Chapter 6 of Micha is a chapter of contention and rebuke: the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, summons the mountains and hills to serve as witnesses, opening with the claim, "My people, what have I done to you, and how have I wearied you?" In the section before us, we focus on the remembrance of Balak and Bil'am and "from Shittim to Gilgal," on the sinner's great question - how shall I atone? - and on the profound answer the prophet gives in the famous verse, "He has told you, O man, what is good." We will follow the order of the verses, primarily in light of the Malbim, alongside Rashi, the Radak, and the Midrashim.
עַמִּי זְכׇר נָא מַה יָּעַץ בָּלָק מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב וּמֶה עָנָה אֹתוֹ בִּלְעָם בֶּן בְּעוֹר מִן הַשִּׁטִּים עַד הַגִּלְגָּל לְמַעַן דַּעַת צִדְקוֹת יְהֹוָה׃ - "My people, remember now what Balak king of Moav counseled, and what Bil'am son of Beor answered him, from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may know the righteous acts of Hashem."
What was Balak's counsel? To destroy the Jewish people. And what did Bil'am answer him? "How can I curse whom God has not cursed, and how can I bring anger where Hashem has not been angry?" - I did not become angry throughout all those days. So far, it is straightforward. The difficulty lies in what follows: "From Shittim to Gilgal" - what is the connection between Shittim and Gilgal? Shittim is still close to the narrative of Balak, but Gilgal is already in the Land of Israel.
Rashi explains: From Shittim, where you sinned against Me, from there you should learn of My righteousness - that even though you sinned, I did not withhold My assistance from you, until I brought you to Gilgal, which marks the entrance into the Land. I should have parched you for your sin, yet instead I continued giving you the manna, the well, and the Clouds of Glory, sustaining, providing for, and caring for you the entire way.
The Radak adds that mentioning Gilgal serves to recall the miracle. That is to say: in Shittim you sinned and deserved a curse, yet I granted you atonement when some died in the plague; and at Gilgal I performed a miracle for you upon entering the Land, as the Jordan split. "So that you may know the righteous acts of Hashem" - from all of this, you should learn and know how many benevolent acts the Holy One, blessed be He, performed for us. From this follows: if you walk in the upright path, those same righteous acts will accompany you now as well; and if not, you will receive punishment accordingly.
בַּמָּה אֲקַדֵּם יְהֹוָה אִכַּף לֵאלֹהֵי מָרוֹם הַאֲקַדְּמֶנּוּ בְעוֹלוֹת בַּעֲגָלִים בְּנֵי שָׁנָה׃ - "With what shall I come before Hashem, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves?"
The Radak explains: If one of you were to ask, with what offering can I come before Hashem? How shall I bow myself before Him? "Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves?" - shall I bring before Him yearling calves, which are considered the choicest and youngest?
The Malbim explains that these verses are parenthetical, representing the speech of Israel themselves: after stumbling at Shittim and Baal Peor, they express remorse and ask, "With what shall I come before Hashem, before Whom I have now sinned?" The word ikaf comes from the root of bowing or bending: how can I humble myself before Him, seeing that He is God on high? "Elohim" signifies the attribute of strict justice, and whoever sins before the One Who brings all of reality into being deserves immense punishment. This is not like angering a father, a rabbi, or a king; it is on an entirely different plane, and carries an entirely different punishment.
הֲיִרְצֶה יְהֹוָה בְּאַלְפֵי אֵילִים בְּרִבְבוֹת נַחֲלֵי שָׁמֶן הַאֶתֵּן בְּכוֹרִי פִּשְׁעִי פְּרִי בִטְנִי חַטַּאת נַפְשִׁי׃ - "Will Hashem be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriads of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"
Corresponding to "With what shall I come before Hashem," he says: perhaps even thousands of rams, which are larger and superior to yearling calves, and tens of thousands of rivers of oil to pour out as libations upon the burnt-offerings - yet all of this is not enough. And corresponding to "shall I bow before the God on high," he asks: "Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression?" - corresponding to pesha (transgression), which is an intentional, rebellious sin, should I have to give my firstborn son, the most precious thing to me? And corresponding to "the sin of my soul," which is an unintentional sin and less severe, is "the fruit of my body" enough, meaning the rest of the children who are not the firstborn? Would I atone through this?
הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם מַה טּוֹב וּמָה יְהֹוָה דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ כִּי אִם עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם אֱלֹהֶיךָ׃ - He has told you, O man, what is good, and what Hashem requires of you: only to do justice, to love loving-kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.
At first glance, this is difficult: does one need to hear from a man what is good? Rashi offers a wonderful explanation, based on the disjunctive cantillation mark on the word lach ("to you"): "He has told you" - who told you? The Holy One, blessed be He. "O man, what is good" - the Holy One, blessed be He, says to you: O man, I am letting you know what is good for you to do. And what is good for you? "To walk humbly with your God," as Targum Yonatan translates: "Be humble in walking in the fear of your God."
Another explanation of "walk humbly": The attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like the attribute of flesh and blood. The way of flesh and blood is that when a person insults his fellow and comes to appease him, the injured party says: "I will not forgive you until so-and-so and so-and-so, before whom you insulted me, are present. You shamed me in front of everyone? Wait until they gather, and then ask for forgiveness before their eyes." But the Holy One, blessed be He, desires only that you "walk humbly": repent between yourself and Him, and that is sufficient. He does not ask that you make amends publicly just as you caused harm publicly; you confess in a whisper and ask for forgiveness in secret, and the Holy One, blessed be He, says: that is enough.
Radak explains that this verse is the response to man's question, "Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression?" - Master of the Universe, with what can I be cleansed of my sins? The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I do not desire burnt-offerings. "And what does Hashem require of you, only to do justice and to love loving-kindness," as Shmuel said to Shaul: "Behold, to obey is better than a sacrifice, to listen than the fat of rams." Radak explains that "doing justice" includes all mitzvot between man and his fellow, such as monetary damages and the like - "And these are the ordinances (mishpatim) which you shall set before them," which are monetary laws; and it also includes the prohibitions against forbidden relations (arayot) - "You shall perform My ordinances (mishpatai)," immediately followed by "The nakedness of your father and the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover." Thus, "doing justice" encompasses meticulous care in financial matters and in matters of personal sanctity. "Loving loving-kindness" is an even higher level: justice is what I am obligated to do - if I must pay, I will pay; chesed is to give even when I am not obligated, to do more than what is strictly required.
"And walk humbly with Hashem your God" means to love Hashem with all your heart and with all your soul. And why is it called "humbly" (hatzne'a, modestly and discreetly)? Because these are hidden matters, matters entrusted to the heart. No one knows how deeply his fellow is attached to Hashem, blessed be He.
It was told of Rav Shteinman that people would observe him in various situations, during medical examinations and in hospitals, moving his fingers, opening and closing his hand. Those close to him asked what he was doing, and he explained: when I touch my thumb to my pinky - the pinky is the smallest finger, corresponding to the smallest letter, Yud; then I open my hand - five fingers, corresponding to Hei; then I extend the long finger, which resembles a Vav; and then I open my hand again - Hei. When he was unable to learn or concentrate on anything else, he fulfilled the verse, "I have set Hashem before me always."
And with the Beit Yosef, even more was revealed to us. It is told that one night the angelic Maggid did not appear to him. The next day he asked him what had happened, and the angel replied: "Yesterday you walked through the marketplace and lifted your foot to take a step, and at that very moment your thoughts drifted from the unity of God - therefore, you were not worthy that day for a Maggid to be revealed to you." From this story we learn how intimately he was bound to the Master of the Universe: he would not lift a hand or a foot without thinking of the Holy One, blessed be He. From this we can understand that one does not attain such a stature by chance, to become the teacher of all Israel and the halachic authority whose rulings are universally followed; there were other great luminaries in his generation, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, chose him specifically - because these are exalted, lofty virtues that exist in modesty and concealment, and it is impossible for others to truly recognize them as they are.
