In the previous section we worked through the first explanation of the Mishnah's words, "Be exceedingly humble of spirit before every man": every person has his own particular quality and uniqueness, and therefore no one has anything to feel superior about. Now we turn to the second explanation, the one the Alter Rebbe gives here in Tanya, which is built on the teaching of our Sages, "Do not judge your fellow until you have reached his place." There are two differences between the two explanations.
The two differences between the explanations:
The feeling a person is left with: According to the first explanation, the conclusion does not bring a person to lowliness or to a depressed state of mind. He feels fine about himself; he simply has nothing to be arrogant about. I have my quality and he has his, I complete him and he completes me, and together we form one whole picture. According to the explanation of "Do not judge your fellow until you have reached his place," however, and especially according to the continuation of the chapter, from which it emerges that a person is not merely equal to his fellow but actually lower than him, a person receives a real "rubbing down," a bittush, genuine lowliness: with all your fine qualities, the lowest of the low has a quality greater than yours. This is not a pleasant feeling, but that is precisely the Alter Rebbe's goal here in Tanya.
The scope of the explanation: The first explanation, that each person completes his fellow, applies only within the Jewish people, for all of Israel are one complete structure, one body, and the souls of Israel are one single entity. That is why it makes sense to say that one completes the other. But facing a non-Jew, however fine he may be, a person cannot feel this way, since he is not of that same essence. The contemplation of "Do not judge your fellow until you have reached his place," however, do not look down at him, who knows what situation he is in, perhaps he even has qualities that surpass yours, applies to a non-Jew as well.
And we already learned in chapter 29 that a person must feel lowly even in relation to animals and to creeping things, so how much more so can he feel this way facing a non-Jew. Nor does one need to search specifically for a non-Jew who is of the lowest of the low, for there are non-Jews whose standing is fine, such as Dama ben Nesina in the well known story about honoring one's father.
"Adam" and "ha'adam":
Tosafos in tractate Yevamos explains that wherever the term "adam" (man) is used, the reference is to Israel alone, whereas "ha'adam" (the man) includes everyone, even the nations of the world. The basis for this is in the Gemara, that the grave of a non-Jew does not convey impurity in a tent, unlike the grave of a Jew. This is derived from the verse "Adam ki yamus be'ohel" ("When a man dies in a tent"): "You are called adam, and the nations of the world are not called adam." On this Tosafos notes that this applies only where the term "adam" appears, but "ha'adam" includes even a non-Jew.
From here we see the precision in the wording of Tanya. In the Mishnah in Avos, and likewise in the wording the Alter Rebbe uses in his Siddur, it says "Be exceedingly humble of spirit before every man (kol adam)." There the subject is good advice for a Jew, that he should not feel above another Jew, but should recognize that just as he has qualities, so too does his fellow, and from this he will come to feel lowly even before someone who appears to him to be beneath him. But here in Tanya the Alter Rebbe wants to go one step further and lead a person to real bittush and lowliness, not because his fellow completes him (for that would never bring him to lowliness, since he completes his fellow just as much), but because his fellow, with all his failings, has qualities that surpass his own. Such contemplation applies to a non-Jew as well, as we will see in the continuation of the chapter, and therefore he wrote precisely "Be exceedingly humble of spirit before kol ha'adam", with the definite article, in order to widen the scope to include the nations of the world.
"He is called the lowest of the low if he sins":
At first glance, if we have said about this man that his "place causes" him to sin, and that his soul burns within him like a baker's oven, why is he called the lowest of the low? He has every reason in the world to be in the situation he is in. On this the Alter Rebbe writes: "והנה באמת גם מי שהוא מחומם מאוד בטבעו ופרנסתו היא להיות מיושבי קרנות כל היום - קל שבקלים ייקרא אם יחטא, כי אין לו שום התנצלות על חטאיו, ונקרא רשע גמור על אשר אין פחד אלוקים לנגד עיניו, שהיה לו להתאפק ולמשול על רוח תאוותו שבליבו מפני פחד ה' הרואה כל מעשיו, כמו שנתבאר לעיל כי המוח שליט על הלב בתולדתו" ("In truth, even one whose nature is extremely passionate, and whose livelihood requires him to sit at street corners all day long, is called the lowest of the low if he sins, for he has no excuse whatsoever for his sins, and he is called a complete rasha because the fear of G-d is not before his eyes. He should have restrained himself and ruled over the spirit of desire in his heart out of fear of G-d, who sees all his deeds, as was explained earlier, that the mind rules over the heart by its very nature") (chapter 12).
