Chapter 6 of Micha is a chapter of contention and rebuke: the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, summons the mountains and hills to serve as witnesses, opening with the claim, "My people, what have I done to you, and how have I wearied you?" In the section before us, we examine the recollection of Balak and Bilam, and of "from Shittim unto Gilgal," alongside the profound question of the sinning person - how shall I atone? - and the monumental answer the prophet provides in the famous verse, "He has told you, O man, what is good." We will follow the order of the verses, primarily in light of the Malbim, alongside Rashi, Radak, and the Midrashim.
עַמִּי זְכׇר נָא מַה יָּעַץ בָּלָק מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב וּמֶה עָנָה אֹתוֹ בִּלְעָם בֶּן בְּעוֹר מִן הַשִּׁטִּים עַד הַגִּלְגָּל לְמַעַן דַּעַת צִדְקוֹת יְהֹוָה׃ - "My people, remember now what Balak king of Moav counseled, and what Bilam the son of Be'or answered him; from Shittim unto Gilgal, so that you may know the righteous acts of Hashem."
What was Balak's counsel? To destroy the people of Israel. And what did Bilam answer him? "How shall I curse whom God has not cursed, and how shall I defy whom Hashem has not defied?" - I was not angry throughout all those days. Thus far it is straightforward. The difficulty lies in what follows: "from Shittim unto Gilgal" - what is the connection between Shittim and Gilgal? Shittim is still close to the episode of Balak, but Gilgal is already in the Land of Israel.
Rashi explains: from Shittim, where you sinned against Me, from there you should learn of My righteous acts - that even though you sinned, I did not withhold My assistance from you, until I brought you to Gilgal, which was already the entry into the Land. I ought to have laid you waste for your sin, but instead I continued to provide you with the manna, the well, and the clouds of glory, nourishing, sustaining, and caring for you the entire way.
Radak adds that the mention of Gilgal is meant to recall the miracle. That is to say: at Shittim you sinned and were liable to a curse, yet I atoned for you when some perished in the plague; and at Gilgal I performed a miracle for you upon entering the Land, as the Jordan split. "So that you may know the righteous acts of Hashem" - from all this you should learn and know how many benevolent deeds the Holy One, blessed be He, performed for us. And from here: if you follow the upright path, those same righteous acts will accompany you now as well; and if not, you will receive punishment accordingly.
בַּמָּה אֲקַדֵּם יְהֹוָה אִכַּף לֵאלֹהֵי מָרוֹם הַאֲקַדְּמֶנּוּ בְעוֹלוֹת בַּעֲגָלִים בְּנֵי שָׁנָה׃ - "With what shall I come before Hashem, and bow before the God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old?"
Radak explains: if one of you should say, with what offering shall I present myself before Hashem? How shall I bow before Him? "Shall I come before Him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old" - should I bring before Him year-old calves, which are considered the choicest and youngest?
The Malbim explains that these verses are like a parenthetical statement, reflecting the words of Israel themselves: after they stumbled at Shittim and with Ba'al Pe'or, they feel remorse and ask - how shall I approach the presence of Hashem, before Whom I have now sinned? "Ekaf" (bow) comes from the root of bending: how shall I bend my stature before Him, for He is the God on high. "Elokim" signifies the Attribute of Strict Justice (Middat HaDin), and one who sins before the One Who brings all reality into existence is worthy of great punishment. This is not like angering a father, a rabbi, or a king; this is an entirely different relationship, and a completely different magnitude of punishment.
הֲיִרְצֶה יְהֹוָה בְּאַלְפֵי אֵילִים בְּרִבְבוֹת נַחֲלֵי שָׁמֶן הַאֶתֵּן בְּכוֹרִי פִּשְׁעִי פְּרִי בִטְנִי חַטַּאת נַפְשִׁי׃ - "Will Hashem be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"
Corresponding to "With what shall I come before Hashem," he suggests: perhaps even thousands of rams, which are larger and superior to yearling calves, and tens of thousands of rivers of oil to pour out as libations upon the burnt offerings - yet all of this is not enough. And corresponding to "shall I bow before the God on high," he asks: "Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression?" - for a rebellion (*pesha*), which is an intentional and defiant sin, would I have to give my firstborn son, the most precious thing I possess? And for the "sin of my soul" (*chatat nafshi*), which is unintentional and less severe, is "the fruit of my body" sufficient, meaning the rest of the children who are not the firstborn? Would I atone through that?
הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם מַה טּוֹב וּמָה יְהֹוָה דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ כִּי אִם עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם אֱלֹהֶיךָ׃ - He has told you, O man, what is good, and what Hashem requires of you: only to do justice, to love loving-kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.
At first glance, this is difficult: does one need to hear from a mortal man (*adam*) what is good? Rashi offers a wonderful explanation based on the cantillation mark, the disjunctive accent on the word *lecha* ("to you"): "He has told you" - who told you? The Holy One, blessed be He. "O man, what is good" - the Holy One, blessed be He, says to you: O man, I am informing you what is good for you to do. And what is good for you? "And to walk humbly with your God," as Targum Yonatan translates: "Be humble to walk in the fear of your God."
Another explanation of walking humbly: the measure of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like the measure of flesh and blood. The way of flesh and blood is that when someone insults his fellow and comes to appease him, the aggrieved party says: I will not be reconciled with you until so-and-so and so-and-so, before whom you humiliated me, are present. You shamed me in front of everyone? Wait until they gather, and then beg forgiveness before their eyes. But the Holy One, blessed be He, desires only that you "walk humbly": repent between yourself and Him, and that is enough. He does not demand that you make amends in public just as you caused the damage in public; you confess in a whisper and seek forgiveness in secret, and the Holy One, blessed be He, says: that is sufficient.
The Radak explains that this verse is the response to the person's question, "Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression?" - Master of the Universe, with what shall I be cleansed of my sins? The Holy One, blessed be He, replies: I do not desire burnt offerings. "And what does Hashem require of you: only to do justice and love loving-kindness," just as Shmuel said to Shaul: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, to listen than the fat of rams." "To do justice," the Radak explains, includes all the commandments between man and his fellow, such as monetary damages and the like - "And these are the ordinances (*mishpatim*) that you shall set before them," which are monetary laws; and it also includes the laws of forbidden relations (*arayot*) - "You shall perform My ordinances (*mishpatai*)," followed immediately by "The nakedness of your father and the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover." Thus, "to do justice" means scrupulous care in monetary matters and in matters of personal holiness. "And to love loving-kindness" is a level above this: justice is what I am obligated to do - if I must pay, I will pay; loving-kindness is giving even when I am not obligated, doing more than what is strictly required.
"And to walk humbly with Hashem your God" means to love Hashem with all your heart and with all your soul. And why is it called *hatznea* (humbly or modestly)? Because these are hidden matters, things entrusted to the heart. No one knows how deeply his fellow is attached to Hashem, blessed be He.
It is told of Rav Shteinman that people would observe him in various situations, during medical examinations and in hospitals, moving his fingers, opening and closing his hand. His close associates asked him what he was doing, and he explained: when I touch my thumb to my pinky - the pinky is the smallest finger, corresponding to the smallest letter, *Yud*; then I open my hand - five fingers, corresponding to *Hei*; then I extend the long finger, which resembles a *Vav*; and again open my hand - *Hei*. When he was unable to learn or concentrate on anything else, he fulfilled the verse, "I have set Hashem before me always."
With the Beit Yosef, an even greater glimpse was revealed to us. It is related that one night the angelic Maggid did not appear to him. The next day he asked what had happened, and the Maggid told him: yesterday you were walking through the marketplace and lifted your foot to take a step, and at that very moment you were not contemplating the unity of Hashem (*yichud Hashem*) - therefore, you were not worthy that day for a Maggid to be revealed to you. From this account we learn how deeply he was attached to the Master of the Universe: he would not lift a hand or a foot without thinking about the Holy One, blessed be He. From this we can understand that one does not attain such stature by chance, to become the teacher of all Israel and the halachic authority whose rulings are universally accepted; there were other Torah giants in his generation, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, chose him specifically - because these are exalted, lofty levels, maintained in modest concealment, impossible to recognize as they truly are.