The Gaon Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was once asked: In the past there were hidden righteous individuals (tzaddikim nistarim) - Chaikele the wagon driver, in whose possession sacks full of Kabbalistic writings on lofty matters were later found; a carpenter or a water carrier who turned out to have mastered the entire Shas, and whenever someone entered he would close the book so people would not think he was learning, deliberately cultivating an image of simple folk. Where are such tzaddikim today? He answered them: There are none. They asked him: But in every generation there are thirty-six hidden tzaddikim! He told them: Know that in our generation, the revealed tzaddikim are also the hidden ones. They asked: How so? After all, they are revealed! He said: You never truly know how righteous someone really is. When does one see it? After their passing, when stories are heard and things come to light that were never appreciated, revealing a stature no one realized existed - it turns out that he revealed a handbreadth while concealing two thousand. Thus, the revealed tzaddik is also the hidden one. And this is "walk humbly with your God": to what extent a person is truly "with your God" is a modest matter, entrusted to the heart, and not visible on the outside.
Chazal expound: "To do justice" - this refers to the laws of justice; "and to love kindness" - this refers to acts of loving-kindness; "and to walk humbly with your God" - this refers to accompanying the deceased to burial and escorting a bride to the chuppah. And at first glance, this is puzzling: a funeral conducted in modesty and privacy? There are posters announcing it all over the city! Escorting a bride? People send out invitations, and announce it in the newspaper for anyone who did not receive one. Where is walking humbly here?
If we speak of the funeral of Rav Shteinman, that is indeed what he requested: only ten men, without loudspeakers, and without publicity. Speaking of loudspeakers, someone once came to inquire how much it costs to announce the passing of his relative via a loudspeaker truck throughout the city. They asked him: "With shoko or without shoko?" He said, "What is shoko, a children's summer camp?" The driver replied: "If the announcement opens with poetic lamentation flourishes - 'Sha'aku hashemesh batzohorayim' ('the sun has darkened at midday'), the funeral of the righteous rabbi - that is one price; without 'shoko,' it is a different price."
Rather, the Midrash explains: this is an a fortiori argument. If regarding matters that are not usually conducted in private, the Torah said "and to walk humbly" - then regarding matters that are typically done in private, all the more so! That is to say, even in public affairs, modesty and unassuming conduct are cherished before Hashem, and how much more so in matters that by their very nature are performed out of sight.
And escorting a bride is a wonderful example of this. We are familiar with the reality: someone marries off his son or daughter, and he does not merely hold a wedding, he produces an event - hiring an event producer, with all the cutting-edge pyrotechnics, to stage the "event of the year." Someone once related that from the bar mitzvah of his eldest son, he remained in debt for four years, whereas with the subsequent children he had already adopted a much calmer approach. Whom are you trying to impress? Whose eyes are you trying to dazzle with ostentation? Make a reasonable, beautiful, and pleasant event. It is not forbidden, of course; there are those who can provide lavishly, just as Rivkah received fine jewelry from Eliezer's hand, which was certainly substantial. And there are circumstances that genuinely call for a dignified venue to honor distinguished guests. But to do so in an ostentatious, showy manner - what does that accomplish? "And to walk humbly with your God" applies to this as well.
The Malbim explains that this verse clarifies what was stated above: "and how have I wearied you?" - did I exhaust you with mitzvos? To this, the verse says: remember now what Balak advised and what Bilam answered him. Bilam answered that it is better in Hashem's eyes specifically to bless them, for divine providence is intimately attached to Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, does not abandon them. Because of this, Bilam advised causing them to sin, as the God of these people detests immorality, and he ensnared them through the daughters of Moav so that divine providence would depart from them. For as long as divine providence is with them, no one can prevail over them; but "lest He see an unseemly thing in you and turn away from following you," and if divine providence departs, it will become possible to overcome them. And the Holy One, blessed be He, says: from this itself you can see that I did not weary you, but on the contrary, I had pity and mercy upon you even then.
And here the Malbim presents the proof: "From Shittim unto Gilgal." Seemingly, Shittim and Gilgal are two distinct places, and the narrative of Balak and Bilam did not extend from Shittim to Gilgal. Rather, says the Malbim, the text should be read sequentially: "From Shittim unto Gilgal... He has told you, O man, what is good," while the verses "With what shall I come before Hashem..." and "Will Hashem be pleased with thousands of rams..." serve as a parenthetical statement in the middle.
