Today in class we had a lecture on Parashat Hashavuah (which means basically the interpretation of the week from the Tanakh). Every week on Shabbat a new section of the Tanakh is read and discussed in synagogue, and so we got a glimpse today. We read a section about Moses and God that I loved and had interpreted to us. In essence, it's about the 10 Commandments that Moses receives from God and how Satan tries to find where them to destroy or taint them in some way. He goes around asking the earth and the sea where the commandments are and each time they say that they don't have them. Then he goes to man and asks Moses and Moses tells him, "Who me?! (literally, they wrote ?! in the Bible, it was so exciting for me) I'm nothing. That God should give the Commandments to me?!" etc and obviously he's lying but Satan believes it and goes away. Then God basically says, "Dude you totally lied" (and I'm translating only somewhat liberally here) and, as we discussed, where most people would say "Yeah, I'm sorry, I did lie, my bad. But I was doing it to save the Commandments from Satan!" Moses says, "But I didn't lie. The very idea of someone so insignificant like me having such a sacred thing as the Commandments is ridiculous." And then everything is happy.
The lesson, I think, is one in humility. These days, humility means sitting on the side and not saying anything about yourself which, most "humble" people hope, only highlights just how humble they are. This is pretty cynical, I know, but I think we live in a much more passive aggressive world than in the past, and I'm just calling it how I see it. Of course not everyone is like this and thankfully there are still truly humble people in the world, but I just think the passage highlights the difference. To Moses, humility means truly and completely believing in his inferiority to God and in his general unimportance--which is what makes him so important! Our lecturer talked about how in being so humble, in considering himself to be nothing, he was always an empty vessel, and an empty vessel is always ready to receive things. If we consider ourselves to be full (as in someone important, with no room for God to add anything) than we're missing out on the great gifts that God can give us.
And while I may not believe in God (or let's say, the vote is still out), I think the lesson in humility is one that transcends the religious. I do not need to believe in God to know that I don't know everything, and to know that the small amount I do know can only be added to and supplemented by being ready to listen and to accept the gifts that others are so eager to offer. God is just, maybe, to some of us, the most eager of those gift-givers.
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That’s really interesting. I feel like there are two kinds of people (well, two kinds of people who have a problem with humility). There are people who are like what you said, people who say nothing in order to make themselves seem more humble, and there are people who portray themselves as overtly humble. You know, people who will go out of their way to demean themselves by pointing out their flaws or say how they are not worthy of such-and-such. I guess they do this to evoke the same reaction as those who say nothing; they want people to recognize that they are “humble” even though they are searching for validation, or evidence that they are better than they “think” they are. I think people get stuck in a trap though. I think everyone knows they are flawed, but they choose to either cover it up by portraying themselves as the best thing since sliced bread, or they are afraid of seeming self-centered and wind up looking/sounding self-deprecating. If so, how does one actually show their humility (if we accept that everyone, at heart, is humble)? Hmm tricky, tricky. Now you’ve got me philosophizing! Haha yeah, but I think the Bible has a lot to teach, even for people like us who may not particularly believe in God. I guess that’s how I survived Catholic school (even though they are freaking extreme); I just looked at it as life lessons, not so much something that has to be connected to God or religion per say. Very interesting post, Jas ☺ Whoa, sorry this is like...a really long response.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think you're right about the two kinds of people thing, but what I'm more interested in is your question: how do we show our humility? And I think that the answer to that is that you can't. Showing your humility, by default, is already an show, an act. I think that being humble is something you just have to do. That's the thing with Moses, right? His humility didn't come from the fact that he spent all day every day praying to God. Instead it came from the certain belief that he was nothing, that he was an empty vessel waiting to be filled. So being humble is just something you have to be. If others notice, they notice, and if not then not. God, if you believe in him, always notices. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, totally. Intent/inside vs. Action/outside. I completely agree with you :)
ReplyDeleteHumility always involves knowing.
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