קוממיות means erect in stature (in contrast to the bent position of a person who is under a yoke) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 3 7).
קוממיות, the opposite of Isaiah 51,23: “your tormentors who have commanded you: ‘get down, that we may walk over you.’”
I will put it in the hands of your tormentors, Who have commanded you, “Get down, that we may walk over you”— So that you made your back like the ground, Like a street for passersby.
ואולך אתכם קוממיות, “I will enable you to walk upright with your heads held high.” This is reminiscent of Exodus 14,5 describing the Israelites as holding their heads high when leaving Egypt. (B’chor shor)
קוממיות. When the yoke is removed he can hold his head high.
מיתבי (ויקרא כו, יג) ואולך אתכם קוממיות ר"מ אומר מאתים אמה כשתי קומות של אדם הראשון
“And I made you go upright [komemiyyut]” (Leviticus 26:13). Rabbi Meir says that in the end of days people will be two hundred cubits tall, the equivalent of twice the height of Adam the first man, who was one hundred cubits tall.
And he may not walk with an upright posture, but slightly bowed, as the Master said: One who walks with an upright posture and in an arrogant manner, even four cubits, it is as if he is pushing away the feet of the Divine Presence, as it is written: “The entire world is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). One who walks in an arrogant way shows a lack of regard for the glory and honor of God that is surrounding him, and thereby chases God from that place.
Rabbi Danny Nevins
I understand Mar to mean that when a sage adopts a position of confidence, even of insolence, they somehow undermine the divine presence. When sages walk with humility, then they acknowledge the divine presence in the world.
I remember the first time that I visited Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood and noticed men walking with their heads bent down, and wondered what was going on. I think they were taking this teaching quite literally, seeking to demonstrate humility with their posture, and to acknowledge that divinity fills the world. But I was always taught to stand straight! Isn’t standing upright a positive thing?
Indeed, elsewhere in rabbinic literature standing upright is seen as a state of redemption, not just from Egyptian slavery but from the sorrows of this world altogether. The word קוֹמְמִיּוּת is read as a plural form—two heights—to mean that future humans will be twice as tall as Adam the First, who himself was a giant. If we are virtuous then our children will stand taller than we do (Sanhedrin 100a; Bereshit Rabbah 12:6). Height and posture are indications of our status. When we are burdened by sin then we are weighed down and reduced in stature. When we act virtuously, then we are lifted up and elevated. Standing upright is not necessarily a sign of arrogance; it is also a promise of redemption.
We see this aspiration for upright posture in the liturgy, specifically in the Ahavah Rabbah blessing that precedes the morning Shema. We pray, “walk us upright to our land” (ותוליכנו קוממיות לארצנו) though our Israeli siddur V’Ani Tefilati emends the text to “walk us upright within our land” (ותוליכנו קוממיות בארצנו). Walking upright is seen not as a form of insolence, but rather of liberty and dignity. I think it also refers to walking with integrity, and to pursuing justice, as we read in Deut. 6:18. It is an aspiration, and often in our lives, a blessed reality.
וַהֲבִיאֵֽנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם מֵאַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת הָאָֽרֶץ וְתוֹלִיכֵֽנוּ קוֹמְ֒מִיּוּת לְאַרְצֵֽנוּ:
Hasten and bring upon us blessing and peace quickly from the four corners of the earth; break the yoke of the nations from our neck and speedily lead us upright to our land.
Rabbi Danny Nevins
The ambiguity surrounding upright posture is a constructive tension, I think. It is good to be humbled, and it is good to be dignified. A person who is so humble that they cannot walk properly and accomplish their work in the world is not living up to their potential. And a person who proudly prances about denies the assistance upon which they depend from God and other people. We signify the ambiguity in our worship by bending our knees and bowing four times during the Amidah, but standing up straight at the divine Name. Humble we are, but dignified too, even before God. Posture indicates our internal state; both humility and confidence are required to partner with God, to make the entire world truly reflect the divine glory.
וְאָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי בּוֹא וּרְאֵה שֶׁלֹּא כְּמִדַּת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִדַּת בָּשָׂר וָדָם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בֵּרַךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם וְקִלְּלָן בִּשְׁמֹנֶה בֵּרְכָן בְּעֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם מֵאִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי עַד קוֹמְמִיּוּת
וְקִלְּלָן בִּשְׁמוֹנָה מִוְּאִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי תִּמְאָסוּ עַד וְאֶת חֻקֹּתַי גָּעֲלָה נַפְשָׁם
And Rabbi Levi says: Come and see that the attribute of flesh and blood is unlike the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He. The Holy One, Blessed be He, blessed the Jewish people with twenty-two, and cursed them with only eight. Rabbi Levi explains: He blessed them with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, from the first letter, alef, that begins the verse: “If [im] you walk in My statutes” (Leviticus 26:3), until “upright [komemiyyut]” (Leviticus 26:13), which ends with the letter tav, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
And He cursed them with eight letters, from the letter vav that begins the verse: “And if [ve’im] you shall reject My statutes” (Leviticus 26:15), until: “And My statutes were abhorred by their soul [nafsham]” (Leviticus 26:43), which ends with the letter mem. There are eight letters in the Hebrew alphabet from the letter vav to the letter mem, inclusive.