כ אלול
דֶער וָואס אִיז נִידֶערִיג אוּן גְרָאבּ הֶערְט נִיט אָן דִי אֵייגֶענֶע גְרָאבּקַייט אוּן נִידֶערִיקַייט.
כ אלול
דֶער וָואס אִיז נִידֶערִיג אוּן גְרָאבּ הֶערְט נִיט אָן דִי אֵייגֶענֶע גְרָאבּקַייט אוּן נִידֶערִיקַייט.
The Hayom Yom for the 20th of Elul gives us a very short but incredibly deep teaching. It says that a person who is lowly and crass does not sense his own נידעריגקייט—lowliness or גראַבּקייט—crassness. In other words, someone who is stuck in a coarse or degraded state is usually not even aware of it.
This is a profound point about human nature. Often, we are not the best judges of our own spiritual or moral standing. When a person is entrenched in a certain negative trait or behavior, that very trait can blind him to his own shortcomings. He doesn't feel or recognize just how far he has fallen.
Because of this, sometimes we need someone else to help us see ourselves more clearly. We might require an outside perspective to enlighten us about our true level, since self-awareness can be clouded by the very faults we possess. This teaching encourages us to be open to feedback and to recognize that our own self-assessment is not always reliable.