Understanding Your Middos - 70 Leitzanus > Mockery

The Trait of Mockery (Leitzanus)

The element of wind, which is the root of idle speech, is the source for the traits of chanufah (flattery), sheker (­­­), lashon hora (gossip), and mesaper b’shevach atzmo, (bragging).

The fourth trait which stems from the element of wind, mesaper b’shevach atzmo (bragging), consists of two parts, as Rav Chaim Vital writes: “mesaper b’shevach atzmo” (one who brags of his praises), “v’hagdalas atzmo” (one who makes himself appear bigger).

The Gemara[1] describes four groups who will not merit the Shechinah: people who regularly engage in flattery, people who regularly speak gossip, people who regularly lie, and people who engage in mockery. The fourth group, those who engage in mockery, are called “kat leitzanim”, the “group of scoffers”, referring to the trait of “leitzanus” - mockery. The Gemara here has listed the traits of falsity, flattery, gossip, which are all traits that stem from the element of wind; and the fourth trait mentioned with this grouping is leitzanus\mockery. This seems to imply that the fourth trait which stems from wind is leitzanus\mockery, and not mesaper b’shevach atzmo\bragging of one’s praises.

Rav Chaim Vital says, however, that the fourth trait which stems from wind is called “mesaper b’shevach atzmo” (bragging of one’s praises), which seems to leave the trait of leitzanus\mockery out of the picture. However, upon deeper analysis, we can see that leitzanus\mockery is included in the trait of “mesaper b’shevach atzmo”, as follows.

When describing the trait of “mesaper b’shevach atzmo”, Rav Chaim Vital adds on that this includes “hagdalas atzmo”, “making oneself bigger”. This is referring to a trait in which one makes himself “higher”, in order to put down others. This is a use of the power of leitzanus\mockery: when a person makes himself to appear bigger than other, he is essentially nullifying the importance of others. This is what lies behind the attitude of leitzanus\mockery.

The traits of leitzanus (mockery) and mesaper b’shevach atzmo (bragging of one’s own praises)are different ways of feeling higher than others. In the case of mesaper b’shevach atzmo, a person brags of his praises, in order to make himself appear higher, bigger, and greater than others. Leitzanus, however, is aimed at making others lower in his eyes, and as a result, the person feels higher than others.

(First we will discuss the trait of leitzanus, and later we will explain the trait of mesaper b’shevach atzmo.)

The Root of Leitzanus\Mockery

The root of leitzanus is first found in the Torah with the Serpent. Hashem told Adam and Chavah that they should not eat from the Eitz HaDaas, telling them that if they eat from the Eitz HaDaas, they will know Him, and He forbade this to them. Rashi says that when the Serpent told Chavah to eat from the tree, it told her, “A craftsman hates his competitor. Hashem hates people, and that is why He doesn’t want them to become like Him”.

In this act, the Sages define the Serpent as being the epitome of evil leitzanus. Its intention was to lower the status of Hashem in the world and to equate Hashem with being on the level of people. That was the leitzanus of the Snake, and it was leitzanus at its most evil level.

The Serpent was cursed with, “gechoncha teilech” – it cannot walk anymore as it used to, and now it must slither and move around on its throat, in order to get places. The root of these words is the word “gichuch” – which means to be made fun of. Its punishment was measure-for-measure in trying to mock Hashem.

What is the essence of leitzanus? What is it is root, and how does it work?

Leitzanus: A ‘Wind’ That Comes To Lower The Status of Things

We already have explained how leitzanus\mockery comes from the element of wind. The word “leitzanus” is related to the word “mislotzetz”, which means to remove something from where it is, by lowering it. Thus, the idea behind leitzanus is that it is trying to lower something from a higher place and bring it down. When leitzanus is trying to bring something down, it is essentially trying to bring it down to the lowest of the elements, which is the earth.

Rabbeinu Yonah, in Shaarei Teshuvah, when listing the offenses of the various negative character traits, brings two different verses in the Torah that describe the letz (the scoffer). One verse describes a “letz” with the term “zeid” (rebellious), and another verse describes the “letz” as “yahir” (haughty). Thus, leitzanus consists of two aspects: zeid\rebelliousness, and yahir\haughtiness.

