I’m A Really Smart Guy

We are up to the last paragraph on page kuf tes vav, ve'omnam. The Ramchal had just explained to us that even someone that has a lot of chochma, if you know, that that that chochma should not cause him to be about gaiva, because as as great of a chacham as you are, you'll always be able to find someone who's more chacham than you. And you have so much to learn, and even from our talmidim, and even from people that maybe on the surface we don't consider to be as great chachamim as we are, but they have so much to contribute and so much to teach us. So there's no real makom for this like yubris, for this like sense of gaiva, of arrogance, about our chochma, because we so we have so much to learn from other people. Then he talks about, so how does a ba'al seichel relate to his chochma? Ve'omnam, mishu ba'al seichel yosher, someone who has a straight mind, his mind, he knows how to think clearly and and and in a in a derech hayosher, afilu im zacha li'as chacham gadol umufla be'emes, even if he was zoicha, because Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave him such a good seichel, he was zoicha to really become a big gadol, umuflo, mufla means like unusual, like like like more than the norm, be'emes, truthfully, but how uh so you think that person that became such a big chacham, that person whose chochma is like over the top, so k'she'yistakel v'yisbonen, when he uh when he looks at the inyan and he thinks about it, yireh she'ein makom l'gaiva v'yistaseis, he'll see that there's no place for gaiva and for considering himself higher than other people. Why is this? It's fine like for us like we don't have this Messiah you know? You know how the way we had we had a lot of comfort. But someone who comes you know who walks into the base measures and he knows shots and he knows twice again he knows or even someone in the secular world that's like knows that you know there are people that just carry within them massive amounts of information. You can understand that there's a certain like look at me. Look at I have. You know I can quote from anywhere and I can explain anything and I understand everything you know there's a certain feeling of greatness. So the Messiah Shaman reminds that person. Someone who's about say and therefore knows more than other people he's only doing what is his nature to do. He's doing what's in his nature. You know he was I should made him very smart so he's very smart. You know? Someone who's very athletic does very well on the ball field. Someone who's very smart does very well in the base measures. Like don't let it get to your head. I should made you smart to do thank you I should. And he says Kaf is like a bird Shmagbia loaf that lifts itself up to fly with you should be the guy. What do you do? You go outside and you see a bird flying. You're like wow it's amazing he could fly. That's crazy I can't fly and the bird could fly the bird must be such a bad guy but then it's able to fly. Of course not. The bird could fly cuz I should gave it wings and made it nature to fly and I can't fly cuz I should didn't give me wings and I don't have that nature. He said someone who has unusual comfort I should gave you wings. Be happy that Hashem gave you those wings, but don't be a baal gaiva about it. You got the wings. You're able to fly. That Hashem >> And if you take tonight like your own like quality, it's just from Hashem. >> Exactly. Exactly. And the truth is the truth is that there is a makom for a person to feel proud that he applied himself. I worked hard. There are people very, very smart. They didn't work as hard as me. I don't remember clearly if later on in this perek he he talks about this. But the the emes is that even the quality of working hard is a quality Hashem gave you. No? Some people can sit for longer and some people can't sit still. That's also a quality from Hashem. But then you'll dig deeper and you'll say, "Yeah, but I made a choice to push myself." And it's true and you get credit for that. But there's a very fine area between what you're doing because that's your nature and what you're doing because you made a choice. And there's no makom for a huge amount of gaiva for that little sliver of of choice that a person did to actually use the talents that Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave him. Without the talents that Hashem gave him, he has nothing. But he used the talents that Hashem gave him. That's his job. You did your job. Thank you. No? I know a kid who went over to his father and said, "I'm going to learn a perek of Mishnayos. How much will you pay me?" So you know, that's a tough thing because we turn chinuch into transaction. It's not really chinuch, you know? And the truth is there's makom to say, you know, in in families a lot of times parents are bribing their kids to do things and it's certainly an easy way out to bribe a kid. If you clean up If you clean up your room, I'll I'll give you 10 bucks. Is that a way to do enough? Cuz what does that teach the kid? Teaches the kid I don't have to clean up my room. I clean up my room, you'll give me 10 bucks. That's not what's expected of me. You know that point? We should tell the kid clean up your room cuz you're a human being. Human beings clean up their room. You'll pay me for it? No, I'm not paying you for being a human being. I don't mean that we're being mean to our kids. I think we're being mean if we do pay them. Because we're we're we're we're failing them. And we're not teaching them