Continuing along this sublime path, we will now focus on the conclusion of the passage in the Gemara under discussion: Immediately, he (Moshe) said to Him (HKB”H), "ועתה יגדל נא כח אדנ"י כאשר דברת". Here, we learned from the Megaleh Amukos that upon learning that Hillel HaNasi would be a “nitzotz” of his, Moshe Rabeinu prayed for HKB”H to add the letter “yud” to Hillel’s name—making it היל"ל. He arrived at this interpretation as follows: the name הל"ל without a “yud” has the same gematria as אדנ"י; he interpreted "יגדל", which is written in a sefer-Torah with an enlarged “yud,” as a request from Moshe to enlarge the name הלל by adding the letter “yud” to it.
It appears that we can interpret this request in the context of the following Gemara (Eiruvin 13b): "שלש שנים נחלקו בית שמאי ובית הלל, הללו אומרים הלכה כמותנו והללו אומרים הלכה כמותנו, יצאה בת קול ואמרה, אלו ואלו דברי אלקים חיים הן והלכה כבית הלל." For three years, Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel debated each other; these said that the halachah follows their view, and these said that the halachah follows their view. A heavenly voice went forth and declared: “Both are the words of the living G-d; yet the halachah follows Beis Hillel.”
This prompts the Gemara to ask an obvious question: "וכי מאחר שאלו ואלו דברי אלקים חיים, מפני מה זכו בית הלל לקבוע הלכה כמותן"— if the views of both schools of thought are equally valid, and both represent divine truth, then why do halachic rulings accord with the viewpoints of Beis Hillel? It answers: "מפני שנוחין ועלובין היו ושונין דבריהן ודברי בית שמאי, ולא עוד אלא שמקדימין דברי בית שמאי לדבריהן"—because they were tolerant and humble, and they would study their own positions as well as the positions of Beis Shammai; furthermore, they would mention the opinions of Beis Shammai before their own.
It is clear from this Gemara that Beis Hillel merited having the halachah accord with them on account of their exemplary degree of humility. This relationship can be understood based on the well-known fact that the attribute of humility is an essential prerequisite for acquiring the wisdom of the Torah. This is evident from the following Gemara (Sotah 5a): "אמר רבי יוסף, לעולם ילמד אדם מדעת קונו שהרי הקב"ה הניח כל הרים וגבעות והשרה שכינתו על הר סיני". Rabbi Yosef said: A person should always learn from the good sense of his Creator—for behold, when HKB”H gave the Torah, He abandoned all the great mountains and hills and instead rested His Shechinah on Har Sinai. Rashi comments that we are being taught to value modesty and humility from the fact that HKB”H passed over more majestic and taller mountains, such as Har Savor and Har Carmel, in order to give the Torah on the lowly, less imposing Har Sinai.
Elsewhere, we have learned (Ta’anis 7a): "למה נמשלו דברי תורה למים, דכתיב (ישעיה נה-א) הוי כל צמא לכו למים, לומר לך מה מים מניחין מקום גבוה והולכין למקום נמוך, אף דברי תורה אין מתקיימין אלא במי שדעתו שפלה". Why are words of Torah compared to water? . . . To teach us that just as water flows from higher ground to lower ground, so, too, words of Torah are only retained by someone who possesses a lowly self-image (humility). Furthermore, another Gemara states (Pesachim 66b): "כל המתייהר אם חכם הוא חכמתו מסתלקת ממנו"—anyone who displays haughtiness (the opposite of humility), if he is a wise man, his wisdom deserts him.
We will now take this auspicious opportunity to present a novel explanation. From where did Moshe Rabeinu take the letter “yud” to enhance Hillel’s name to "הילל"? To answer this question, we will refer to the Midrash (S.R. 47, 6): "ומהיכן נטל משה קרני ההוד... עד שהיה כותב בקולמוס נשתייר קימעא, והעבירו על ראשו, וממנו נעשו קרני ההוד". From where did Moshe get the “rays of splendor”? . . . When he was writing with the quill, a small amount remained. He passed it over his head, and from it the “rays of splendor” were produced. In other words, when Moshe was inscribing the Torah as it was dictated to him by HKB”H, a small amount of ink remained in the quill. The quill was waved over Moshe’s head, and his face became radiant. According to the Ohr HaChaim hakadosh (Shemos 34, 29), the remaining ink was from the letter “yud” that was omitted from the word "עניו" in the passuk (Bamidbar 12, 3): "והאיש משה עניו מאד"—now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble. Reflecting his extreme humility, Moshe chose not to inscribe the word meaning “humble” in its full form.
Accordingly, we can postulate that Moshe took the letter “yud” that he chose to omit from the word "עניו" and incorporated it in the name "הילל". Let us elaborate. The letter “yud” is the smallest of all the letters; as such, it alludes to humility. This is why Moshe wrote the word 'ענו' deficiently, without a “yud,” as an expression of his extreme humility. For this reason, he prayed for HKB”H to add this “yud” to the name of his “nitzotz,” Hillel, so that he would emulate Moshe’s humility and low self-image. By adopting this attribute, Hillel merited having the halachah accord with him and his midah of chesed. As explained above, this allowed the possibility of tikun for sinners by means of teshuvah.
