Two Minute Torah Podcast

B'haalotecha 5771 by Alyssa Blumenthal

Shalom, my name is Alyssa Blumenthal and I am a student at Macaulay Honors College at Queens College in New York. Welcome to KOACH's Two-Minute Torah; a project of the College Department of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

In this week's parshah, B'haalotecha, we find the only statement in the Torah describing Moses' personality: "The man Moses was more humble than anyone on the face of the earth" (Numbers 12:3). At first glance, this may seem rather confusing. Moses was probably the greatest leader, and certainly the greatest prophet, in our history. He demonstrated great courage, patience, wisdom, holiness, and much more. Why then does the Torah praise only his humility?

The Talmud says that the last eight verses in the Torah, which relate Moses' death, were written by Moses at God's dictation, and that Moses cried as he wrote them. A Chassidic master suggested that Moses was not crying because he was writing about his own death, but because God dictated, ''Never again has there arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom God had known face to face'' (Deuteronomy 34:10).

Moses' humility allowed him to become the great leader the Israelites admired, and whom we still admire to this day. And while Moses should certainly be respected for his courage and wisdom and all his other positive traits, it was his humbleness above all else that shaped him as a man and that allowed him to become close to God.

This week, let us all learn from Moshe Rabbeinu.

Regardless of our strengths and our talents we should always keep in mind who we are, where we come from, and where we are going. To be humble means to acknowledge that there is always more to learn and more upon which to improve, and it this humbleness that will allow us to reach our highest potential.

Shabbat shalom!