Humble on Earth: Moshe, Master of His Humility

1“And the man Moshe was very humble, more than any man on the face of the earth.”¹ Every word of this verse calls for a close look. First, why does it say “the man,” veha'ish, and not simply “And Moshe was humble”? Next, why did it need to go on and say “more than any man”? Surely the main point is that he was very humble in his own right; why compare him with all other people? Hardest of all are the words “on the face of the earth.” The holy sefer Aron Eidus asks about them: it is obvious that all people live on the face of the earth!²

2We may explain it this way. Moshe Rabbeinu, master of the prophets, was humbler than any man because he always kept in mind that every level he reached in avodas Hashem, the service of Hashem, and in prophecy came entirely from the power of Bnei Yisrael. The holy sefarim, the Arvei Nachal and the Tiferes Shlomo, write the same on the verse “And the Kohen who is great from among his brothers.”³ The Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, must know that all his greatness and all that he grasps come to him only from the power of his brothers, the people of Israel. That is why the verse says here mikol ha'adam, “more than any man,” which can also be read “from all men.” It tells us that this was the source of Moshe's humility: he believed that everything he was privileged to attain came from the power and merit of “all men,” that is, of Bnei Yisrael.

3This lets us understand the words of Chazal in the Sifrei, who expounded: “‘More than any man on the face of the earth’: but not more than the Avos.”⁴ How did they learn this? According to what we have said, we may answer as follows. Moshe's humility came from his crediting all his virtues to the merit of the people of Israel. But this did not apply to the Avos, for in their generation they had no one to credit for their greatness: apart from them, everyone worshiped idols. As the Midrash says of Avraham Avinu, the whole world was on one side and he was on the other.⁵ Even so, we find that Avraham Avinu was humble, as it says, “I am but dust and ashes.”⁶ That is why Chazal expounded the verse to exclude the Avos: Moshe was not humbler than they were.

4In this way we can also explain the verse “And Moshe went down from the mountain to the people.”⁷ Chazal comment: “This teaches that Moshe did not turn to his own affairs, but went from the mountain to the people.”⁸ The holy sefarim, the Tiferes Shlomo and the Shem MiShmuel, ask: what affairs could Moshe have had?⁹ We may say that the meaning is this. Even after Moshe Rabbeinu had been in Heaven and reached lofty levels, he did not let his thoughts turn to crediting them to his own merit. This is “And Moshe went down from the mountain”: even after he received high levels at Mount Sinai, he went “to the people,” crediting everything to the power of the people. That is why “he did not turn to his own affairs.” The “affairs” of his spiritual levels took up no place in his mind; he did not turn to them or claim them for himself. Instead he credited everything to the power of the many.

5At the same time, for the sake of Bnei Yisrael, Moshe would sometimes draw on a different middah, or character trait: the one the verse ascribes to King Yehoshafat, “his heart was lifted up in the ways of Hashem.”¹⁰ As the Aron Eidus writes in explaining the words “on the face of the earth,” the verse hints that Moshe Rabbeinu was humble only “on the face of the earth.” But in the heavens above, when he came to receive the Torah, he did not conduct himself with humility. Instead, as is well known, he argued with the angels, saying that it was fitting for Israel to receive the Torah.¹¹ From this we should learn a lesson for ourselves. A person must always conduct himself with humility, yet in matters of Heaven he should not act so, but rather as it is written, “his heart was lifted up in the ways of Hashem.” That is the gist of his words.

6That is why the verse says “the man” here. We find the same wording in the verse “And Yaakov was a wholesome man,” ish tam, and Rashi explains that tam, “wholesome,” describes someone who is not sharp at deceiving.¹² The holy sefer Divrei Yechezkel asks: surely we know that Yaakov did not act with wholesome simplicity toward Lavan. As the Gemara says, Yaakov declared, “I am his brother in trickery,”¹³ in the spirit of “and with the crooked You deal crookedly.”¹⁴ And we find that he outwitted Lavan over the speckled and spotted sheep, and when he fled from him. The Divrei Yechezkel explains that this is why the verse says ish tam, “a man who is wholesome”: [the word ish speaks of mastery,] for Yaakov was master over his wholesomeness. He knew when one must be wholesome, as it is written, “You shall be wholehearted with Hashem your God,”¹⁵ and when one must not act with simplicity. This applies in the battle against the yetzer hara, where one must follow Chazal's words in the Gemara: “A person should always be cunning in the fear of Heaven.” Rashi explains this as using every kind of cunning to bring oneself to fear one's Creator.¹⁶ In this and in similar matters, Yaakov Avinu was master over his wholesomeness and fulfilled the verse “and with the crooked You deal crookedly.” That is the gist of his words.

7In the same way we can explain what is said here: “And the man Moshe was very humble.” Moshe was master over how and when to use the middah of humility. At times one must act in the spirit of “his heart was lifted up in the ways of Hashem,” as we saw in the words of the Aron Eidus, and know and value one's own worth. Yet with all that, one must stay humble and lowly of spirit, knowing that one's virtues come not from one's own strength but from Hashem, blessed be He, and in the merit of the many. This is “And the man Moshe was very humble”: he was master of how to use the middah of humility. For his humility came “from all men,” since he knew that all his levels were given to him in the merit of Bnei Yisrael. And so it held only “on the face of the earth.” It did not hold before the angels on high, against whom he stood his ground in argument when he went up to receive the Torah. There, and in similar situations, he fulfilled “his heart was lifted up in the ways of Hashem.”

8May Hashem grant that we always be privileged to be united with the many, and through this bring the redemption near, as Chazal said: “Israel will not be redeemed until it forms one band.”¹⁷ Amen, may it be His will.