Humility is a Good Thing - Parshat Behaalotecha 

One of the most maligned of human attributes is that of humility. It has become synonymous with being viewed as a doormat at best, ridiculed at worst. People have told me: "Would you want a political or community leader to be huuumbbble?" stretching out the word as if saying it with disgust or even disdain, almost as if it were a disease. In addition, there is an old adage which says that once you think you've got humility you've lost it. Is that necessarily true?

It just so happens that many of our leaders showed great humility. In Parshat Behaalotecha, for instance, the Torah gives witness to the humility of Moses. Moses was the most humble of anyone alive.1 Was he a pushover? In the stories recounted in the Torah, Moses is anything but a doormat. He speaks up when it is necessary and gives rebuke to those who need it. He prays for the people when worthy and gets angry when they err. He stands up in front of a crowd of over a million people and tells them what he thinks of them. He even stands up to God and argues with Him. So, what then is humility?

Humility is that attribute of knowing what attributes I have and that these attributes are to be used for a task greater than myself. So it is in fact a two-fold attribute. To know that there is something greater than me is intrinsic to the concept of humility. That doesn't mean that you are to view yourself as worthless. On the contrary, says the great Talmudic scholar, doctor and philosopher, Rabbi Nissim of Girondi (Ra"N). You must say to yourself, he writes, that your power and might have brought you success. But, he notes, the Torah doesn’t stop there. He adds that the Torah requires us to remember as well that this ability is God-given, and not for your own personal advancement either but rather to keep His covenant.2 We have the ability to do for ourselves and need to do so, but we find true fulfillment when we are working towards ultimate meaning and doing in service of others. That is humility.

When I am the center of my universe, yet I understand that I am nothing without a universe, then I have humility. I need to recognize my own specialness. It is unique and it is my own. And it comes to full actualization when it is used with others in mind.3 That is the kind of humility which Moshe showed.

When we really know who we are and what our role is, then humility is just a short hop away – it is good and it is attainable.

Notes

  1. Bamidbar 12:3
  2. Drashot Haran - Essay #10.
  3. This concept of being other-oriented in order to fulfill one's own purpose was propounded by Dr. Viktor Frankl in numerous places. There is recognition of the uniqueness of each man for his own self. In addition there is also recognition of the obligation of man to others. Man's Search for Meaning p.116

 

Have A Great Shabbat!laughing

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