Earlier, when we learned about the element of water, we explained how the term zeid\zadon (rebelliousness) is a trait rooted in the element of water. The term yahir (haughtiness) is a trait that stems from gaavah (conceit), which is rooted in the element of fire.[2] Thus, it follows that letz\leitzanus, which is rooted in the element of wind, is a trait that takes the elements of fire and water and “lowers” them. To where does it “lower” them to? It lowers them to the lowest of the elements - which is the element of earth.

The Zohar says that leitzanus is linked with the trait of “sechok”, laughter. “Sechok” is connected with the spleen; the Gemara says that “the spleen laughs.”[3] Sechok is rooted in the term “amah sochakas”, which is linked with “amah atzuvah”[4], a hint to “atzvus” (sadness). What is the connection between leitzanus\mockery, sechok\laughter, and atzvus\sadness? The trait of leitzanus brings something down from the level of wind down to the level of earth, which is the root of the trait of atzvus.

There is a rule that in each of the elements, we can find all the other four. So in wind, there also the four elements of earth, water, wind and fire contained in wind. The trait of chanufah\flattery stems from the “water” aspect in wind[5], the trait of sheker\falsity stems from fire-of-wind, the trait of lashon hora\gossip stems from “wind”-of-wind, and the trait of leitzanus\mockery stems from “earth”-of-wind. These are the four groups of people mentioned in the Gemara who do not merit greeting the Shechinah: the group of “flatterers”, the group of “liars”, the group of “gossipers”, and the group of “scoffers”.

Why leitzanus\mockery stem from the “earth” aspect of wind? As we have explained, mockery is a form of ‘wind’ which lowers something to the ‘earth’. Thus, leitzanus\mockery is the “earth” of wind.

To summarize thus far, leitzanus\mockery is a trait which lowers something from a higher level (wind\air) to a lower level (earth). On a more subtle note, it reveals the ‘earth’ aspect in the ‘wind’, and through that it lowers the status of the wind and brings it down to the level of the earth.

Leitzanus Is Mainly Manifest In Devarim Betailim (Idle Speech)

Leitzanus\mockery is mainly connected with “devarim betailim”, idle speech[6]. The group of “scoffers” is mentioned together with the groups of people who speak gossip and falsity, which are traits that stem from idle speech. Therefore, leitzanus mainly gets its strength from the power of dibbur\speech.

On a deeper note, leitzanus is to have “hislotzezus” (jest) out of the very words themselves. Leitzanus can be expressed in many forms, whether in writing or in any other ways, but it is mainly expressed via the means of speech. As we have explained earlier, this is because leitzanus is a wind that brings things down to the level of earth. Wind is ruach, which hints to ruach memalelah, “a talking spirit”, which refers to the trait of speech in man. When a person speaks words of leitzanus, he is lowering speech (wind) to the level of earth.

This is also why a person can also express leitzanus just with laughing in jest of someone, which is called evil sechok, laughter. When a person laughs, he is only using his mouth, and there are no words coming out of his mouth. The very laughter of his mouth takes the power of speech and lowers it from its higher level, down to the spleen - the root of sechok, lowly laughter.

Leitzanus Attacks The Movements of Creation

So far, we have seen how the power of leitzanus is manifest in the area of speech. Where else can it be manifest?

The element of wind is described by the Sages in three general levels. It is described in terms of the four directions, and in its higher use it is known as Ruach HaKodesh. It is also called “avir”, air. So the element of wind can either be called ruach or avir. We find that the concept of leitzanus can be manifest both in ruach\wind and in avir\air; we will explain this.

Wind is essentially the movement in Creation. Of the four elements in Creation, the main force of movement is wind. Fire and water can also move, and from a subtle understanding even earth can have movement. But the main moving force in Creation is wind. Leitzanus takes movement itself and it “makes fun” of it. Earlier we explained how leitzanus pokes fun at speech; for this reason, leitzanus attacks all of the words of our history, including all of the words of the Torah. That is one of its evils. Now we are analyzing a deeper aspect of its evil: it attacks the very movement itself of Creation. This is the depth of the evil of leitzanus.

Leitzanus Attacks Spiritual Light

That is all with regards to the “ruach” aspect. But there is also the aspect of “avir”, air, which is contained in wind, as follows.

