When the communal and civic leaders of the generation grow haughty, the Holy One, blessed be He, sends people to take issue with them and speak out against them in order to keep them from becoming arrogant. This is as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught: We do not appoint a leader over the community unless he has a checkered background (Yoma 22b).
This is the explanation of the cryptic teaching brought in Etz Chaim, Shaar Arikh Anpin, Chapter 12 (p.197): Remove MaH from the backpart-of- MaH, PeH remains.
The explanation is as follows: On account of his checkered background, a person considers himself as MaH (what), and as nothing and naught. Yet when he removes MaH from himself, so that he no longer considers himself as “what” but grows haughty, PeH remains—that is, people open their peh (mouth) and say, “Turn around to what’s in back of you,” and they ridicule him. {Until here the lesson is leshon Rabbeinu z’l.}
לְשׁוֹן רַבֵּנוּ זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה כְּשֶׁפַּרְנְסֵי הַדּוֹר וּמַנְהִיגֵי הַדּוֹר נִתְגָּאִים, אֲזַי הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מֵקִים עֲלֵיהֶם בְּנֵי אָדָם שֶׁיַּחְלוֹקוּ וִידַבְּרוּ עֲלֵיהֶם, כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יָזוּחוּ דַּעְתָּם עֲלֵיהֶם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ חֲכָמֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (יומא כב:): אֵין מְמַנִּים פַּרְנָס עַל הַצִּבּוּר אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן קֻפָּה שֶׁל שְׁרָצִים תָּלוּי מֵאַחֲרָיו.
When the communal and civic leaders of the generation grow haughty, the Holy One, blessed be He, sends people to take issue with them and speak out against them in order to keep them from becoming arrogant. This is as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught: We do not appoint a leader over the community unless he has a checkered background (Yoma 22b).
וְזֶה פֵּרוּשׁ סוֹד, שֶׁמּוּבָא בְּעֵץ־ הַחַיִּים, שַׁעַר אֲרִיךְ אַנְפִּין, פֶּרֶק י"ב: אֲחוֹרַיִם דְּמ"ה, תָּסִיר מ"ה נִשְׁאָר פ"ה.
This is the explanation of the cryptic teaching brought in Etz Chaim, Shaar Arikh Anpin, Chapter 12 (p.197): Remove MaH from the backpart-of- MaH, PeH remains.
פֵּרוּשׁ, עַל־יְדֵי קֻפָּה שֶׁל שְׁרָצִים שֶׁתָּלוּי מֵאֲחוֹרָיו, עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה מַחֲזִיק אֶת עַצְמוֹ בִּבְחִינַת מָה וְאֶפֶס וָאַיִן. וּכְשֶׁמֵּסִיר מִמֶּנּוּ מָה, שֶׁאֵין מַחֲזִיק אֶת עַצְמוֹ לְמָה, אֶלָּא שֶׁהוּא מִתְגָּאֶה, אֲזַי נִשְׁאָר פֶּה, הַיְנוּ שֶׁבְּנֵי אָדָם פּוֹתְחִים אֶת פִּיהֶם וְאוֹמְרִים: חֲזֹר לַאֲחוֹרֶיךָ, וּמְבַזִּים אוֹתוֹ: (עַד כָּאן לְשׁוֹנוֹ ז"ל)
The explanation is as follows: On account of his checkered background, a person considers himself as MaH (what), and as nothing and naught. Yet when he removes MaH from himself, so that he no longer considers himself as “what” but grows haughty, PeH remains—that is, people open their peh (mouth) and say, “Turn around to what’s in back of you,” and they ridicule him. {Until here the lesson is leshon Rabbeinu z’l.}