an accurate um reflection of the world. You know? You know, you imagine you get a job, you make up a salary with your boss. Job starts at 9:00. You show up the first day 9:00. You say I'd like a bonus. Your boss is like, "Why do you want a bonus?" He says, "I came at 9:00." He's like, "Yeah, that's when we start." He's like, "Yeah, and I came on time." You think he should get a bonus for that? Would you give a bonus for that? What? No. So, if we raise our children that when they do the things they're supposed to do, we give them bonuses, are we preparing them for real life? Are we preparing them for the future? No. And the same thing is true here. If a person was given a very healthy mind and a person was given the ability to sit and learn and he made the choice to do that, he's like, "Oh, I should I'm better than everyone else." You did your job. And it's amazing that you did your job. And you'll get hired for doing your job. And it's wonderful. But to feel like you're better than everyone else because you did the job that gave you with the Caleb that I should gave you, you did your job. That's what you were created for. He says um the Hashar Moshiach the Kacha and acts uses its strength to pull. Because that's its nature. That's what an axe was created for. You don't start giving presents to the axe for doing that. That's what the axe does. The same thing is true about someone who's a Kachem. That's because his nature is bringing him to that. If he would be someone, let's say I would feel like I'm the smartest guy here, okay? But let's say there would be another guy as smart as me. Would that guy also accomplish what I accomplished? Yeah, of course he would. He would have the same talent that I have. So like there was a type of thing that like you're looking at this Oh, this guy's not as smart as me. I'm smart. Okay, that's what Hashem made you. Right? Hashem made him smarter than you. He would have been better than you. Stop it, you know? You You just happen to be the lucky beneficiary that Hashem has chosen you to give you this talent. It doesn't shouldn't get to your head. You should feel humble with the with the kindness of Hashem. If a person who wasn't as a Kachem as him he would have a a natural you know, good head like him. He also would be like he also would become be a Kachem. A person should not have Gaiva. So what should a person do if he finds himself blessed with a meter that he has more Kachem than the people around him? Okay, so he shouldn't walk around feeling like he's better than those people. But, what should he do? Listen to the Mishnah and Shulchan Aruch's instructions. Hello, rather im yaish bo chochma rabba If a person has incredible chochma he neihu mechuyav lelamda he's obligated to teach it. Lemisha tzorech elav, don't be stingy about it. Help other people. Teach people. Make yourself available to other people. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Whatever gifts Hashem gives you, Hashem doesn't just give it to you so you could be selfish about it. Hashem gives it to you so you could share. You know, when one of my sons was in Yeshiva, he was very very very smart. And he he just like particularly excelled in his learning from the time he was pretty young. Like from the time he was around like 11 or 12 years old, he's like al ha yoda, he was very very very good at learning. I was very worried that he was so good at learning and he was also a little bit he was also athletic and musical. You know, like you get nervous when someone has a lot of talents. Because you know what could spoil all of that? A person who thinks highly of themselves. A person could be a super talented person, but if they're arrogant they don't have anything. People don't want to be close to them. People don't want to connect with you. People don't want to marry you. People don't want to be close to you when you're their parent. Nobody feels comfortable around arrogant people. Do you agree? So, when you see when you have a child and you see that child's doing well some parents would just be like, "Hoho, look at look at my kid, you know, my son's a doctor, you know." But, an intelligent parent worries. If my kid is super talented, I have to make sure he's not arrogant. So, some parents make a mistake on that and they think the way to do that is to bash the kid a lot and not compliment him and then he won't be arrogant. And they're right. He won't be arrogant. He also won't be a person and he'll be crushed and destroyed and be unable to use his mind. That's not helpful either. When you have a super talented kid, and that's what you should be both have super talented kids, you know, when you have a super talented kid, you have to teach him not to be arrogant even while you tell him how proud you are of him. How do you do that? I'll tell you how you do it. How you do it is that you tell him you are amazing. I'm I'm amazed from your talent, from your you how athletic you are, from how musical you are, from how incredible you are in learning. And why did I shouldn't give you those talents? I shouldn't give you those talents to share with other people. So if you're in the classroom and Rebbe wants to find someone who can learn with a boy who's weaker, it's your job to volunteer cuz I shouldn't made it so easy for you to learn. Don't just say no, I'm too good for that guy. If there's someone in need of extra help, I shouldn't gave you such good talents cuz you don't need so much time to prepare a shiur. You got it quickly. So you don't