The word “avir”, אויר, stands for the words ohr yud, אור י', “the light of ten”, alluding to the Ten Commandments that brought spiritual light (ohr) to the world. The word letz, לץ, has the same letters as the word tzeil, צל, which means “shadow” – the antithesis to ohr\light. What does leitzanus do? It places a “shadow” on the spiritual light and that is how it “makes fun” of the spiritual light. When something is bright and illuminating and it is clear, there is no way to make leitzanus out of it and to question its clarity, because it is shining so clearly that nothing can deny it. How does leitzanus take hold? When the light is obscured, through a hester (concealment). When there is concealment placed on spiritual light, that enables leitzanus to take hold and belittle the light.

We have so far explained two manifestations of the concept of leitzanus – with regards to ruach\wind\movement, where it belittles the very movements of Creation; and with regards to avir\ohr yud\spiritual light, where it belittles spiritual light, by darkening it and concealing it, and through that it “makes fun” of the spiritual.

The leitzanus that belittles the spiritual is countered by the mitzvah of Sukkos, which is called “tzila d’mehumenusa”, “in the shade of faith”. When we sit in the sukkah, wesit within the “shade” of the glory (kavod) of Hashem, which counters the evil of leitzanus. The festival of Sukkos is also parallel to Yaakov Avinu, who is the symbol of holy daas; the power of daas on the side of evil is possessed by Amalek, who is the epitome of leitzanus, for of Amalek it is said, זד יהיר לץ שמו, “A rebellious, arrogant one; a scoffer is his name.”

Altogether, we have learned about three manifestations of leitzanus thus far. There is leitzanus with regards to devarim betailim\idle speech, which belittles the “ruach” aspect of wind; there is leitzanus which attacks the very movements of Creation; and there is leitzanus which belittles spiritual light. This is the general description of what we have described so far.

The Root of The Leitzanus of the Serpent: The “Tzelem Elokim” of Man

We mentioned earlier that the root of leitzanus is found by the Serpent, who convinced Adam and Chavah to eat from the Eitz HaDaas by telling them that Hashem is afraid that they will become like Him. It told them, “You will become like G-d”, if you eat from the Eitz HaDaas. What was it trying to do? It was trying to lower G-d into the lower realms. That is the idea of leitzanus – it is trying to lower holiness, by trying to lower the level of the spiritual into the mundane. What is the earlier root of the leitzanus of the Serpent?

When Hashem created man, He created man b’tzelem elokim, “in the likeness of G-d”. The word tzelem contains the letters צ and ל, which has the same letters as the word לץ. Thus, leitzanus draws its power from the concept of the tzelem elokim, the very fact that man is created to be “in the likeness of G-d”.

The Serpent erred in thinking that man could actually “become like G-d”, because it drew a parallel with the tzelem elokim concept. If not for the tzelem elokim concept, the Serpent would never have been able to make such a mistake and think that man could really become like G-d. Leitzanus is therefore coming to make fun of the holy “likeness” that man bears towards G-d. If there would be no resemblance of G-d in man, there would be no source for leitzanus to thrive upon. The very fact that man bears a resemblance to G-d shows that there is some kind of resemblance, which is the tzelem elokim aspect of man.

Leitzanus attacked man using the very tzelem elokim aspect of man. The word לץ is the word צלם (tzelem) without the letter מ, because leitzanus removes the מ and lets the letters ל and צ remain, lowering the higher letter to the lower when instead of raising the lower to the higher.

Thus, the tzelem elokim aspect of man allows for the root of leitzanus to take hold. If not for the tzelem elokim aspect, the Serpent wouldn’t have had been able to explain to Adam and Chavah that Hashem feels competition with them.

The Torah is called “melitzah”, a similar term to the word moshol (parable), and the Torah is called “zeh sefer Toldos Adam”, and the deeper reason behind this connection is because sin man is created with a tzelem elokim, and the Torah is contained in man, for this reason, the Torah is called melitzah, from the word tzelem. This is also the root of the concept of “moshol” (parable). The tzelem elokim of man is all a moshol to the higher tzelem. Thus, the Torah is called moshol and melitzah, because it is all a moshol to the higher tzelem, of which Hashem created man with a tzelem elokim; the Torah is, so to speak, a resemblance of the higher tzelem.

