Seven Times He Falls, and Rises
“For a righteous person falls seven times and rises, but the wicked stumble into evil.” A Quiet Question A young married man once came to me after a hard stretch of trying to make a living. He asked me, “Have I already failed?” He did not ask what would happen next. He asked whether the story was already over. This question, “Am I a failure?”, is one every person asks quietly in his heart when he finds himself down low. And we need to know this: a verse in the Book of Proverbs already answered it three thousand years ago. The Puzzle In Proverbs it is written: “For a righteous person falls seven times and rises, but the wicked stumble into evil.” Right away, this verse raises a big question about itself. A righteous person falls seven times? A fall is a word for weakness, for stumbling, for some kind of flaw. How can we call someone “righteous” if he falls seven times? And there is more. The verse does not say, “A righteous person fell and then came back to Hashem.” It says he will fall seven times. It is as if falling is expected, as if it is part of the very definition! The Answer: One Definition Here is the answer. The verse is not describing two separate situations, one of falling and one of rising. It gives one complete definition of who a righteous person is. A righteous person is not someone who never falls. A righteous person is someone who always gets back up. The fall is an event. It is one chapter in the story. But getting up is an identity. And from this comes a crucial new insight. The real failure is not the fall. The real failure is despair, the inner decision to stay down. This is exactly what Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, author of the Tanya, the classic book of Hasidic thought, teaches. The main trick of the evil inclination, the inner voice that pulls us toward wrong, is not the fall itself. It is what comes after the fall. It is the heavy sadness and the feeling of “there’s no fixing me.” It is the voice that says, “I’ve already fallen, so what’s the use?” The fall is only his tool. The tool behind all his tools is despair. That is why Rabbi Schneur Zalman writes there clearly that a person should mourn over himself for a short while, and no longer. After that, “he should not take it to heart at all.” The Parable of the Book Think of it this way. Life is a book. A hard chapter does not turn the whole book into a failure. It might be a hard year of making a living, a fall in serving Hashem, or a stumble in your spiritual life. A book does not fail because it has a hard chapter in it. A book fails only when the writer stops writing. As long as a person is still in the story, still has his hand on the page and says, “The next chapter is still coming,” he is not a failure. He is still righteous, in the words of the verse. This is true even if he has fallen six times and has not yet gotten up from the seventh. And there is something to add. Sometimes the hardest chapter is the very one that prepares the ground for the most beautiful chapter. The fall itself creates a deeper potential to rise. It is a descent for the sake of a higher ascent, as Rabbi Schneur Zalman explained when speaking of Joseph the righteous.
Putting It into Practice
My brother, young married man: maybe you have fallen. Maybe it was in your Torah study, in your prayer, in making a living, or in how you treat other people. Remember this. The fall itself is not the question. The only question is: are you getting up? You still haven’t given up? Then you haven’t failed. You’re still trying? Then you are still in the story. You still have your hand on the page, looking for the next chapter? Then you are righteous, in the words of King Solomon. Closing the book is the only failure. As long as the book is open, the story goes on, and Hashem is waiting for you to rise.
Questions and answers
Q: What does the verse "For a righteous person falls seven times and rises, but the wicked stumble into evil" mean?
Rabbi Landau answers: “For a righteous person falls seven times and rises, but the wicked stumble into evil.”
Q: What should a person do when he wonders after a hard stretch whether he has already failed?
Rabbi Landau answers: A young married man once came to me after a hard stretch of trying to make a living. He asked me, “Have I already failed?” He did not ask what would happen next. He asked whether the story was already over. This question, “Am I a failure?”, is one every person asks quietly in his heart when he finds himself down low. And we need to know this: a verse in the Book of Proverbs already answered it three thousand years ago.
Q: Does "a righteous person falls seven times and rises" mean a righteous person never falls?
Rabbi Landau answers: Here is the answer. The verse is not describing two separate situations, one of falling and one of rising. It gives one complete definition of who a righteous person is. A righteous person is not someone who never falls. A righteous person is someone who always gets back up. The fall is an event. It is one chapter in the story. But getting up is an identity. And from this comes a crucial new insight. The real failure is not the fall. The real failure is despair, the inner decision to stay down. This is exactly what Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, author of the Tanya, the classic book of Hasidic thought, teaches.
Q: What does the parable of life as a book teach about a hard chapter?
Rabbi Landau answers: Think of it this way. Life is a book. A hard chapter does not turn the whole book into a failure. It might be a hard year of making a living, a fall in serving Hashem, or a stumble in your spiritual life. A book does not fail because it has a hard chapter in it. A book fails only when the writer stops writing. As long as a person is still in the story, still has his hand on the page and says, “The next chapter is still coming,” he is not a failure. He is still righteous, in the words of the verse. This is true even if he has fallen six times and has not yet gotten up from the seventh. And there is something to add.
Q: What should I remember after I have fallen in Torah study, prayer, or making a living?
Rabbi Landau answers: My brother, young married man: maybe you have fallen. Maybe it was in your Torah study, in your prayer, in making a living, or in how you treat other people. Remember this. The fall itself is not the question. The only question is: are you getting up? You still haven’t given up? Then you haven’t failed. You’re still trying? Then you are still in the story. You still have your hand on the page, looking for the next chapter? Then you are righteous, in the words of King Solomon. Closing the book is the only failure. As long as the book is open, the story goes on, and Hashem is waiting for you to rise.