Isn't it a right way for a humble man always to have his eyes downcast – when you walk?
ANSWER:
Certainly it's the right way. And if you don't know who's passing you, then you don't know. But suppose somebody accosts you, and you hear your name mentioned, now you have to forget that you are an anav, now you have to raise your eyes to discharge your responsibilities, you have to do what the mishna tells you to do. Like it says about Avrohom Avinu: vayisah es einav, he lifted up his eyes; Avrohom didn't just look.
When Avrohom had to look someplace, he discussed it with himself. Does it pay to lift up the eyes? When he came to the decision, yes, so he lifted up his eyes, vayisah es einav, he raised up his eyes. We think it's just an expression. But our eyes are always roving. But Avrohom wasn't looking everyplace, he was looking on the ground in contemplation, he was always communing with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. But now he saw somebody coming, he heard them, so he discussed with himself, should he interrupt his meditations? He said, well I have to do it, somebody is coming, I have to greet him! So he lifted up his eyes.
So when you are accosted by somebody, even though you're a big tzadik and your eyes are always on the ground, but you have to make a decision to raise your eyes, and once you're greeting that person, you have to go all the way and do it with these three conditions.
And remember the three conditions: sever panim yafos. A face you have to show, and it has to be a face with thought in it, and yafos, a nice expression on your face.
Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210
Important Numbers
