NUM109 He [Hillel] used to say… In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man. Pirkei Avot, Perek II, mishnah 6. By this dictum Hillel qualifies his earlier teaching, "Do not separate yourself from the community." If a community is organized on the principles of Torah and recognizes its supreme authority, by all means, "do not separate": Work with it and give it your best. But what of a group that "goes after the desires of its heart"? What do you do when "the crowd" decides to visit a gambling haunt or some vile "place of pleasure"? Do we still say, "Do not separate"? No, concludes Hillel; sometimes the situation calls for a man, for the individual who will stand up to the group, who will say no! There are times when you must resist, go against the tide, be a non-conformist. Even if no one else has the wisdom or courage to be that man, even if everyone else has become part of the faceless crowd, the 1000-headed monster that is the spineless creature of conformity, you, the observant Jew, are the son of Abraham, he was called the 'ivri, because he stood on one side ('ever) of a great religious battle for the recognition of the Almighty, while the whole world stood arrayed against him on the other side. You must strive to be that man, standing on your own two feet. Bear this in mind: If the Jewish people had always gone along with the majority, there would be no Jewry and no Israel today. Yes, says Hillel, do not separate yourself from the group. But when that group has forfeited the right to be called "men," when righteousness and justice and Torah have departed--in the place where there is no man, you must stand up and fight the majority; you must be the man. Hillel was one of the most humble and patient people of his time (T.B. Shabbath 30b-31a). Yet, when the hour called for it, he allowed the community of Jerusalem to appoint him, an immigrant from Babylonia, as their nasi, their head, rather than any of their own leaders (T.B. Pesahim 66a). Can we reconcile such action with humility? I believe we can. To be humble does not mean that you refuse to appraise yourself realistically; neither does it require you to reject responsibilities, refuse to assume office, or rule out positions of leadership. Moses was the most humble of all men on the face of the earth, as Scripture attests [this verse]. Yet he led, rebuked and exerted his people; and surely he must have been aware of his historic significance. As we face up to our weaknesses, so should we honestly appraise our strengths and capacities. The humble person is not one who disparages his abilities and sees himself and others about his true talents. He is rather someone who accepts his talents and abilities, faces his historic opportunities, accepts his responsibilities. But he adds in utter honesty, "All this has been given me by the Almighty to serve Him and fulfill some small part of His plans for the universe. All this is no cause for arrogance or conceit. I am what the Creator has made me, and I must do what my situation demands of me." Where there is no man, strive to be a man.