There are two sides here, and they must not be confused with one another:
The one looking on from the side: He must say, I have grounds to judge him favorably. I am not in that situation, and who knows whether I would not have fallen too had I been in his place.
The man himself: He must not say, "So many good reasons are being counted in my favor, I may as well continue on my way." Just the opposite: if he was placed in such a situation, that is a sign that he has the strength to overcome it, for otherwise he would not have been placed there. And if he did not overcome it, he has no excuse whatsoever for his sins and he is called a complete rasha. He cannot say "I couldn't." Difficult, yes, but not in the category of impossible.
There was a Jewish young man who wanted to marry a non-Jewish woman. Rabbis spoke with him, explained, frightened him with the punishments of Gehinnom, but it was hard for him to break off the relationship, and he was already close to the wedding. The shliach who was in touch with him said: travel to the Rebbe, ask for a brachah and advice, and then we'll see. He passed by the Rebbe during the distribution of dollars and managed to squeeze in a few words, that he had a non-Jewish girlfriend and did not know how to end it. The Rebbe answered him: "I envy you," that you have such strength and power to overcome such a situation, and the Aibershter gave you that strength. That one sentence, which he had heard from no one else (he had heard only threats), is what brought him to an immediate decision to break off the relationship. This is "Be exceedingly humble of spirit before kol ha'adam": contemplating the tremendous soul powers hidden in that very person precisely because of the situation he is in.
"A great and mighty battle":
The Alter Rebbe continues: "והנה באמת היא מלחמה גדולה ועצומה לשבור היצר הבוער כאש להבה מפני פחד ה'" ("And in truth it is a great and mighty battle to break the yetzer that burns like a flaming fire, out of fear of G-d"). A person out in the marketplace, whose eyes see every desire, who is called upon to stand firm against the enticements of a heart burning like fire, is engaged in a great and mighty battle, in a genuine test.
It is told of the tzaddik Reb Dovid of Lelov that he once arrived late to a city. When they asked what had delayed him, he recounted that he had passed through a forest and entered a certain house, and there he saw such yiras Shamayim in a Jew that he could not tear himself away from contemplating it. And what did he see? A young fellow standing with an axe in his hand, his father lying on the bed beside him, and the son saying to his father: "I would like to take this and kill you right now, and I simply fear the Aibershter and cannot do it." This man is the lowest of the low, standing with an axe and wanting to murder his own father. And what stops him? Yiras Shamayim, the knowledge that the Aibershter is looking at him and sees his deeds. And Reb Dovid, a complete tzaddik with a following of chassidim, was overwhelmed by the fear of Heaven of this Jew who was in the most degraded state imaginable.
From here the Alter Rebbe turns the gaze onto the person himself: "ולהכי צריך כל אדם לפי מה שהוא מקומו ומדרגתו בעבודת ה' לשקול ולבחון בעצמו אם הוא עובד ה' בערך ובחינת מלחמה עצומה כזו וניסיון כזה" ("Therefore every person, according to his place and level in the service of G-d, must weigh and examine himself, whether he serves G-d on the level and in the category of such a mighty battle and such a test"). Every person, on whatever level he finds himself, even if he is upright and good, learns and davens, is required to make a cheshbon hanefesh: am I engaged in a struggle on the scale of that lowest of the low? For when that lowest of the low succeeds and does not fall, he has withstood a mighty battle. And you? Perhaps you learn and daven because that is how you were raised, how you grew up, that is your environment and that is what is comfortable for you, and you have never tasted the taste of battle, of difficulty, of victory.
And if a person says that he is not faced with the struggles of serious sins, in that he is right: his battle in "turn away from evil" is not like his fellow's. But in "do good" he must examine himself: to cross the threshold of habit, to add beyond what he is used to, to rise and increase in good. That too is a hard battle.
