intoxicating that most people enjoy it even though it is so artificial and fake, and they will go to great lengths to sample its nectar.
The pursuit of honor is one of the negative character traits that the Torah talks about in many places. Like anything else, a person can use the drive for honor for good causes but if left unchecked it can cause devastating consequences.
In this week’s Torah portion we read about Korach. Korach was a 1st cousin of Moses who was jealous of the fact that Moses was the leader and his brother Aaron was the High Priest. Korach was jealous and sought an honorable position for himself too. His desire for honor was further fueled by his wife who was dissatisfied with him being a “nobody”. What is startling is that Korach was far from being a “nobody”! In fact he was one of the select few who had the privilege of carrying the holy Ark in the wilderness – a prestigious position of the highest degree! Compared to the rest of the nation he was from the “top members” of the nation. But that was not enough for him. His drive for honor caused him to fight against Moses and ultimately rebel against G-d. In the end he was punished in a horrific manner and he and his family were swallowed alive by the earth. Instead of living an idyllic life as a high ranking member of society he met an untimely death.
Such are the consequences of the pursuit of honor.
We are enjoined to remember the lesson of Korach; to lead a life of humility and not to pursue honor. When we consider that more often than not any honor we receive is not really deserved,we will stop trying to chase after it. As we saw from the tragic episode of Korach, it’s just not worth it.
So the next time I pass you in synagogue, you don’t need to stand all the way up for me, I am trying not to pursue honor. A slight rise will suffice.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Koval