Someone once asked the Gaon Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach: in earlier generations there were hidden tzaddikim - like Chaikel the wagon driver, among whose belongings they later found sacks filled with Kabbalistic writings on lofty matters; or a carpenter or water drawer who turned out to have mastered the entire Shas, and whenever someone entered he would close the book so people would not think he was studying, projecting an image of simple folk. Where are such tzaddikim today? He answered: There are none. They asked him: But in every generation there are thirty-six hidden tzaddikim (*lamed-vav tzaddikim*)! He told them: Know that in our generation, the revealed tzaddikim are also the hidden ones. They asked: How so? After all, they are revealed! He said: You can never know how truly righteous such a person is. When does one see it? After his passing, when stories are told and things come to light that no one appreciated or realized were on such a level - it turns out that he revealed one handbreadth and concealed two thousand. Thus, the revealed tzaddik is also the hidden one. And this is "walk humbly with your God": the extent to which a person is truly "with your God" is a modest matter, entrusted to the heart, and not discernible from the outside.
Our Sages expound: "To do justice" - this refers to the laws of judgment; "and to love kindness" - this refers to acts of loving-kindness; "and to walk humbly with your God" - this refers to taking out the deceased for burial and escorting a bride to the chuppah. At first glance, this is puzzling: A funeral in modesty and discretion? There are posters announcing it all over town! Escorting a bride? Invitations are sent out, and announcements are placed in the newspaper for anyone who did not receive one. Where is there walking humbly here?
If we look at the funeral of Rav Shteinman, that was truly what he requested: only ten people, without loudspeakers, and without publicity. Speaking of loudspeakers, someone once came to ask how much it costs to broadcast an announcement through the city about the passing of his relative. They asked him: "With chocolate milk or without?" He said, "What chocolate milk? Is this summer camp?" The announcer replied, "If it opens with the dramatic lamentation, 'The sun has set [shaku] at midday, the funeral of the righteous Rav...' - that is one price; without it - a different price."
Rather, the Midrash explains that this is an a fortiori argument (kal v'chomer): If concerning matters that are not normally conducted in private the Torah says "and walk humbly" - all the more so concerning matters whose very nature is to be done in private! In other words, even in public affairs, modesty and restraint are precious before Hashem, and how much more so in matters that are inherently private.
Bringing a bride to the chuppah is a wonderful example of this. We all recognize the reality: when someone marries off a son or daughter, he does not merely hold a wedding, he stages a production. He hires an event producer with all the latest pyrotechnics to create "the event of the year." Someone once shared that from his eldest son's bar mitzvah he was left with debts for four years, while with his subsequent children he was much more restrained. Whom are you trying to impress? Whose eyes are you trying to dazzle? Make a reasonable, beautiful, and pleasant event. It is not that lavishness is forbidden; there are those who can provide generously, like Eliezer - after all, Rivkah received valuable jewelry from Eliezer's hand, and it was certainly not modest in cost. And at times an honorable setting is genuinely necessary for distinguished guests. But to do so in an ostentatious, showy manner - what does that accomplish? "And walk humbly with Hashem your God" applies to this as well.
The Malbim explains that this verse clarifies what was stated earlier: "And how have I wearied you?" - Did I exhaust you with mitzvos? To this the verse replies: Remember now what Balak advised, and what Bilam answered him. Bilam responded that it is better in Hashem's eyes specifically to bless them, for divine providence clings to Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, does not abandon them. Because of this, Bilam advised causing them to sin, for the God of these people hates licentiousness, and he ensnared them with the daughters of Moav so that divine providence would depart from them. For as long as divine providence is with them, no one can prevail against them; but "lest He see an unseemly thing in you, and turn away from behind you." If divine providence departs, it will become possible to overcome them. And the Holy One, blessed be He, says: From this very episode you can see that I did not weary you; on the contrary, I spared you and had mercy on you even then.