just sit there preening over everyone else. You go you have a job to do. You have a job to teach. You see how smart the shiur is? Don't crush your son. Praise him. But teach him that that praise gives him responsibility. And that's you know, at least in in my case with with that child, I found that it was very successful. And even as he went into high school on his madrich, he would always make time to learn with boys that weren't as good as him. And to me that was very very very important, maybe even as important as him doing well in learning. Because if a person does well in learning, but he looks down on everyone else, will he ever really be able to teach Torah? Do you want to learn from a Rebbe that you feel like looks down on you? Do you want to be close to someone who you feel like is arrogant and only thinks about themselves? Of course not. So it's very important that we educate ourselves and we educate our children that the talents that Hashem gave us, he gave us to share with his other children. I mean, think about it. You're Hashem's child and everyone else in the Beis Hamikdash is also Hashem's children. So, if Hashem gave you something that he didn't give the other people, you think he doesn't want you to share with other people? Of course he does. So, he says, "M'chuyav." Look at the lashon, the last line. He's m'chuyav, he's obligated. It's an obligation. He's obligated l'lamdo l'mi she tzorech l'eila, to teach it to a person who needs it or can mimer, Rebbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. Like Rebbi Yochanan ben Zakkai said, I quoted this a few minutes ago, "Im lo lamad'ta Torah harbeh, if you had the unbelievable, incomparable z'chus that you learned a lot of Torah, al tachzik tovah l'atzmecha, don't think so highly of yourself. You know, l'kach no tzarta, because that's what you were created for. Share your chachma with other people. And it's not just true, as you pointed out when you spoke about money, it's not just true about wisdom. If Hashem gives you a lot of money, you have to know that Hashem gave you that money so that I can give it out to other people. I consider myself a gizbar. I consider myself a treasurer of Hashem's money. I called someone about a bus yesterday to ask him to help my shul financially. And he told me, it's just unbelievable, a regular guy, a good guy, a solid guy. You know, baruch Hashem, he was successful financially. He told me that in the last year he gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to support institutions in the community. He didn't have to do that. It was his hundreds of thousands of dollars. He could have used it to buy a That's That's That's That's trying to point out. You know, he could have said, "You know, I'm going to buy a beautiful, gorgeous summer home, or I'll buy a home in Europe, or I'll go on an extravagant vacation, or whatever." Like you know, I'll buy another expensive car. And to take that money and to say, "No, it's not my money." Just because Hashem gave me the money, but his other children need help, too. And to For person I was thinking about it yesterday, for a person to open his heart so much that he's willing to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to other people. You know, I gave $50 last night to someone. I felt really good about myself. You know? Okay, so the person has more money, but still, there are some people that have tons of money, but to give so much money, they don't ever have such a such a thing. That's what he's teaching us, what? >> It explains the logic, too. >> Yeah. It's true. If a shiru, if he's wealthy, yismach b'chelko. He should be sameach b'chelko. He should be happy with what Hashem gave him. The all of who lazo, and then he has the responsibility to help um mishe enlo, if someone that doesn't have. Im givaro, what if he has a lot of energy? What if he's very strong? Oh, so also you I mean that you have the ability to protect people and to help people. All of lazo and lo koishlo, you should help people that are falling. Ula hatzala shuken, if you're a strong person, then you can make sure that people don't get bullied. Both financially and personally and physically. You're a strong person, you get up and you can be a defense to the to the defenseless. Al amazai doima, what is this like? Lamishar say habayis. This is like the people who run a house, the staff. The staff of the house. Imagine you have a wealthy guy, he has a butler, he has a cook, he has a maid. He has the staff of his running his home, right? You know, the the the White House, there's a staff of hundreds of people to run the White House, you know? So, Shakol echad memuna al davar, so what do they have? Each person is in charge of something. Imagine if the cook would be like, "I'm the cook. I'm not giving food to anyone else." That's ridiculous. You're the cook, so you should give food to everyone else. So, something is tells you sham, every talent you have, Hashem is saying you're in charge of this to share with everyone else. So, Shakol echad memuna al davar ad mai, everyone's Each one is in charge of something. The ro'i lo la'amod bemishmarti lifnei pekudotai. He has to stand by his responsibility according to what he was appointed for lahashlam melachet habayit u'tzerachav. To make sure that the work of the home is done and its needs are accomplished. Ve'ein bekain makom lega'avah lifnei ha'emes. If you look at it, um if you look at it clearly, you see that there's no makom at all for ga'avah. Okay, let's stop here.