In my youth, there was an exceptionally talented YU basketball player by the name of Eric Davis. Besides his exceptional talent, he had other standout qualities. He was exceedingly humble, as his talent didn’t affect his personality. He lived on the ground like everyone else. In addition, he made everyone feel like a king, whether they had issues or not. He had the ability to hone in on who needed encouragement and he provided it.
When I think of him, I think of last week’s parsha when we read about Yisro. Yisro was a listener, he humbled himself before others and he looked to solve problems for others.
Looking to this week’s parsha, of laws between people, there’s a key connecting vav, “V’elah haMishpatim…” which serves as a bridge to last week’s parsha, where the Torah was given. This vav equalizes Sinai to human interactions. There is no Torah without human refinement, in humility and interaction.
There’s a powerful midrash on the verse in Isaiah (60:1) that says, “Arise, Shine, for your light has come; The glory of God has shone upon you.” The Midrash Yalkut Shimoni (499) comments on this verse that when Moshiach comes he will go to the rooftop of the Beis Hamikdash and announce “anavim, humble ones,” the time of redemption is here. The final call is to the humble ones.
But how do talent and modesty coexist? We must look at Moshe, the paradigm for humility who was a person of exceptional talent. How did Moshe live by both?
It has been suggested that Moshe was angelic, but he never felt he reached his potential. Interestingly, he’s viewed as someone who did, probably because he never thought he did.
He always felt he fell short. Therefore, he had nothing to be arrogant about. Regarding others, he felt they were performing fine with their talents. If you think your exceptionalism doesn’t reach perfection, then in fact there’s nothing to feel proud about, only to contemplate how you can do better. In this way, we must all utilize our talents to the highest degree, but because we know a higher level remains to be conquered, we can always live humbly.
Steven Genack is the founder and editor of Aish Haolam.