Here the Malbim brings the proof: "From Shittim to Gilgal." Seemingly, Shittim and Gilgal are two distinct locations, and the affair of Balak and Bilam did not extend from Shittim to Gilgal. Rather, the Malbim explains, the passage should be read as connected: "From Shittim to Gilgal... He has told you, O man, what is good," while the verses "With what shall I come before Hashem" and "Will Hashem be pleased with thousands of rams" are a parenthetical thought in the middle.
The matter is as follows: After Israel sinned at Shittim, they repented and sought to know how Hashem would atone for them, and with what He would be appeased to pardon transgression and bring an end to sin. They thought that appeasement required monumental sacrifices, and perhaps even: "Shall I give my firstborn," "the fruit of my body" - offering the firstborn before Hashem for atonement. To this, the answer came: "From Shittim to Gilgal - He has told you, O man, what is good." During that period, from Shittim until Gilgal, Moshe Rabbeinu taught us what Hashem requires of us, and that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not demand sacrifices in order to grant atonement, but rather to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly.
"Until Gilgal" - until they reached Gilgal, where Moshe parted from them and Yehoshua brought them into the Land. There in Gilgal miracles were performed for them: the Jordan split and rose to the heavens, Israel crossed on dry land, and they saw that the Holy One, blessed be He, had returned to accompany them; there Hashem spoke to Yehoshua and commanded the observance of the Torah and mitzvos. The verse is precise in stating "until Gilgal": until Gilgal I did not weary you with difficult labors, but at Gilgal there was indeed demanding labor - there they were commanded to circumcise, "and circumcise the children of Israel again at the hill of foreskins" (one who wishes may consult the shiurim on Sefer Yehoshua), and there they were commanded to offer the Korban Pesach. For all the time they were in the wilderness they did not observe Pesach, because the north wind did not blow for them, which has the power to dispel the clouds and heal the circumcised; therefore they remained uncircumcised, and "no uncircumcised person may eat of it." These two matters - circumcision and the Pesach offering - are arduous tasks. Yet "from Shittim until Gilgal" I did not ask of you any burdensome task, but only "to do justice and to love kindness." "That you may know the righteous acts of Hashem" - through this you will recognize the righteousness of Hashem, Who does not impose burdens upon man, does not demand grueling labors from him, and does not weary him.
The Malbim adds: See what He has told you. The first is "what is good" - what is good for you by virtue of being human, namely in the realm of mitzvos between man and his fellow man, what is good for a person in order to live a proper life. Indeed, anyone who reflects will see that one whose conduct toward his fellow man is good enjoys a good life, while one who is negative toward his fellow man suffers a bitter life. There are no shortcuts here: man is a social creature - "political/social" (medini) in the terminology of early scholars - interconnected with his surroundings. A positive person receives positive feedback from his environment: from his wife and children in his immediate home, from his workplace, from his neighbors, and from everyone who comes into contact with him; whereas a negative person receives negative feedback and suffers from his own actions. Every time he causes harm, inflicts pain, or acts unfairly, ultimately the one who suffers for it is himself. And the second is "and what Hashem requires of you" - these are the mitzvos between man and God, to fulfill the will of Hashem.
Corresponding to "what is good" between man and his fellow man: "to act justly." The judicial system preserves the integrity of social life, which is why even the descendants of Noah are commanded to appoint judges - one of the Seven Noahide Commandments - for without it, men would swallow each other alive. When there are judges and magistrates, "might makes right" does not rule. And even in places where the law is not exact justice, it is better than chaos. Look at what happened in Iraq before Saddam fell: it certainly was not good - a tyrannical, megalomaniacal, and mad ruler. But "let's tear it all down" - and today it is seven times worse. At least there was a ruler restraining the populace, someone keeping order and calm, allowing daily life to function. Today they live there in daily fear of which market will explode or which car will blow up next to a mosque - Sunnis against Shiites, Shiites against Sunnis, terrorists, and no one knows who is against whom. So even a megalomaniacal ruler is preferable, provided there is order. Thus we see that even a gentile is required to uphold law and justice. The law ensures there is no extortion, theft, or corruption, and a person knows that if he commits a crime, he will be punished and held accountable. Therefore, the last thing to ever abolish is the law, and the first thing required for a proper society is "to act justly."
