Pesukei d’Zimrah-Humility-Apter Rav

The 5th of Nisan is the Yahrtzeit of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apt, the Ohev Yisrael. The Apter was scheduled to visit a town for a few days. The town possessed two men of great wealth, and both volunteered to welcome the Rabbi. One was known to be very pious, but he demanded excessive respect and homage, being an arrogant and self-willed man. The other magnate was less pious, and there were grave suspicions regarding his moral conduct. He was, however, unselfish, pleasant of manner, and modest.

The Rabbi heard of these two men, and chose to go to the sinner’s home. He explained, “We read in the Talmud that God says concerning the proud man, ‘ I and he cannot abide together in the world (Sotah 5a).’ If God is out of place in the home of the arrogant, neither can I remain with him. The other may be a great sinner, but we read, ‘ God abides among them in the midst of their uncleanliness (Leviticus 16:16).” If it is agreeable to God to abide amid uncleanliness, it surely must be permissible for me!” (Esser Orot, page 118)

Psalm 100: “Know that God, He is Lord, it is He Who made us and we are His, His people, and the sheep of his pasture.” “We are His,” Lo ananchnu, which can also be read as We are Nothing, achieving humility.

Haggadah: Use everything we do to remember the suffering and slavery to be in a state of humility.