A prophet from your midst, from your brothers, like me, shall Hashem establish for you, to him you shall hearken. (Devarim 18:15)

I have a close friend who is an exceptional Talmud chacham. As a child he played ball and had fun like everyone else, and was “one of the guys.” Already in his adolescence he took learning more seriously, and became a masmid to the point that today he is an expert in all of shas, including zeroim and taharos, with Rishonim and Acharonim! One can only be awed by the presence of such a person. I would like to explain how one should relate to this friend – or someone similar to him.

The gemora in Shabbos (112b) states, “If the previous generations are like angels, we are just people. And if they are like people, then we are donkeys!” I heard an explanation that if we perceive certain people as Angels, way above everyone else, we will think of ourselves as “normal” people. However, if we think that they are normal people (like us), then this shows that we are lagging so far behind them, to the point that the Gemara compares us to a donkey (meaning we will have to do a lot of work to reach their stature). People put gedolim on a pedestal as a defense mechanism so that they do not feel obligated to strive for that level of greatness. This is an incorrect approach. It is very important to know that many of the gedolim were mischievous children (possibly today they would have been diagnosed with ADHD) and one could not see signs of greatness in them as children. Therefore, we are also obligated, even with our own limitations, to strive to reach levels of greatness.

It is said in the name of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter (1809-1883) that it is easier to learn all of Shas than to change one bad character trait. Indeed, there are very few people whom I have seen change their character traits. One childhood friend of mine, who was a “happy go lucky fellow”, later became a more serious adult. Another classmate of mine said about him, “He is the person who gives me equilibrium in my life, for he calls me every erev Shabbos to see how I am doing.” That seriousness and commitment was not something he was born with but something he worked on.

Another place where I have seen this misconception is when someone rises to become a Rosh Yeshiva or a prominent Rav and his opinion is quoted internationally. There are people who ask, “HIM? He was a troublemaker in his youth just like the rest of us!” Indirectly they are minimizing his greatness in Torah, and trying to make themselves feel better about their lack of growth, by saying that this Rav is just a regular person, like them.

Rav Shimshon Rafael Hirsch (1808-1888) comments about the issue of prophets in this week’s Parsha.  Rav Hirsh says that a prophet has to be one who grew up within normal society, just like the rest of the people of his time. Yet everyone is obligated to heed his word even though he was that fellow with whom they played with as a child.

As we look towards Rosh Hashanah, I feel that it is worthwhile to look at the people around us who have shined this year. We should try to emulate their ways, and not minimize their progress and what they have become. It could very well be that someone you know has reached a higher status than in the past. When you see people just like you attain a higher level, be inspired by it.