And the next thing: "and to love kindness." A society cannot stand on justice alone; a healthy society is one that possesses kindness, acting beyond the strict letter of the law, helping and supporting those who lack the means. We find this modeled by King David, who executed "justice and charity." What does this mean? A poor man and a rich man would come before him, and the poor man aroused pity - "I deserve it, I am destitute, nothing will happen to the rich man if he pulls another two hundred shekels from his pocket." But that is a perversion of justice, and the Torah warns: "You shall not show favoritism in judgment." David would judge strictly according to the law, and if the poor man was found liable, he was obligated to pay. And from where would he pay? David would go and give him money from his own pocket so he could pay. That is justice and charity: first justice - the fact that you are poor is no reason for the rich man to lose, and the fact that he has wealth is no reason to take from him unlawfully; and afterward, charity. However, David feared that this opened the door to deceit: two people might pose as a poor man and a rich man, come to court, David would rule against the "poor" man according to the law and give him money from his pocket to pay - while the entire lawsuit was a sham, designed merely to extract money from him. Therefore he prayed: "Do not leave me to my oppressors" - Master of the Universe, I love charity and justice, but save me from schemers who come to exploit my charity and extract money unlawfully.
Thus we learn: justice is not enough; kindness is required. And not just kindness, but "the love of kindness." For one who performs an act of kindness merely once in a while soon runs out of steam; but one who possesses a genuine love of kindness does it again and again, ensuring that kindness endures and remains constant.
And corresponding to "and what Hashem requires of you," it states: "and to walk humbly with your God." That you should walk with your God, just as "Noah walked with God" - this is what Hashem requires of you. Be closely attached to the Holy One, blessed be He; this is the root of all the mitzvot between man and God: that a person walk with God, in the ways of God, and that the Holy One, blessed be He, accompany him at every step. When one fulfills the will of the Omnipresent, one is with Hashem, his God: "And you shall be holy, for I am holy." And this must be done humbly, for these are matters between you and your Creator, and in them, modesty and privacy are required.
And why is humility specifically required? Malbim explains: so that one does not become haughty in philosophic inquiry into Divinity, nor presume to outsmart His commandments, but rather walk humbly with his God. In their day, the way to acquire knowledge of Hashem was through philosophical investigation - people would investigate, delve, and establish philosophical proofs and evidence for the existence of God. Yet there is great danger in this, for one who enters into philosophy is liable to be drawn into erroneous conclusions. Indeed, the Yaavetz wrote that during the period of the Inquisition, those who gave their lives in simple devotion for the sanctification of Hashem's Name were the common folk. Meanwhile, the intellectuals and philosophers, those who supposedly reached deep insights into the understanding of God's reality, it was precisely from among them that the converts emerged, may Hashem have mercy. One whose faith is simple and wholehearted does not make calculations or try to be overly clever, and this is the highest level; but once you start calculating, who knows where you will end up.
Furthermore, when a person is the opposite of humble - when he feels he is "somebody" - he begins to deliberate on his own whether it is fitting to observe the mitzvah right now. He weighs everything on the scales of his own intellect and decides, lacking nullification of the self. When a person possesses humility and nullification before the Holy One, blessed be He, he merits complete attachment; but when he lacks this humility, he arrives at all sorts of philosophical doubts, questions, and second-guessing. Therefore, what does Hashem ask of you? "To walk humbly" - that you walk with Him with simplicity and modesty.
Once, Rabbi Raphael of Bershad was asked in his advanced old age: "Through what virtue did you merit long life?" He replied: "All my days, I never questioned or raised any difficulty regarding the conduct of the Creator of the world. Whatever Hashem does, I would always say: 'Thank You, Master of the Universe; everything Father does is for the best.'" He added: "I also recommend to you not to raise difficulties or ask questions about the Holy One, blessed be He, for whoever asks questions - the Holy One, blessed be He, calls him up to give him the answers. I did not ask, so they left me here."
A person must know: "You shall be wholehearted with Hashem, your God." You do not understand? If you understood everything Hashem does, you would be the Master of the Universe. The very fact that I do not understand demonstrates that there is still a vast distance between us and the Holy One, blessed be He. As Rav Saadia Gaon stated, the pinnacle of knowledge is knowing that we do not know. When a person reaches the edge of his understanding and thinks, "Now I understand," he suddenly begins to grasp how much he truly does not know. One who believes he understands is the one who truly does not understand. Look at someone on the street who says, "I've learned, Rabbi," when Shenayim Ochazin baTalit is all he knows, and that is where he stopped - yet he is confident he is learned. In contrast, take a great Torah scholar and ask him: "Have you learned?" He will say to you: "What have I learned? Look at this entire library; what do I know out of it all?" A great person knows how much he does not know.
The same applies to the esoteric wisdom of the Torah: whoever talks does not know, and whoever knows does not talk. All those who babble about mystical secrets do not truly know, and those who know remain silent. Who has ever heard Rav Mutzafi speaking publicly on Kabbalah and esoteric secrets? He has a yeshivah, and within the yeshivah walls, yes; but one who truly knows does not broadcast it. Yet nowadays, anyone opens a class on Kabbalah and mysticism, and some even teach it to women, with "Zohar groups" and the like, may Hashem have mercy. One who does not know talks endlessly, and one who knows keeps his mouth sealed and does not speak.
There is also an explanation from the author of Misgeret HaSha'ar: Many times a person faces a dilemma and does not know what is best to do, what the proper conduct is, and what the correct path is. At times, this is even a choice between one mitzvah and another: Which mitzvah takes precedence right now? Which joyous occasion to attend? To a house of mourning or a house of celebration? Should one close the Gemara now and go, or not?
I once read that someone asked Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach about attending a relative's wedding - how long should he stay, given that it comes at the expense of seder shelishi and he would miss evening kollel? The Rav told him: At your age, I did not go to celebrations, and therefore today, at my age, it is enough for me to arrive at a celebration for twenty seconds and I have already brought them joy, and then I can go home. That was his advice: when you are young, be diligent in your learning, and when you grow older, you will be able to come for half a minute and leave. After all, Rav Shlomo Zalman arrives at a wedding, dances with the chassan, they sing to him, and he leaves after half a minute - and that is enough. No one expects him to sit for two hours and eat a quarter of a chicken.
Where does the problem lie in making a decision? The one who has to decide is me, and I have a personal bias in the matter. Sometimes I lean toward going to a celebration because I prefer it over something else, and sometimes I lean toward not going. I once saw a neighbor take an envelope out of his mailbox and say to me, "Look, I got a fine." I looked - it was a wedding invitation. There are people for whom an invitation is a four-hundred-shekel ticket; each person according to his own perspective.
So what is the advice? "He has told you, O man, what is good" - do not decide on your own, because you are biased. This is why Chazal said, "Make for yourself a Rav" - so that you remove yourself from doubt. And what if I do not have a Rav readily available? Am I supposed to walk around with a Rav attached to me all day? I have told you about the Brisker Rav, who was exceedingly cautious about rendering halachic rulings (yerei hora'ah), and would send every question to Rabbi Zelig, the Dayan of Brisk. Once, someone said to him cynically and with a touch of insolence, "The Rav needs Rabbi Zelig in his pocket to answer the questions" - as if to imply that the Rav was not on top of the subject. Immediately, the Rav began detailing the entire sugya for him, citing everything stated on the matter until he walked him through to the final halachic conclusion - as if to say: I am fearful of rendering rulings and therefore refer you to him, but do not think for a moment, Heaven forbid, that the Rav is unlearned.
