“This is the burnt-offering which burns on the altar…” (Vayikra 6:2)
The Yalkut Shimoni expounds that one who is arrogant is judged by fire, as the pasuk says, “he ha’olah – the one who elevates himself, i.e. is haughty, will be sentenced with fire.”
The commentaries note that man is culpable for all sins with the fire of gehennom. Certainly, a baal ga’avah (an arrogant individual) who is compared to one who denies the existence of Hashem would be designated for gehennom.
The Sefer Panim Yafos suggests an intriguing explanation. Hashem created man last so that should he become too arrogant he could be told that even the mosquito was created before him, implying that man is not superior. Lest he persists in thinking that the last creation is the most important, man is told that fire was created on motzoei Shabbos, making that the most significant creation, and minimizing his own self-aggrandizement.
Another way to explain this is by analyzing the inherent nature of fire. It is an all-consuming conflagration that destroys everything in its path. Once it begins to burn, the flames rise and travel quickly, making it very difficult to manage and bring under control. The only way to prevent extensive damage is by removing everything in its way. Pride is very much like fire. A conceited individual believes the entire world is there for him, and no one is as important as he is. He is uncontainable and cannot be deterred, and he will devastate anyone who stands in his way.
The only way to remain protected from arrogance, is to do the same as one who wants to save himself from fire. One must distance himself from any situation or circumstances that could possibly lead to conceit.
The following incident is related by R’ Krozner in the introduction to the Sefer Lev Eliyahu by the tzaddik R’ Eliyahu Lopian.
“I was in Eretz Yisrael for a few days in the year 5718 and met R’ Eliyahu Lopian who was the mashgiach ruchani in Yeshivas Kfar Chassidim at the time. Since I had nowhere to stay, he invited me to sleep in the extra bed in his room.
“One morning I awoke early and I saw R’ Lopian standing by the window whispering quietly to himself so as not to disturb me. I listened closely and heard him repeating to himself over and over, ‘You shall not bring an abomination into your house.’
“What could be the explanation for this?” I thought to myself. When I asked him, this is what he told me: As you know we will soon be going to the yeshiva to pray, and my seat is by the “eastern wall,” (which is considered prestigious). The students give me great honor by standing up when I come in and they wait for me to finish after krias shema and shemoneh esrei before continuing the prayers. There is a possibility that I may become conceited or arrogant by this recognition, or at the very least feel superior. The pasuk in Mishlei (16:5) tells us, ‘Every haughty heart is the abomination of Hashem,’ and I include myself among them, despite the fact that I am supposed to be the spiritual mentor of the yeshiva students, and they are merely being respectful. I therefore remind myself each morning before going to yeshiva not to bring this abomination into my life.
“I asked R’ Lopian: How could a saintly and elderly man like you, who is so humble, fear becoming arrogant?
“He turned to me and said: What’s the question? It’s comparable to a bomb that may lie in the corner of a big hall for many years, with thousands of people passing through, and it never detonates. Does that mean that it won’t explode at any moment? The only way to guard against the eventuality of developing an iota of arrogance is to be prepared from the start to avoid its raging fire.”
In Likras Shabbos Malkesa, the story is told of R’ Shimon Rozovsky, the leader of the Bais Din of Eishyshok (Lithuania). He related that when the Chofetz Chaim decided to go to Eretz Yisrael, he first came to Eishyshok. He had learned there many, many years earlier, and since the city was beloved to him, he wanted to say goodbye to the people there.
“When we heard that he was arriving, we all went out past the city limits to greet him. When the Chofetz Chaim saw me he asked me to come into the carriage with him. I entered the carriage and found him crying bitterly.
“Why is the Rebbi crying?” I asked. The Chofetz Chaim replied that he was crying because of all the unwarranted honor he was receiving. He cited the words of the Yerushalmi that if one is accorded honor because of two tractates that he knows, and in fact he only knows one, he is required to reveal the truth.”
R’ Rozovsky tried to calm down the Chofetz Chaim but he was not successful.
Finally, R’ Rozovsky told the Chofetz Chaim: Every month when we bless the new month, we ask for a life of wealth and honor. How could we ask for honor, when we flee from honor? Then we continue and ask for a life of great love for Torah and fear of Heaven. Obviously, we ask for honor in order to increase love of Torah and fear of Heaven, as it says in the Yerushalmi (Kiddushin) that love of Torah and fear of Heaven is advanced as a result of the honor that is accorded to Torah scholars. Therefore, said R’ Rozovsky, you should rejoice and you should not cry. The honor that we give you will expand the love of Torah and fear of Heaven among the masses.
When the Chofetz Chaim heard these words, he stopped crying and his face glowed with joy. He then opened the door of the carriage and stepped out to greet the anxiously awaiting crowd.
