The positive side of Anvanus
Someone who read my entry titled "Anavah, Simcha, and Purim" asked about the following quote from Megillah 31a:
Moreso, the gemara contrasts anvanus with gevurah. It reads like an exposition of the Qabbalistic concepts of Gevurah as the power of restraint in opposition to Chessed and givingness.
However, this definition of an anvan neither fits the etymology of the word, which is still the same root as anav, modest, nor fits the usage in our original gemara, where Rabbi Yochanan blames the anvanus of Rabbi Zecharia ben Avqulos for leading to the distruction of the second beis hamiqdash. Saving Bar Qamtza from execution is a kindness, albeit a misplaced one. But the notion of kindness doesn't fit the first example of his anvanus -- choosing not to offer an unfit animal.
I defined anavah as awareness of everyone one could be but aren't. That is a "good thing", in that it motivates person to constantly strive to improve. In contrast to the anvan, who thinks they are incapable and therefore refuse to act.
A person can be an anav or an anvan. But neither make sense when speaking of Hashem. He is neither less than his potential nor does Hashem underestimate His Worth. We are not speaking of a literal self-image, nor a motivator.
When we speak of Hashem's Anvanus as opposed to His Gevurah, we are describing how His actions appear to us. Anvanus therefore means His willingless to do things even when it may not befit appearences of Honor, to perform acts of kindness even when the kindness does not fit our mental image of honor and authority. Gevurah is that authority, when power leads to away from activities of narrower scope.
When a person thinks of Might, he thinks of someone who moves amongst kings, not someone who helps the downtrodden, the orphan, the widow, the despressed. This kind of anvanus, being willing to help rather than think it beneath our station, is a Divine example we are to emulate.
We can also find positive examples of human anvanus. "And so, when Hashem's aron was brought to the city of David, Michal bas Sha'ul looked out the window and saw king David leaping and dancing before Hashem; and she was ashamed of him in her heart."
To Michal's eye, it was not fitting for the king to leap and dance in public. David, on the other hand, didn't overestimate his worth. Rather than "Who am I to do...?" he said "Who am I that I should not?"!
It is noteworth that Michal is described as "Sha'ul's daughter" when she misasses the value of his actions. She thought she learned from her father's error that anvanus is a mistake. But it isn't always.
Yehoshua' distinguished himself from among Moshe's students by being the one to arrange the seating for the classes. (Bamidbar Rabba 21:14) He did not decide that since he was the next to lead, and the leader of our army, that such things were beneath him.
Anvanus therefore requires a fine line. To much, and one believes every worthy act is above their abilities, too little, and they are all beneath his station. Anavah, an awareness of both one's abilities and of how much more one can tap them, gives us a means to find that balance.
Rabbi Yochanan said: Everywhere that you find Hashem's Gevurah [Might], you find His Anvanus. This is written in the Torah, repeated in the Navi, and a third time in Kesuvim. It is written in the Torah, "For Hashem your G-d is G-d over all forces [E-lokei haElokim]" and it says right after it, "... Who executes the justice of orphans and widows." (Devarim 10:17-18) It is repeated in the Navi: "So says the High and Uplifted, Dwelling Eternally and Holy One" and it says right after it "... who dwells with the afflicted and those of depressed spirit." (Yeshaiah 57:15) It is a third time in Kesuvim, as it says "Praise the One who rides on the heavens, Whose name is 'Kah'" and it says right after it "... the Father of orphans and the Judge for widows". (Tehillim 68:5)So, given that the gemara uses the term "anvanus" as trait of Hashem, how can I call it something negative?
Moreso, the gemara contrasts anvanus with gevurah. It reads like an exposition of the Qabbalistic concepts of Gevurah as the power of restraint in opposition to Chessed and givingness.
However, this definition of an anvan neither fits the etymology of the word, which is still the same root as anav, modest, nor fits the usage in our original gemara, where Rabbi Yochanan blames the anvanus of Rabbi Zecharia ben Avqulos for leading to the distruction of the second beis hamiqdash. Saving Bar Qamtza from execution is a kindness, albeit a misplaced one. But the notion of kindness doesn't fit the first example of his anvanus -- choosing not to offer an unfit animal.
I defined anavah as awareness of everyone one could be but aren't. That is a "good thing", in that it motivates person to constantly strive to improve. In contrast to the anvan, who thinks they are incapable and therefore refuse to act.
A person can be an anav or an anvan. But neither make sense when speaking of Hashem. He is neither less than his potential nor does Hashem underestimate His Worth. We are not speaking of a literal self-image, nor a motivator.
When we speak of Hashem's Anvanus as opposed to His Gevurah, we are describing how His actions appear to us. Anvanus therefore means His willingless to do things even when it may not befit appearences of Honor, to perform acts of kindness even when the kindness does not fit our mental image of honor and authority. Gevurah is that authority, when power leads to away from activities of narrower scope.
When a person thinks of Might, he thinks of someone who moves amongst kings, not someone who helps the downtrodden, the orphan, the widow, the despressed. This kind of anvanus, being willing to help rather than think it beneath our station, is a Divine example we are to emulate.
We can also find positive examples of human anvanus. "And so, when Hashem's aron was brought to the city of David, Michal bas Sha'ul looked out the window and saw king David leaping and dancing before Hashem; and she was ashamed of him in her heart."
To Michal's eye, it was not fitting for the king to leap and dance in public. David, on the other hand, didn't overestimate his worth. Rather than "Who am I to do...?" he said "Who am I that I should not?"!
It is noteworth that Michal is described as "Sha'ul's daughter" when she misasses the value of his actions. She thought she learned from her father's error that anvanus is a mistake. But it isn't always.
Yehoshua' distinguished himself from among Moshe's students by being the one to arrange the seating for the classes. (Bamidbar Rabba 21:14) He did not decide that since he was the next to lead, and the leader of our army, that such things were beneath him.
Anvanus therefore requires a fine line. To much, and one believes every worthy act is above their abilities, too little, and they are all beneath his station. Anavah, an awareness of both one's abilities and of how much more one can tap them, gives us a means to find that balance.
posted by micha @ 3/30/2006 12:55:00 PM
Anonymous at 12:16 PM: 