The matter is as follows: after the people of Israel sinned at Shittim, they repented and sought to know how Hashem would grant them atonement, and with what He would be appeased to pardon transgression and put an end to sin. They thought that appeasement required massive sacrifices, and perhaps even "Shall I give my firstborn," "the fruit of my body" - to offer up the firstborn before Hashem for atonement. To this, the answer arrives: "From Shittim unto Gilgal - He has told you, O man, what is good." During that period, from Shittim until Gilgal, Moshe Rabbeinu taught us what Hashem requires of us, and that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not demand sacrifices in order to atone, but rather to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly.
And who was the one who taught? Here the Malbim offers an innovative insight: the period during which Moshe engaged in expounding the Torah was from Shittim until Gilgal - these were the days in which he taught them Sefer Devarim, Mishneh Torah, which Moshe stated of his own accord (certainly all in accordance with Hashem's command), writing this review of the Torah for them. Whoever examines it will see that Moshe Rabbeinu teaches us what is good. Rav Shach would always say that for him, the best mussar book was reading the Chumash of Devarim. It is a book of rebuke, in which he demonstrates to them that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not demand burdensome labors, sacrifices, and slaughterings - after all, sacrifices are scarcely mentioned in Mishneh Torah - but rather that you do justice and perform loving-kindness.
"Unto Gilgal" - until they reached Gilgal, where Moshe parted from them and Yehoshua brought them into the Land. There at Gilgal miracles were performed for them: the Jordan split and rose up to the heavens, Israel crossed on dry ground, and they saw that the Holy One, blessed be He, returned to accompany them; and there Hashem spoke to Yehoshua, commanding the observance of the Torah and mitzvos. Scripture was precise in saying "unto Gilgal": until Gilgal I did not weary you with arduous work, but at Gilgal there was indeed demanding work - there they were commanded to circumcise, "and circumcise the children of Israel again, at Givat HaAralot" (as discussed in the lessons on Sefer Yehoshua), and there they were commanded to offer the Korban Pesach. For the entire time they were in the wilderness they did not offer the Korban Pesach, because the north wind did not blow for them, which has the power to disperse the clouds and heal the circumcised; therefore they remained uncircumcised, and "no uncircumcised male shall eat of it." These two matters - circumcision and the Pesach offering - are demanding labors. But "from Shittim unto Gilgal" I did not ask anything burdensome of you, but rather "to do justice and to love kindness." "That you may know the righteous acts of Hashem" - through this you will recognize the righteousness of Hashem, that He does not burden a person, does not demand grueling labors of him, and does not weary him.
The Malbim adds: see what He told you. One is "what is good" - what is good for you by virtue of being human, namely the mitzvos between man and his fellow, which are beneficial for a person so that he may lead a proper life. And in truth, one who observes sees that anyone whose conduct toward his fellow man is good enjoys a good life, while one who is negative toward his fellow man leads a miserable life. There are no shortcuts here: man is a social creature, "communal" in the terminology of the early sages, inherently tied to his environment. A positive person receives positive feedback from his surroundings - from his wife and children in his home, from work, from neighbors, and from everyone with whom he comes in contact; while a negative person receives negative feedback, and suffers directly from his own conduct. Every time he causes harm, inflicts pain, or acts unfairly, ultimately the one who suffers the blow is himself. And the second is "and what Hashem requires of you" - these are the mitzvos between man and God, to fulfill the will of Hashem.
