Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth.
Despite his many great qualities, the only praise that we find in the Torah about Moshe’s character is for his great humility.
Usually the word עניו (humble), is written with a Yud. In this verse the word is written without a Yud.
In Kabbalistic thought, the letters of the name י-ה-ו-ה represent different levels of G-dly revelation. Even though it is the smallest letter, the Yud, the first and highest letter of the Divine Name, corresponds to the loftiest of these revelations.
The Gemara teaches that in the place that you find Hashem’s greatness, that is where you find His humility. So too here, the highest of level of G-dliness is alluded to in the humblest and tiniest point of the letter Yud.
Spelling the word עניו with a Yud would highlight the exceptional spiritual level that Moshe attained, suggesting that he merited to receive the level of G-dly revelation reflected by the letter Yud.
However due to his great humility, Moshe did not want to write the word עניו with a Yud, as this would magnify his greatness. And so, in deference to Moshe, the word is written in the Torah as ענו, without the Yud.
But when we read this word from the Torah, we read it as though the Yud was present.
Even though Moshe in his humility shied away from his greatness, we want to show the greatness of Moshe Rabbeinu and the spiritual heights that he attained.
