There were many people who opposed Rav Moshe of Kobrin zy”a, and these people would do all they could to make his life difficult. The Rebbe never responded to their actions and he accepted the shame silently. One day, his chasidim asked, “Rebbe, how long do you have to allow this? Don’t Chazal say (Yoma 22B) that a talmid chochom who doesn’t ‘take revenge and hold a grudge like a snake’ is not a talmid chochom?”
The Rebbe answered, “When I go up to Shomayim and give a din v’cheshbon before the Heavenly Court and they ask me my I didn’t act like a talmid chochom by taking revenge and bearing a grudge, I will answer that I never considered myself a talmid chochom. But if I do take revenge and hold a grudge and they ask me why I did this, I won’t have anything to answer.”
Humbled Before Hashem:
There is a famous question of how Moshe Rabenu was able to remain humble after reaching the highest levels a human being can possibly reach and after Hashem Himself testified that “My servant Moshe is trusted in all My houses.”
The Kedushas Levi zy”a (on Shir Hashirim) explains that Moshe’s lofty level in and of itself was the source of his humility. He had stood before Hashem and seen how exalted He is. He had seen how the fiery angels tremble before Him. This all led him to genuinely recognize how insignificant he was by comparison.
Accordingly, the pasuk is saying that Moshe was more humble than any man who ever was “on the face of the earth”. Everyone else only sees this world and, therefore, they cannot possibly be as humble as Moshe, who saw beyond this world and witnessed things no one else ever saw.
Leading the Horses With Humility:
Rav Uren Leib of Premishlan zy”a once traveled to meet Rav Menachem Mendel of Rimanov zy”a. Before entering Rimanov, he asked his wagon driver to trade places with him so that Rav Menachem Mendel would think he was a wagon driver and he would not be given any kavod. They traded clothing and entered the city with the wagon driver sitting in the chariot and Rav Uren Leib driving the horses.
A large crowd had been sent by the Rimanover Rebbe to greet them when they entered the city, and everyone stretched out their hand to the wagon driver – whom they thought was the Rebbe – and gave him shalom. Amongst the crowd was the Ropshitzer Rebbe zy”a. Instead of approaching the man who looked like a Rebbe, he went over to the man leading the horses and proclaimed, “Shalom aleichem Rabenu!”
Rav Uren Leib was amazed that he saw through the charade and asked him how he knew. The Ropshitzer answered, “I saw how you were leading the horses with utmost humility and immediately realized who you were.”
Humble and Great:
Rav Avrohom Abish zt”l, the Rov of Frankfort, would travel to various cities raising funds from the wealthy for tzedakah causes. He once approached a wealthy merchant in shul to ask for a donation. The man didn’t recognize him and yelled at him to go away. The Rov did not respond to this public humiliation.
A short while later, the man looked for his walking stick but he couldn’t find it. His suspicion immediately fell on “the shnorer” who had asked him for money and he ran after Rav Abish screaming, “Thief! Give me back my cane!”
Rav Abish told him that he had not taken his cane but the man didn’t believe him. He continued to scream at him and Rav Abish continued to say that he didn’t have his stick.
Some time later, this rich man happened to spend a Shabbos in Frankfort. When he entered the town’s main bais medrash, he saw the Rov giving a drasha and he was shocked to see who it was. He was very embarrassed to realize that he had accused a great Rov of being a thief.
Right after the drasha, the man went over to Rav Abish to ask mechillah. Rav Abish recognized the man as he approached and said to himself, “Oh no! He’s going to accuse me again of taking his cane!”
Before the man could even open his mouth, he humbly said, “Please believe me. I did not touch your walking stick.”
Kehunah and Malchus With Anavah:
The following story was related by Rav Sinai of Zhemigrad zy”a:
The residents of the city of Pshadverz once asked Rav Yissochor Ber of Radoshitz zy”a to come to their town for Shabbos. On Shabbos night, a huge crowd came to see the Rebbe. Receiving all this kavod caused him so much anguish that he was unable to go to the tish to make Kiddush.
