"In a discourse on charity, the sages turn to the case of those who do not need alms, yet pretend that they do.
They say that if a person pretends to be lame, and asks for charity as a lame person, he will not die until he becomes lame.
If a person pretends to have a certain disease, he will not die until he gets it.
The lie will become true.
The mask will become reality.
Even against one's will, the mask exercises a huge power over the person.
In a later period, somebody asked, 'That is what happens when one pretends to be lame; what if someone pretends to be a saint?'
The answer is the same: he will not die until he becomes a saint; that will be his punishment.
It is a punishment, because the life of a saint is so much harder than that of the hypocrite.
Yet it is also a reward—for having assumed this particular mask."
--Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
From Simple Words by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
