One should be careful to keep his good deeds hidden from anyone who has no need to know of them, for if they remain hidden, his reward is greater than if they become known. If he is unable to conceal them, he should remember the principle stated earlier that neither help nor harm proceeds from any creature except with the permission of the Creator, may He be exalted. When the Creator brings about good deeds through his agency, he should consider it a favor to himself from the Creator He should neither rejoice when people praise him for it nor desire that they honor him for it becasue this would make him proud of his actions, his heart's devotion and purity of intention would be spoiled the deed would be ruined and its reward lost
Once, on a Motzoei Shabbos, the chasidim were sitting in the bais medrash of the Ruzhiner Rebbe zy”a for Melave Malka. Suddenly, the Rebbe opened the door of his room next to the bais medrash, stood at the entrance, and said, “The Baal Shem Tov was not a deity, and the zaida, the Magid, was not just an ordinary wagon driver. And once, when the holy Baal Shem Tov prayed, his talis fringe fell out of his gartel and dragged on the floor. The Magid approached, picked it up, and put it back in the gartel, but he was trembled with such tremendous fear that he fainted and his life was in danger. They were compelled to rouse the Baal Shem Tov from his deep dveikus in order to calm him.” He then added, “I told you that the Baal Shem Tov was not a deity and my zaida, the Magid, was no wagon driver. Still and all, when he touched the Besht’s garment, he fainted from fear. The entire world is Hashem’s garment. How much fear must we feel to touch this world!” May the memory of the...