The example from the avodah of tefillah:
The Alter Rebbe goes on to bring examples from tefillah, from Torah and from tzedakah, the first of them being: "כגון בעבודת התפילה בכוונה, לשפוך נפשו לפני ה' בכל כוחו ממש עד מיצוי הנפש" ("such as in the avodah of prayer with kavanah, to pour out his soul before G-d with literally all his strength, to the point of the soul's expiring"). We are speaking of a Jew who davens three times a day, is careful to daven with a minyan, does not talk in the middle of davening and learns before davening. On the face of it, everything is in order. Even so, he must examine himself: is his davening more than mere words, does it have content, chayus, inner life, to the point of the soul's expiring, so that he emerges from davening completely wrung out from the intensity of his kavanah? And is he even somewhat approaching that?
He continues: "ולהילחם עם גופו ונפשו הבהמית שבו המונעת הכוונה, ולבטשם ולכתתם כעפר קודם התפילה שחרית וערבית מדי יום ביום" ("and to wage war with his body and with the nefesh habahamis within him that obstructs his kavanah, and to crush and grind them like dust before prayer, morning and evening, day after day"). It is the nefesh habahamis, the animal soul, that prevents a person from davening with kavanah, and he must wage war against it, labor in a mighty battle and crush it like dust. Even the preparation that precedes davening, learning and contemplating the greatness of the Creator, demands effort.
Why does the Alter Rebbe specify "morning and evening" and skip Minchah? An interesting explanation is said in the name of the mashpia Reb Mendel Futerfas: the very act of going to Minchah is itself a great breaking of the nefesh habahamis. Shacharis a person can daven before he leaves for work, and Maariv at the last minyan of the night, but Minchah forces him to shut everything down in the middle of the day and run to daven. That is why he does not bring it as an example of the breaking that precedes davening.
"וגם בשעת התפילה לייגע עצמו ביגיעת נפש ויגיעת בשר, כמו שכתוב לקמן באריכות" ("and also during prayer itself, to exert himself with toil of the soul and toil of the flesh, as is explained at length further on"). In chapter 42 the Alter Rebbe will elaborate on the inner exertion that tefillah demands. And the question rests on every person: am I engaged in that exertion?
"וכל שלא הגיע למידה זו להילחם עם גופו מלחמה עצומה כזו - עדיין לא הגיע לבחינת וערך מלחמת היצר הבוער כאש להבה להיות נכנע ונשבר מפני פחד ה'" ("And whoever has not attained this measure, to wage such a mighty battle with his body, has not yet reached the category and level of the battle against the yetzer that burns like a flaming fire, that it be subdued and broken out of fear of G-d"). One who has not grappled with his own situation in genuine battle has not even reached the level of the struggle of that idler at the street corner, who is also contending with great difficulty.
This is "Do not judge your fellow until you have reached his place." In the first stage we learned not to feel above him. At this stage it becomes clear that you are on exactly the same level as he is: he stands against the temptations and difficulties of "turn away from evil," and you stand against the difficulties of "do good." Each with his own portion, he in his battle and you in yours. And if you look at him as the lowest of the low who failed his test, look at yourself: are you withstanding your own tests? And if you are, then you still have nothing to feel great about over him.
In summary: In this section we learned the two differences between the first explanation of "Be exceedingly humble of spirit before kol ha'adam" and the explanation given in Tanya, which is based on "Do not judge your fellow until you have reached his place." The explanation in Tanya brings a person to bittush and lowliness, and it applies even toward the nations of the world, hence the precise wording "kol ha'adam" with the definite article, as Tosafos in Yevamos explains. We also learned that the lowest of the low is himself called a complete rasha if he sins, since he should have restrained himself and ruled over his heart out of fear of G-d, while the one looking on from the side judges him favorably. And finally, every person is required to weigh and examine himself, whether his avodah is carried out with such a mighty battle, as in the avodah of tefillah with kavanah, to the point of the soul's expiring, with toil of the soul and toil of the flesh. This bittush is exceedingly important, for when a person senses himself in the precise place where he ought to sense himself, his avodas Hashem becomes easier.
In the next section we will continue with the further examples the Alter Rebbe brings from the avodah of Torah and tzedakah, and then move on to his clarification of a person's inner emotional state.