Miller's Musings Parshas Beshalach: keep Looking Up!

When it comes to the humility league tables it seems that there is only ever going to be one winner, Moshe, humblest of all men.  In close second place however is Avrohom, the deciding factor between them being the statement each made that epitomised their humility. Whereas Avrohom proclaimed that he was merely dust and ashes, Moshe's declaration, in our Parsha, was that he was nothing at all, an even greater statement of modesty.  The question posed in the sefer Chaim Sheyesh Bohem is what difference of significance is there? Surely dust and ashes are equally worthless, in which case why is Moshe deemed the greater?

In answering this the Kesav Sofer highlights an important distinction between the contexts in which these assertions were made.  Whereas Avrohom was comparing himself to Hashem when he contended that he was of such little worth, Moshe was expressing his value in contrast to the rest of the Jewish nation who had come forward to him to lodge their grievances.  Being insignificant compared to the omnipotent Creator is a far lesser indication of humility than when equating oneself with his fellow man, which is why Moshe is stated to be the most humble of all.    

There is a tendency within communities to have some amongst us looked down upon.  Be it the downtrodden, the wayward or those down in their luck, there can be a pervasive view that these people are to be disdained and disregarded.  Such an attitude goes against everything the Torah tries to teach us and ignores the glaringly obvious fact that we are judging people without the slightest idea of who they truly are.  We have not the slightest inkling of the challenges they have faced, the hurdles they may have overcome and the battles they are now embroiled in.  How dare we sneer at someone who in G-d’s eyes may have reached far greater heights in their life than us, through some false notion of self-importance and self-aggrandisement!   Moshe achieved levels that no person had attained before or would attain after him and yet he understood that in comparison to others he had no concept of his relative worth.  Pirkei Ovos tells us that the one who is honoured is the one who honours others.  It does not qualify this statement with the parameters of who should be honoured and neither should we.   As much as one must appreciate their own self-worth, one must appreciate the ignorance of another’s.

May the holiness of Shabbos help us to value each other.

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם