Antidote to Arrogance 

Arrogance feeds on our belief that we possess “the truth.” We are under the delusion that our perceptions are the only correct way of viewing the situation. 

When we look at someone through eyes of arrogance, we see the other as inherently inferior due to something that cannot be controlled, improved, or removed. Arrogance can temper our attitude toward others, often blinding us to their inherent good.

In its extreme form, arrogance can underpin rigid views of groups of people, such as seen in racism. For example, a white person might perceive a man of color to be inferior. The white person dismisses that a man of color works double shifts to put himself through college, or he works 14 hours a day to become a senior partner in his law firm, or he is raising an upstanding family in the community. The white person is blinded to the black man’s inherent good. None of that matters to the white person – only the color of his skin.  

We can judge someone to be inferior to us for the flimsiest reasons. Some modern-day examples might be: 

• A man with a beard and kippah 
• Someone with a tattoo
• Someone who is overweight 
• Someone who dresses slovenly (however we define that) 

It’s very easy for others to feel when we have dismissed them as “inferior”. This type of judgment can be very subtle.    

Why We Judge Someone 

We tend to judge others because of arrogance and because we are focused on the physical, external world.  

The world is poisoned with the toxic scent of sexuality. It’s in the music. It’s in the movies. It’s in day-to-day conversation. It’s in the news: the photos, the headlines, and the quotes made by the people we admire.  

This poison draws our senses deeper into the physical, external world. Our eyes become hypnotized by the physical so that we see nothing else. We judge people based on their physical looks, financial status, and social standing. 

One’s social standing is less about decency, elegance, and character traits, and more about physical appearance. The weight of someone’s words has less to do with the wisdom they carry and more with the financial or social status of the speaker. A teacher might tell the secrets to life to an empty auditorium while a “diva” talks about what she had for breakfast to a packed stadium.  

We wind up judging as inferior the very people we should learn from! We relegate to the lower level of our perception the very individuals we should pay most attention to. We are arrogant toward the people with the most to offer! 

What’s the Antidote? 

How do rectify the sin of arrogance? More importantly, how do we prevent ourselves from becoming part of Hashem’s most hated class? 

We tear our souls away from focusing on the physical. We tear our eyes away from what we see. We constantly remember that everyone is made in Hashem’s image, so thinking we are inherently better than someone is like thinking we are better than Hashem, G-d forbid!  

God warns us twice a day in the Shema: 

You will not follow after your heart and after your eyes by which you go astray – so that you may remember and fulfill all My commandments and be holy to your G-d.  (Devarim 15:39) 

Hashem is commanding us to focus our eyes and our heart towards His mitzvot. He commands us to focus on the spiritual rather than the physical, so that we will see His holiness in everything.  

The more we change our focus, the more beautiful our world becomes.  

The sky becomes radiant, a reflection of the Divine heavens above. The flowers sing, a signature of their Artist. The animals become miraculous wonders of His world, like the small bird defying gravity with more agility than a 220-ton airliner.  

Our brothers and sisters revert to what they truly are — holy beings. The Divine spirit within all of them shines. We bask in their light, learning from the unique greatness that is inside every Jew.  

We follow the letter of the Rambam to his son:  

Let every person be greater than yourself in your eyes. If he is wise or wealthy, it is incumbent on you to honor him. If he is poor and you are wealthier or wiser than him, consider in your heart that you are more guilty than him and he is more innocent than you. For if he sins, it is unintentional while your sins are intentional. 

This is how to conquer arrogance: Look beyond the physical and see the inherent good in everyone. Seek it and draw it out. Acknowledge the good in every Jew.  

By navigating past the physical landmines of this world, we embark on the greatest spiritual journey — To destroy arrogance, eliminate hatred, and reveal G-d’s greatest light to His world.  

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David Ben Horin lives in Afula with his family, millions of sunflowers, and Matilda, our local camel. David‘s Israeli startup, Center Stage Marketing, is a lean marketing agency for startups and small businesses that creates and promotes SEO optimized ROI-driven to the right audience on LinkedIn to make your business the star of the show.