Vayishlach - Pride and Perception

Have you ever noticed that arrogance doesn’t just change how we act — it changes our perspective? It convinces us that our perspective is the only one, and that our assumptions are reality. This was Edom’s fatal flaw, as captured by Ovadiah in a single phrase: זְדוֹן לִבְּךָ הִשִּׁיאֶךָ, the arrogance of your heart has deceived you. Their downfall begins not from the outside, but inside. High in their mountain strongholds, they declare:מִי יוֹרִדֵנִי אָרֶץ, Who could ever bring me down? It is not a question — it is blindness disguised as confidence.

Modern psychology affirms this truth. In a well-known 1999 study, researchers David Dunning and Justin Kruger demonstrated that people who are most convinced of their own correctness are often the least accurate in self-assessment. Their certainty is not a sign of clarity — but of distortion. Arrogance blinds; humility allows perception.

Hashem answers Edom’s delusion: אִם תַּגְבִּיהַּ כַּנֶּשֶׁר… מִשָּׁם אוֹרִידְךָ, Even if you rise like an eagle — from there I will bring you down. Arrogance elevates a person into illusion; humility brings one back to truth.

This message is lived by Ovadiah himself. Born into Edom, he chose humility and faith. Within the arrogance and corruption of Achav’s court, he stayed rooted in Hashem, and that grounding gave him clarity and courage. Ovadiah demonstrated that humility is not weakness.It anchors us in reality, opens opportunity for truth, and keeps us connected to others and to Hashem.

Ovadiah ends with the vision that outlasts every empire: וְהָיְתָה לַה’ הַמְּלוּכָה, and the kingship will be Hashem’s. Power shifts, pride collapses, and history turns — but humility before Hashem remains the truest form of strength and the clearest way of seeing.