The takeaway from this is that one does not always need an eminent Rav. Sometimes a sensible person, a ben Torah, is enough to hear the question and decide for you, and he is better suited than you for this matter. And if you say, "But I understand more than he does" - that is true, he may not have your level of understanding, but he has one decisive advantage: he is not personally biased. When you face a dilemma, you lean one way or the other; he is impartial. "He has told you, O man, what is good" - do you want to know what is good? Ask another person.
And what if there is no one available to ask at the moment? We have already discussed this in our lessons on Megillat Ruth, on the verse "And she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go." The Vilna Gaon explains: see which of the two sides you are drawn to more, and do the opposite. Why? Because naturally we are drawn to the yetzer hara, not the yetzer hatov. The yetzer hatov arrives only at age thirteen, whereas the yetzer hara is already built into us from the time one leaves his mother's womb - an old acquaintance. "For the inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth," and "A wild donkey's colt is born a man" - man is born a wild donkey's colt, and from that raw nature he must give birth to a refined human being. Therefore, when you do not know what to do, your natural inclination is presumably toward the negative - so do the opposite.
And how is a person tested? Aharon the Kohen could not be tested "by his cup" (in his drinking), for Kohanim are warned against drinking wine during their service; nor could he be tested "by his pocket" (in his money), for he had no private estate, but only what was given to him. That left testing him "by his anger": complain about him and provoke him - and you will see that he does not become angry. Through this, you know who Aharon is and his great stature. And so it is in our matter: the true test of "walking humbly with your God" is seen in accompanying the dead and bringing the bride to the chuppah, for that is where one examines whether a person conducts himself with modesty and discretion - not only at a funeral, but also at celebrations, ensuring he does not make celebrations beyond his means, but conducts even these with modesty and restraint.
By way of homiletical allusion: the Gemara states that concerning anyone who possesses arrogance, the Holy One, Blessed is He, says, "I and he cannot dwell together in the world." Why? Because an arrogant person takes up space, and thereby pushes away the feet of the Shechinah, for the whole earth is full of His glory, yet the arrogant one fills the void with his ego. And that is the meaning of "and walk humbly with your God": one who conducts himself with humility and modesty merits being together with the Holy One, Blessed is He, for he leaves room for God; whereas one who acts with pride is not "with your God," but distances himself from the Almighty.
Another explanation: "With your God (Elokecha)" - the name Elokim denotes the attribute of strict justice. One who conducts himself with modesty and humility merits that the Holy One, Blessed is He, remains with him even when He sits upon the throne of judgment, and will not abandon him. Why? Just as you conduct yourself with kindness and go beyond the letter of the law - as we saw regarding "loving kindness" - so too does the Holy One, Blessed is He, say: I, too, will treat you beyond the strict letter of the law. "And walk humbly" - you conduct yourself with modesty and humility, and then, even when I appear as "your God" in strict judgment, I am still with you.
The Holy One, Blessed is He, presents His claim against Israel: Remember the counsel of Balak and the response of Bil'am, and remember what I did for you from Shittim to Gilgal - that even after you sinned, I did not withhold kindness from you, and I sustained you until I brought you into the Land. Israel, in their remorse, ask how they may achieve atonement: with burnt offerings? With thousands of rams? Perhaps with one's firstborn and the fruit of one's body? To this comes the prophet's reply: "He has told you, O man, what is good" - the Holy One, Blessed is He, has already informed you, and Moshe Rabbeinu taught you in Mishneh Torah from Shittim to Gilgal, that the Lord does not demand onerous tasks and sacrifices from you, but only three things: to do justice - the foundation of a proper social order; to love kindness - a steady dedication to doing good beyond the letter of the law; and to walk humbly with your God - an inner, modest devotion, with simplicity, free of pride and pretense. And one who walks this path merits that the Holy One, Blessed is He, walks with him even in a time of judgment.