Sotah 5A

אפילו עושה צדקה בסתר, דכתיב: ״מתן בסתר יכפה אף וגו׳״⁠ — לא ינקה מדינה של גיהנם.

Even if the one who committed adultery performs charitable deeds secretly, as alluded to in the phrase “hand to hand,” and even if one might think that one who does so will go unpunished, as it is written with regard to charity of this kind: “A gift in secret pacifies anger” (Proverbs 21:14), nevertheless, he will not be unpunished from the judgment of Gehenna.

אזהרה לגסי הרוח מנין? אמר רבא אמר זעירי: ״שמעו והאזינו אל תגבהו״. רב נחמן בר יצחק אמר, מהכא: ״ורם לבבך ושכחת״ וכתיב: ״השמר לך פן תשכח את ה׳ אלהיך״.

§ The Talmud previously discussed the impropriety of the trait of arrogance. Now the Talmud discusses the source of its prohibition. From where is the warning derived, i.e., what is the source prohibiting the behavior of the arrogant? Rava says that Ze’eiri says: The source is from the verse: “Hear, you, and give ear, be not proud, for YHWH has spoken” (Jeremiah 13:15). Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said the warning is from here: “Then your heart be lifted up, and you forget YHWH your God” (Deuteronomy 8:14), and it is also written in that same passage: “Beware lest you forget YHWH your God” (Deuteronomy 8:11).

וכדרבי אבין אמר רבי אילעא. דאמר רבי אבין אמר רבי אילעא: כל מקום שנאמר ״השמר״ ״פן״ ו״אל״⁠ — אינו אלא בלא תעשה.

The Talmud explains: And these sources are in accordance with a statement that R' Avin says that R' Ile’a says, as R' Avin says that R' Ile’a says: Wherever it is stated in a verse “beware,” “lest,” or “not,” this is nothing other than a prohibition. Since these verses employ these terms in the context of one who is arrogant, they serve as sources for the prohibition.

דרש רב עוירא, זמנין אמר לה משמיה דרב אסי וזמנין אמר לה משמיה דרב אמי: כל אדם שיש בו גסות הרוח לסוף מתמעט, שנאמר: ״רומו מעט״. ושמא תאמר ישנו בעולם, תלמוד לומר: ״ואיננו״.

Rav Avira interpreted the following verse homiletically: “They are exalted for a little while, and they are gone; yes, they are brought low, they are gathered in as all others, and wither as the tops of the husks” (Job 24:24). There were times when he said this interpretation in the name of Rav Asi and there were times when he said it in the name of Rav Ami: Any person who has arrogance within him will ultimately be diminished in standing, as it is stated in the phrase: “They are exalted for a little while,” indicating that one who raises himself above others will be exalted only briefly. And lest you say that even if he is diminished he will still exist in this world and live a full life, the verse states: “And they are gone,” indicating that they die before their time.