Rabbi Elazar HaKapar said: "Envy, desire and (the pursuit of) honor remove a person from the world."

YOUR VALUES OF OUR FATHERS NAVIGATOR

1. What does Rabbi Elazar HaKapar mean when he says "remove a person from the world"? Are there any things more worldly than envy, desire and the pursuit of honor?

2. According to Rabbi Elazar HaKapar what does the phrase "remove a person from the world" mean?

3. What do envy, desire and the pursuit of honor have in common?

A Word

To be part of the world, one must be able to see beyond one's own goals, desires and ambitions. To be focused solely on one's own needs is to be totally removed from the "world." Whenever "self-centeredness" causes us to focus on our needs alone, we have ceased to be part of the world as Elazar HaKapar knows it. Envy, lust and achievement for the sake of glory cloud reality, blind us to truth and make us unworthy.