Corresponding to "what is good" in the realm of interpersonal relations: "to do justice." Law and justice preserve the order of social life; this is why even the descendants of Noah were commanded to establish courts of law - one of the Seven Noahide Laws - for without it, people would swallow one another alive. When there are judges and an active legal system, the rule of "might makes right" cannot prevail. Even in places where the legal system is not purely just, it is still far better than chaos. Look at what happened in Iraq before the fall of Saddam: it was certainly not good, under a tyrannical, megalomaniacal, and deranged ruler. But when people said, "let us dismantle everything" - today it is seven times worse. At least there was a ruler keeping the population in check, someone maintaining order and quiet so life could function. Today people there live in daily terror: which marketplace will blow up, which car will explode near a mosque, Sunnis against Shiites, Shiites against Sunnis, terrorists, and no one knows who is fighting whom. Thus, even a megalomaniacal ruler is preferable, provided there is order. We see, then, that even a gentile is required to establish justice. Law ensures there is no extortion, robbery, or corruption, and a person knows that if he commits a crime, he will be punished and held accountable. Therefore, the last thing to ever abandon is the legal system, and the first requirement for a sound society is "to do justice."
And the next element: "and to love kindness." A society cannot be built on strict justice alone; a healthy society is one that contains kindness, acting beyond the strict requirement of the law, helping and supporting those who lack the means. We find this modeled by King David, who performed "justice and charity." What did this mean? A poor man and a rich man would come before him, and the poor man aroused pity: "I deserve it, I am destitute, nothing will happen to the wealthy man if he pulls another two hundred shekels out of his pocket." But that would be a perversion of justice, and the Torah warns: "You shall not show favoritism in judgment." David would rule strictly according to the law, and if the poor man was found liable, he was obligated to pay. But from where would he pay? David would go and give him the money out of his own pocket so he could pay. That is justice and charity: first justice - the fact that you are poor is no reason for the rich man to suffer a loss, and the fact that he has plenty is no reason to unlawfully take from him; and then charity. However, David feared this opened the door to deceit: two people might pose as a poor man and a rich man, come to court, David would rule against the "poor man" according to law and give him the money from his pocket to pay - yet the entire trial would be a sham, merely a scheme to extract money from him. Therefore, he prayed: "Do not leave me to my oppressors" - Master of the Universe, I love charity and justice, but deliver me from schemers who come to exploit my charity and extract money unlawfully.
We learn from this: justice alone is not enough, there must be kindness. And not merely kindness, but "the love of kindness." For one who performs an act of kindness as a one-off soon runs out of energy; but one who possesses a genuine love of kindness does it again and again, ensuring that the kindness endures and remains constant.
And corresponding to "and what Hashem requires of you," it states: "and to walk humbly with your God." The requirement to walk with your God, just as "Noah walked with God" - this is what Hashem demands of you. To be closely bound to the Holy One, Blessed be He: this is the root of all the mitzvot between man and God. A person must walk with God, in God's ways, with the Holy One, Blessed be He, accompanying him at every single step. When one fulfills the will of the Omnipresent, one is with Hashem his God: "And you shall be holy, for I am holy." And this must be done humbly, for these matters are strictly between you and your Creator, and in them, discretion and humility are required.
Why is humility specifically required? The Malbim explains: so that one does not become arrogant in philosophical inquiries into the Divine, nor attempt to outsmart His commandments, but rather walk modestly and humbly with his God. In earlier times, the method to attain knowledge of God was through philosophical inquiry: people investigated, scrutinized, and sought philosophical proofs for God's existence. Yet this carries great danger, as someone who delves into philosophy can easily be led to erroneous conclusions. The Ya'avetz (Rabbi Yaakov Emden) already wrote that during the period of the Inquisition, those who simply gave their lives in martyrdom for Kiddush Hashem were the common folk; whereas the sophisticated intellectuals and philosophers, those who supposedly had achieved deep insights into the Divine reality, were precisely the ones among whom were the forced converts, may God have mercy. One whose faith is simple and wholehearted does not overcalculate or try to be overly clever, and that is the highest level; but once one begins philosophizing and calculating, who knows where one will end up.
Furthermore: when a person is the opposite of "humble," when he feels that he is "somebody," he begins evaluating on his own whether it is appropriate to fulfill the mitzvah right now. He weighs everything on the scales of his own intellect and makes his own decisions, lacking any sense of self-nullification before God. When a person possesses true humility and nullification before the Holy One, Blessed be He, he merits complete attachment; but when he lacks this nullification, he arrives at all kinds of doubts, philosophical inquiries, and troubling thoughts. Therefore, what does Hashem ask of you? "And to walk humbly" - to walk with Him in simplicity, purity, and modesty.