Leitzanus is therefore connected with the tzelem of man, and it also is connected with the “melitzah” aspect contained in Torah.

Words of Leitzanus – The Antithesis To Words of Torah

The Sages say that “For every word of leitzanus that enters the heart of man, accordingly, a word of Torah leaves him”. The depth of this is because the Torah is the complete opposite of leitzanus. Earlier we mentioned the kinds of leitzanus which attack speech, movement and spiritual light. All of these aspects are in the Torah. The Torah is the root of all speech, for Hashem spoke from it to create the world. The Torah keeps the world moving, so it is the root of movement. The Torah is the root of all spiritual light. Leitzanus comes to attack of all these three aspects.

When Amalek attacked us after we grew weak in Torah, it was essentially the leitzanus of Amalek that came to attack these three aspects of speech, movement, and spiritual illumination, which caused us to become weak in Torah.

A Deeper Look At The Leitzanus of the Serpent

The Sages say that when Avraham bore Yitzchak, Hashem made Yitzchok look like his father Avraham, so that the “scoffers of the generation” shouldn’t say that Sarah gave birth to Yitzchok after being abducted by Avimelech. Similarly, Hashem made Kalev the son of Dovid HaMelech look like his father, so that the people wouldn’t say that he was born from a union between his mother Avigayil and her deceased husband Naval.

We will analyze deeper the “scoffers of the generation” in the times of Avraham and Avimelech, who were claiming that Yitzchok came from Avimelech and not from Avraham. They were specifically attacking the root of his birth. What is the depth behind this?

When the Serpent told Adam and Chavah that they could become like G-d, the Midrash explains that it was saying, “Just as G-d creates universes, so can you create universes.” What was its argument? How could man become a creator? It is because man can bear children. The fact that man can continue his existence with children is a resemblance of being a creator, and that was its argument to them that they could become like a creator and continue to create universes.

We find that leitzanus is when there is kalus rosh (lightheadedness) that attacks koived rosh. When there is no koived rosh, there is no place for leitzanus to attack. Leitzanus only attacks something that has koived rosh to begin with. Avimelech spied on Yitzchok and he saw that there was kalus rosh between them, and we learn from this that kalus rosh is necessary in order to bear children. Thus, every birth is susceptible to leitzanus, because it is rooted in a subtle form of leitzanus, of kalus rosh. That is the depth of why the scoffers of the generation in Avraham’s times were able to scoff at the source of Yitzchok’s birth.

Now we can understand better what the agenda of the Serpent was, and the depth of its leitzanus. The simple understanding of its leitzanus was that it wanted to lower the status of spiritual, by lowering the status of Hashem onto the level of this lower world. But the depth of its leitzanus is that it was saying that “you can become like G-d” – it argued that since man has the power of birth to bear children, he is like a creator; and birth requires kalus rosh, so it was connecting kalus rosh with the Creator.

The Serpent’s leitzanus is essentially its argument of “Just as G-d can create universes, so can you create universes”. That is the depth of leitzanus. Thus, leitzanus does not just come to attack certain aspects in Creation. It can do that too, but there is a much broader evil which the force of leitzanus aims to accomplish [as seen from the Serpent’s agenda]. It attacks the general whole of Creation, attacking it on a core level, arguing that man is on a par with G-d, with the argument that he is capable of continuation and “creating” children.

Why It Is Permissible To Make Fun of Idol Worship

Leitzanus is also the root of idol worship, of having “other gods”. To have “other gods” is rooted in the Serpent’s argument that “you can be like G-d”. The Gemara says that it is permissible to make fun of idol worship, and the depth of this is because the entire root of idol worship begins from leitzanus, and therefore, we make fun of idol worship because its very existence leads towards its belittling.

So far, we have explained that there are three forms of leitzanus: when it attacks speech, when it attacks movements, and when it comes to attack spiritual light. In all of them, the common denominator is that there is a broader agenda of leitzanus: it is attacking the very existence of Creation.

Two Kinds of Leitzanus: Before Something Is Actualized, and After It Exists

The Gemara says that every generation has scoffers as in the generation of Dovid HaMelech, who ridiculed him that he had lost his rights to build the Beis HaMikdash. Elsewhere, the Gemara says that the generation of Yirmiyahu was a generation of scoffers. What connects these two generations together?

