We're discussing the relationship between humility, arrogance and bitachon, using the Bet Halevi on Humility as our basis. He quotes from the Gemara in Masechet Sota, that cites the source in the Torah that you're not allowed to have arrogance, and Rav Nachman says the pasuk says ( Devarim 8,14) וְרָ֖ם לְבָבֶ֑ךָ וְשָֽׁכַחְתָּ֙ ה׳ Your heart will become arrogant and forget Hashem. But first, Hashem tells us ( Devarim 8,10) וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ You will and you will be satiated, and you will bless Hashem your God. And then it says, הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֔ פֶּן־תִּשְׁכַּ֖ח ה אֱלֹהיךָ Be careful, beware, lest you forget Hashem your God. Why is that right next to eating and being satiated? The next pasuk says, “ פֶּן־תֹּאכַ֖ל וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבָתִּ֥ים טֹבִ֛ים תִּבְנֶ֖ה וְיָשָֽׁבְתָּ You're going to eat and become satiated and build nice houses and your cattle and your sheep will become increased, and gold and silver will become increased. And then, וְרָ֖ם לְבָבֶ֑ךָ וְשָֽׁכַחְתָּ֙ ה׳ Your heart will become arrogant and forget Hashem, who took you out of Mitzrayim. And you'll say, “ Kochi V’Otsem Yadi/My own power and strength got me this wealth.” Then it says, וְהָיָ֗ ה אִם־שָׁכֹ֤חַ תִּשְׁכַּח֙ If you forget… You're going to start worshiping idols … and then it's all over. And the Seforno says, “ What's going to cause this forgetting? When you attribute your success to your strength, and you forget to make blessings.” And this is a very important point. Rabbenu Bachye says that the reason that we have berachot is so that we should remember Hashem when we're eating. Because eating and drinking bring a person to arrogance. That's human nature. He brings pesukim to that effect. Therefore, Hashem said, I want you to focus on Berachot, because by focusing on Berachot, your desire will go from your food to God We always have to work on things at times of challenge. Eating is a time of challenge. The Zohar says “ The time of eating is a time of war .” It's a time of challenge. The Ben Ish Chai, in Taanit 21A quotes the Arizal in connection to this, that when you say Birkat Hamazon, you must have a lot of kavana , because the negative forces are there. You just ate. You're full. You're going to start becoming arrogant. So slow down. If you just ate a $200 steak, slow down, and think- Who is the One that gave it to you? That food came from Hashem. That's going to combat the challenge of parrogance that comes through eating, because it causes you to forget. Bitachon always slides in when we talk about arrogance. Rabbenu Bachye points out that Yom Kippur is the day of purification and it's the day we connect to Hashem. It’s the day of humility. So what does the Torah say? No eating, no drinking, in order to get us to a point of humility and a point of humbling outselves, which is a fundamental of teshuva. So you can't eat because the eating will take away from that. The Meiri, in his Hibur on Teshuva (first Maamar chapter five) brings a pasuk from Hoshea, “ They were grazing and satiating, they became arrogant. They forgotten Me.” The wealth, the eating and the satiation caused them to forget God. He says that there's no way to do teshuva if you are in that mindset. He says, the only way to get to teshuva is to uproot the arrogance. And that can only happen when you realize that all the wealth and all the prosperity comes from God. This is a constant theme, so we want to be Baalei Bitachon, we have to work on our Ga’avah . And, as we just said from Rabbenu Bachye, it’s really clear in the Torah, when you eat, drink, and you're satisfied, make a Beracha, because if you eat, drink, and feel satisfied without a beracha, we run into the dangers of arrogance and forgetting God. Have a wonderful day.