Rabbi Raphael of Bershad, in his advanced old age, was once asked: "By what virtue did you merit long life?" He replied: "All my days, I never questioned or raised objections against the conduct of the Creator of the Universe. Whatever Hashem did, I always said: 'Thank You, Master of the Universe; whatever Father does is for the best.'" He then added: "I also advise you not to challenge or ask questions about the Holy One, Blessed be He, for when someone asks questions, the Holy One, Blessed be He, calls him up to Heaven to give him the answers. I did not ask, so they left me here."
A person must realize: "You shall be wholehearted with Hashem your God." You do not understand? If you understood everything Hashem does, you would be the Master of the Universe! The very fact that I do not understand shows that there remains an infinite distance between us and the Holy One, Blessed be He. As in the words of Rav Saadia Gaon, the ultimate pinnacle of knowledge is knowing that we do not know. When a person reaches the limits of his knowledge and thinks, "I now understand," he suddenly begins to realize just how much he does not know. The one who believes he understands is the one who truly does not understand. Look at a person in the street who says, "Rabbi, I have studied!" yet the opening mishna of Bava Metzia is all he knows, and there he stopped, yet he is certain he is learned. In contrast, take a great Torah scholar and ask him: "Have you studied?" He will tell you: "What have I studied? There is an entire library here, and what do I know of it?" A truly great person knows how much he does not know.
This is also true regarding the esoteric secrets of the Torah: whoever talks does not know, and whoever knows does not talk. All those who speak publicly about matters of Kabbalah do not truly know, while those who know remain silent. Who has ever heard Rav Mutzafi speaking publicly on matters of Kabbalah and secret wisdom? He has a yeshivah, and within the yeshivah to select students, yes; but one who truly knows does not talk openly. In contrast, nowadays everyone opens a class on Kabbalah and mystical secrets, and some even teach it to women, with "Zohar circles" and the like, may God have mercy. One who does not know babbles endlessly; one who truly knows seals his lips and does not speak.
There is an explanation offered by the author of *Misgeret HaSha'ar*: Many times a person finds himself in a dilemma, not knowing what is the good and proper thing to do, what the appropriate conduct is, and what the correct path is. At times this occurs even between one mitzvah and another: which mitzvah takes priority right now, which celebration to attend, whether to go to a house of mourning or a house of rejoicing, or whether to close the Gemara now and go, or remain learning.
A story is told of someone who asked Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach about attending a relative's wedding - how long should he stay, given that it comes at the expense of seder shelishi and he would miss evening kollel? The Rav told him: At your age, I did not go to celebrations, and because of that, today at my age, it is enough for me to arrive at a celebration for twenty seconds and I have already brought them joy, and I can go home. That was his advice: in your younger years, be diligent in your learning, and when you grow older you can come for half a minute and leave. After all, when Rav Shlomo Zalman arrived at a wedding, danced with the chatan, people sang for him, and he left after half a minute - that was enough. No one expected him to sit for two hours and eat a quarter chicken.
Where does the difficulty in making a decision lie? In the fact that the person who must make the decision is oneself, and a person is inherently biased. At times, one has a desire to go to a celebration because he prefers it over something else, and at other times, he leans toward staying away. There is a story of a neighbor pulling an envelope out of the mailbox and remarking, "Look, I received a fine." Upon looking, it was an invitation to a wedding. For some people, an invitation is effectively a four-hundred-shekel fine, each according to his situation.
So what is the advice? "He has told you, O man, what is good" - do not decide on your own, because you are personally biased. This is why Chazal said, "Make for yourself a rav" - so that you remove yourself from doubt. But what if one does not have a rav readily available? Can someone walk around with a rav attached to his side all day? We know of the Brisker Rav, who possessed tremendous trepidation regarding issuing halachic rulings, and would send every question to Rav Zelig, the dayan of Brisk. Once, someone remarked to him cynically and with a bit of chutzpah, "The Rav needs Rav Zelig in his pocket to answer questions" - as if to imply that the Rav was not on top of the material. The Rav immediately began laying out the entire sugya in detail, citing everything said on the matter until he reached the final halachic conclusion with him - as if to say: I am in awe and fearful of issuing halachic rulings, which is why I send you to him, but do not think for a moment that the Rav does not know.