In the generation of Yirmiyahu, the book of Eichah was written, which describes the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. The generation of Dovid made fun of Dovid because he wanted to build it and he did not end up building it. Yirmiyahu lived after it was built and destroyed. Dovid lived when it had the potential to be built. Both of them had a connection to the Beis HaMikdash – Dovid, through wanting to build it, and Yirmiyahu, who saw its destruction.

The leitzanus in the generation of Dovid was to make fun of something before it appears. The generation of Yirmiyahu, however, shows us of what leitzanus leads to. These are two points about leitzanus: its inner root, and what it leads to.

Leitzanus leads the lowering of something, as we explained earlier. Leitzanus takes something after it exists and then it belittles its existence. That is what leitzanus leads to, but what is its root? It attacks the very existence of something, attacking it before it can become actualized from its potential state.

That is the very root of leitzanus: it says that something should only remain in its potential and not be actualized. The scoffers in the time of Yirmiyahu were belittling the Beis HaMikdash after it existed, which is the outcome of leitzanus. But the root leitzanus began in the generation of Dovid, where the scoffers then were saying that it will never be built; they were attacking it before it was even actualized.

Holy Leitzanus: Returning Something To Its Root

The Maharal explains that the role of the earth is to bring the other elements from their potential state and to actualize its potential. This is the positive and holy use of earth[7]. Earlier we defined the simple meaning of evil leitzanus an act which lowers something from a higher level down to a lower level, where it lowers something all the way down to the lowest element, earth. But herein lays the holy use of leitzanus.

Not only does leitzanus lower something to the level of the element of earth, but it also can return something to the earth at its root, to its potential state in the earth, before it is actualized.

The evil side to leitzanus, its lower use, which we have been explaining until now, is that it causes a tzeil (a shadow) upon spiritual light; it darkens and conceals the spiritual, and it lowers things from their status. But there is also a higher and holy aspect to leitzanus: it returns something to its root.

There is an ongoing war against Amalek, and on a deeper level, it is really a war to return the world to its root. Simply speaking, there is a war between the nation of Amalek and the nation of Yisrael, but there is more to it. Hashem will fight Amalek in the end of days, using the very leitzanus of Amalek, in order to return to creation to its root. It will not simply be a way of “erasing” Amalek as it is simply understood. Rather, Amalek’s very power of leitzanus will be used against him in order to return everything back into its root.

When leitzanus is used in speech, a person falls from his level, from wind to earth, through speaking idle speech. This is evil leitzanus, the lower side to leitzanus. But at its holy root, leitzanus causes everything to be returned to its one holy root. Speech at its holy root is returned to the “ruach memalelah” which man is given. This is the holy leitzanus.

When leitzanus is directed at movement of Creation, the result is movement without a purpose. If a person is moving without a purpose, this causes people to laugh, which is an example of evil sechok\laughter, which is a parallel with evil leitzanus.

Movement Without A Purpose – The Depth of Evil Leitzanus

Now we can understand deeply in terms of our soul, that any movements which we perform without a purpose are really a subtle form of leitzanus.

When a person performs movements for evil purposes, that is a different problem, which can either be jealousy, desire, or honor. But the person is still doing it for some purpose. But when a person is doing something with no purpose, this stems from leitzanus. This is like when Esav said, “I am going to die, of what use is the firstborn?” This is leitzanus in movement: it takes movement and leads it to a place of no purpose. When there is no purpose to a movement, that movement is leitzanus.

This is also the depth of why Amalek will have an “end”, whereas the other nations will be allowed to continue. It means that the other nations will eventually reach the purpose of Creation, whereas Amalek will have an “end”, their movements will have no purpose to them, and this is the leitzanus of Amalek. The leitzanus of Amalek causes them to have movement for no purpose, and this will lead towards their very end.

But the holy side to leitzanus is that it causes a return of Creation to its root – which is above movement. It returns everything to the spiritual light, the ohr, which is above all tenuah\movement.

