You should have read this first. If you haven’t, please do. It will give (personal) context to what follows.
An irreligious man came to Rebbe Nachman and boasted that he was an expert in foreign (non-Jewish) languages. He had recently been in a government office and was able to interpret a word that even their professional interpreters did not know. He was very conceited because of this knowledge.
When the man left, the Rebbe ridiculed him for being conceited about such nonsense. One of the Rebbe’s disciples, an extraordinary God-fearing scholar, was there. He asked, “Maybe it is better to be conceited because of something foolish than to be conceited, God forbid, because of one’s Torah knowledge?”
The Rebbe was silent for a minute and then answered, “No. The opposite is true. Our Sages tell us that when Rebbe Akiva was in prison, Papus said to him, ‘Fortunate are you Rebbe Akiva, for you were imprisoned for the sake of the Torah. But woe unto Papus who was imprisoned for trivialities’” (Berakhot 61b).
It is brought in Likutey Moharan I, Lesson #22 that the punishment for conceit is imprisonment. See Likutey Moharan II, Lesson #63 which discusses the imprisonment of Rebbe Akiva. It is established that it is better to be conceited on account of Torah, than on account of trivialities.
Talents, skills, knowledge—they’re all fine and dandy. But ultimately they’re trivial. They have no meaning unless they are harnessed to that which is everlasting. And that’s why we are gifted with them. Capisce paisan?
© Copyright 2014 148west.com/O. Bergman
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