The takeaway from this is that one does not always need a prominent rav. Sometimes it is enough to turn to a sensible person, a ben Torah, who can listen to the question and decide for you, and in this regard he is better suited than you are. And if you say, "But I understand more than he does" - true, he may not have your level of learning, but he has one decisive advantage: he is not personally biased. When you are in a dilemma, you have an interest one way or the other, whereas he is objective. "He has told you, O man, what is good" - do you want to know what is good? Ask another person.
And what if there is no one around to ask at the moment? As discussed regarding Megillat Ruth on the verse, "And she saw that she was determined to go" - the Vilna Gaon explains: see which of the two options you are more naturally drawn to, and do the exact opposite. Why? Because naturally, we are drawn to the yetzer hara and not to the yetzer hatov. The yetzer hatov arrives only at age thirteen, whereas the yetzer hara is already "built in" from the moment a person leaves his mother's womb, an old companion. "The inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth," and "Man is born a wild ass's colt" - a person is born an untamed creature, and from that raw material he must cultivate a refined human being. Therefore, when you do not know what to do, your natural inclination is most likely pulling toward the yetzer - so do the opposite.
And how is a person tested? Aharon HaKohen could not be tested "in his cup" [kos], for kohanim are cautioned not to drink wine while serving; nor could he be tested "in his pocket" [kis], for he had no private estates, sustaining himself entirely from what he was given. That left testing him "in his anger" [ka'as]: complain against him and provoke him - and you will see that he does not become angry. Through this, you know who Aharon is and what his greatness entails. The same applies to our matter: the true test of "walking humbly with your God" is in accompanying the dead and bringing a bride to the chuppah, for it is there that one is tested to see whether he behaves with modesty and restraint - not only at a funeral, but also at celebrations, ensuring he does not make lavish celebrations beyond his means, but conducts even these with modesty.
By way of homiletic allusion: the Gemara states that concerning any person who possesses arrogance, the Holy One, Blessed be He, says, "He and I cannot dwell together in the world." Why? Because an arrogant person occupies space, and in doing so he pushes away the presence of the Shechinah, for "the whole earth is full of His glory," yet in his arrogance he claims that space for himself. This is the meaning of "and walk humbly with your God": one who conducts himself with humility and modesty merits to be together with the Holy One, Blessed be He, as he leaves room for Him; but one who acts with pride is not "with your God," but distances himself from the Almighty.
Another explanation: "With your God [Elokecha]" - the name Elokim denotes the attribute of strict justice [Middat HaDin]. One who conducts himself with modesty and humility merits that the Holy One, Blessed be He, remains with him even when He sits upon the throne of judgment, and will not forsake him. Why? Just as you act with lovingkindness and go beyond the letter of the law, as we saw regarding "loving kindness," so too the Holy One, Blessed be He, says: I will also treat you beyond the strict letter of the law. "And walk humbly" - if you conduct yourself with modesty and humility, then even when I act toward you as "Elokecha" [in strict judgment], I am still "with you."
The Holy One, Blessed be He, contends with Israel: Remember the counsel of Balak and the answer of Bilam, and remember what I did for you from Shittim to Gilgal - that even after you sinned, I did not withhold lovingkindness from you, and I sustained you until I brought you into the Land. Israel, in their remorse, ask how they may atone: with burnt offerings? With thousands of rams? Perhaps with one's firstborn and the fruit of one's body? To this comes the prophet's reply: "He has told you, O man, what is good" - the Holy One, Blessed be He, has already made it known to you, and Moshe Rabbeinu taught you in Mishneh Torah from Shittim to Gilgal that Hashem does not demand from you burdensome labors or endless sacrifices, but rather three things: doing justice - the foundation of a sound social order; loving kindness - consistency in doing good beyond the letter of the law; and walking humbly with your God - an inward and modest devotion, in sincerity, free of arrogance and overcomplication. And one who walks this path merits that the Holy One, Blessed be He, walks with him even in a time of judgment.