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My grandmother used to say, "A veller is besser vi a kenner." Roughly translated, that means ambition beats talent.
Or, as Rabbi Mendel Weinbach (d. 2012), used to say, "Ideas are a dime a dozen. It's people who do things who count."
But doing without thinking doesn't work either.
Years ago, after a no-confidence vote brought down a government in Israel, The Wall Street Journal asked my brother, Rabbi Nota Schiller (d. 2025), for his take on the situation. He told the reporter a story about a guy who fainted in shul. Everybody was running around, jabbering about what to do. Finally, one guy took a chair and tossed it through a window, smashing the glass.
"What did you do that for?!" someone yelled. "Well, someone had to do something!"
I've seen some of the smartest people do some of the dumbest things.
Of course, dumb people do dumb things too. But you expect it from them.
Tyrants thrive on rousing up mobs who can be depended on to follow, not think. But far worse are those intellectuals who get carried away by the romance of idealistic movements and willingly let themselves be used by charismatic demagogues.
There is a popular term for such tools of the tyrants: "useful idiots."
The leader of the Russian Revolution, Nikolai Lenin, often gets credited (or is it blamed?) for the ugly phrase.
William Safire searched for a source, but the best he could come up with was a claim by Yuri Annenkov, a Russian writer and painter, that he was given access to private papers after Lenin's death, when Annenkov was commissioned to illustrate a biography of Lenin.
The quote didn't include the phrase "useful idiots," but it sounds a lot like it:
"To speak the truth is a petit-bourgeois habit.
To lie, on the contrary, is often justified by the lie's aim. The whole world's capitalists and their governments, as they pant to win the Soviet market, will close their eyes to the above-mentioned reality and will thus transform themselves into men who are deaf, dumb and blind. They will give us credits … they will toil to prepare their own suicide."
Jonathan Rosenblum, , who's column appears on JWR, and happens to be a Yale graduate, took a swipe at intellectuals. The article was titled, "Why the Cabdrivers Are Right."
"'If a person is smart enough, you can convince him of anything. The problem arises if he is not quite so smart,' says a Communist Party apparatchik in a little-known Tom Stoppard play. Intellectuals can convince themselves of anything because they are so little bound by the facts in front of their eyes."
They would rather build sandcastles of elaborate theories and ignore the facts. To them, it's the thought that counts.
But perhaps most tragic is when great leaders become blinded and set out to destroy instead of build.
Rashi (d. 1105 ), the foremost commentator, cites a Midrash on Numbers 16:7, asking an odd question: Korah was a smart man. What did he see that led him to do something so dumb?
Interesting focus — not evil, but dumb.
It was more than just dumb to take on Moses, who was clearly G od's agent in this world. The Chiddushei Harim (d. 1866 ) points out the contrast that King Solomon was "the wisest of all men." What was his great wisdom? The Talmudic sages tell us it was the creation of eruv chatzeiros — the join- ing together of properties to form one domain for the Sabbath.1866 Effectively, King Solomon took a divided Jewry and united them. Korah took a united Klal Yisrael and divided them. That was really dumb.
There were others — too many others — who should have known better. What were they thinking?
I once thought of writing a book with the title Why Smart People Do Dumb Things. Then I found a book with the same title. It listed famous and infamous people, focusing on politicians and celebrities. But mainly, it listed tragic flaws — character traits that lead to the downfall of great people.
Smart people, even great leaders, seem particularly vulnerable to these flaws.
One fault that affects smart people is that they have a self-esteem problem. Not low self-esteem.
They've been told so often how smart they are that they start to take it for granted. They believe their own hype.
If you're the smartest person in the room, you can start to think you can do no wrong. Obviously, you know better than anyone else.
Smart people also tend to need excitement. They love to take risks. Like a rodeo cowboy riding a bull, they're addicted to danger.
There's also the feeling that the world owes them something. If you're the smartest, your very existence is G od's gift to the world. And mere mortals must pay homage.
The Torah demands that we be humble. But it's a balancing act. False humility can be as destructive as arrogance. Moses was the most humble of all men. But when he had to, he took charge.
When shechitah (ritual slaughter) was under attack in Great Britain, Rabbi Yechezkel Abramsky, zt"l (d.1976), was called to court to testify. The judge said, "Rabbi Abramsky, it says in the deposition that you are the foremost authority of Jewish Law in the British Empire. Is that true?"
"Yes, your honor."
"It also says here that you are the most senior Rabbi in the British Empire. Is that correct?"
"That is correct, your Honor."
The judge was stunned by the bold responses, and said, "Rabbi Abramsky, how do you resolve your answers with the Jewish teachings of humility?"
"Your honor, I am under oath."
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Mordechai Schiller is an award-winning columnist and headline writer at Hamodia, the Daily Newspaper of Torah Jewry, where this first appeared. His column has won two awards -- so far -- from the American Jewish Press Association.
Previously:
• There is nothing so sad as a stupid Jew
• Asking For It