Hatzalah – Being  Saved From The Tzel\Shadow of Concealment

So far, we have explained about leitzanus directed at speech and at movement. Now we will discuss the third manifestation of leitzanus, which is when it is directed at belittling spiritual light, ohr.

The word letz has the same letters as the word tzel (shadow) – it is the “shadow” of light; it conceals light. The word letz\tzel is from the word hatzalah (to save). All hatzalah is essentially a hatzalah from tzel\shadow\concealment. Whenever we “save” something, we are really “saving” it from tzel, from concealment of light. This is because when spiritual light is fully revealed, there is no evil that can take hold there, and when the light is concealed, there can be evil there.[8]

When spiritual light is removed - this is leitzanus. When there is hatzalah, a person is saved from the tzel. When there is hatzalah, it saves something from tzel\concealment and instead returns it to “melitzah” – the light that is contained in the Torah, which counters leitzanus. This is also the meaning of the term “Maatzil HaElyon”, an aspect of one of the names of Hashem.

The Gemara says that the gentiles in the future will want reward for sukkah, but Hashem will remove the sun from its sheath, and then they will kick at it. The depth of this is because the gentiles do not want to illuminate the shade of the sukkah with the light of the Maatzil Ha’Elyon. The gentiles will kick the sukkah because they don’t have the illumination of ohr\light within tzeil\shadow. The gentiles either have sun\light or shadow\darkness, but they are not able to shine the light within the shadows. They don’t have the Torah which is called “melitzah”, which can return shadow to light.

Rectifying Leitzanus: Filling The Emptiness of Creation With G-dly Light

The Mishnah in Avos says that if two people are sitting together and they are not discussing Torah, it is a “moishav leitzim”, a group of scoffers. It is understandable that they are a moishav leitzim if they are talking idle speech, but what is wrong is they just sit together quietly and they don’t say anything? Why is this called a moishav leitzim?

It is because the Torah is called “melitzah”, the light that can return everything to its source, and if two people are sitting together and they are not discussing Torah, it shows that they are unaware that the Torah contains “melitzah”. If they do not reveal melitzah together, they are left instead with the opposite of melitzah, which is tzel (shadow\concealment) - the root of evil leitzanus. With no Torah between them, there is nothing but empty space between them, which is called revach, or chalal, which refers to the chalal hapanuy, “the empty space in Creation”, which is also the evil side to the element of wind (for wind is ruach, from the word revach\space).

If they would talk words of Torah together, there would be melitzah between them, and it would shine spiritual light within the empty air between them. But if there are no words of Torah between them when they sit together, it is a moishav leitzim, for they are in a chalal hapanuy (empty space). but if they have Torah between them, there is melitzah, there is hatzalah.

Chazal say that if a man and woman are worthy, they merit the Shechinah between them; if they are not worthy, a fire consumes them. The fire consuming them is the beginning of their punishment, and their end is that they are destroyed - meaning, they return to the earth in that state; they are lowered to the “earth”. All leitzanus necessitates a middle point which is empty, where all ruination can then occur; everything there can become lowered to the earth. If the middle point becomes filled with spiritual light, with Shechinah, they receive the opposite of leitzanus, which is called the “tzila d’mehemenusa”, “in the shade of faith.”

Thus, holy leitzanus is when a person reveals the complete G-dly light throughout creation. Evil leitzanus, as we explained, attacks the very existence of Creation, in the areas of speech, movement, and spiritual light. Holy leitzanus is about shining the light of G-dliness within “shadow”, in the places where spiritual light is concealed - in the lowliest places.

This is the meaning of the verse, “Then our mouths will be filled with laughter”. In contrast to the “scoffers of the generation” which were in the times of Avimelech, there is a holy laughter that stems from the “melitzah” aspect in the Torah. The Torah is called “melitzah” because it shines the Source of the light, which is called “the me’ohr of the tzel”, and then the tzel\shadow becomes illuminated by the light. That is the holy sechok\laughter which will fill our mouths in the future – when darkness becomes filled with light, when concealment becomes illuminated, that will be reason for us to have the holy laughter which we will have from this.

This will reveal the complete G-dly light in all of Creation, and this is the secret of how the Torah is called “melitzah”, which will show how there are no devarim betailim (idle speech), but the upkeep of existence in Creation, and this will be the melitzah which rectifies all devarim betailim.