The Rebbe turned to a man who was there named R’ Nota and explained why he felt unable to go to the tish. In response, R’ Nota quoted the Medrash (Shemos Rabbah 2:6) that says that when Hashem called out to Moshe from the burning bush, Moshe said, “Hineni. Here I am for the kehunah and for the malchus.” This is hard to understand. Why would Moshe, the humblest of men, say this?
The Apta Rov zy”a explains that when it is determined that a man needs to be shamed, he is often forced to stand in a public place and everyone who passes by spits on him. If, however, it is decided that is not enough, and the person needs even more humiliation, he is forced to wear a kapotah with strukes (fur) and a spodik on his head. He is placed at the head of the table and everyone who passes by says to him, “Gut Shabbos.”
When Hashem called out to Moshe, Moshe was so humble that he thought that Hashem must be coming to shame him. What type of bizyonos was Hashem going to give him? He thought He must be coming to grant him the kavod of kehunah and malchus, and he said that he is prepared for that shame.
R’ Nota said to the Rebbe, “That’s the type of embarrassment that is given to someone like you, R’ Berel.”
When the Rebbe heard this, he agreed to lead the tish.
That night, R’ Nota felt bad for speaking disrespectfully to the Rebbe, and he was afraid to see him again. The next day, however, the Rebbe told his chasidim what R’ Nota had said and related how his words were a comfort to him. When R’ Nota heard about this, he was no longer afraid.
The Magid of Zlotchov Refused to Become a Rov:
A delegation once came to the Magid of Zlotchov zy”a to ask him to become the Rov of their town. The Magid refused but they did not give up. They kept pleasing with him to accept the position and he kept refusing. Finally, they decided to go to his Rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov zy”a, to ask him prevail upon his student to assume the Rabbanus of their town.
The Baal Shem Tov summoned the Magid and ordered him to take the position but he refused to listen even to his great Rebbe and he still would not take the job. The Baal Shem Tov then warned him, “If you don’t obey me, you will regret it. You will lose both worlds!”
Incredibly, he still refused. He humbly said, “Even if that is what will happen, I cannot become a Rov because I am unworthy.”
The Baal Shem Tov gently told him, “Ashrecha b’olam hazeh v’tov lach b’olam haba. It will be good for you in both worlds because you passed the test. You did not become any less humble even after being offered such a prestigious position.”
Moshe Rabenu Didn’t Tell Everyone They Are Bigger Than Him:
Sefer Otzer Yisroel quotes Rav Yoel Ashkenazi zt”l as relating that Rav Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk zy”a once said, “Why am I the Rebbe and Itzke Koidenover is the chasid? It should be the opposite. Itzke should be the Rebbe and I should be the chasid!”
He repeated these words several times. Just then, Itzke appeared to see the Rebbe. The shamash was sure the Rebbe would tell him, “Why did you have to come to me? I should have come to you.” However, that is not what he said. The Rebbe did say, “Itzke, get a match and light my pipe”, and Itzke ran to do as the Rebbe said.
The Rebbe realized that the shamash was surprised, so he told him, “It says that Moshe was very humble. Do you think this means that he went around to every person and told them that they are bigger than him? No. He had to lead the nation like a leader despite his humility.”
One Who is Haughty Forgets Hashem:
The Magid of Dubno zt”l related a parable of a man who was visiting a big city and admiring the streets. On one street, he saw mansions bigger than any houses he’d ever seen before. One fancy house really caught his eye and he wanted to see what it looked like inside.
He knocked on the door, which was opened for him. He looked in and saw expensive furniture, ornate rugs, exquisite chandeliers, etc. He asked the servant who opened the door whom this house belonged to, and the servant haughtily answered, “It is mine! Everything you see belongs to me!”
Suddenly, the homeowner, who had overheard what the servant said, walked over angrily and told the servant that he was fired.
The nimshol is that if a person is haughty, he has forgotten who the true “balhabos” is. If he really believed that Hashem owned this world and everything in it, he would remember that he is only His servant and he doesn’t have any reason to be a baal gaivoh.
ל ֹא כֵן עַ בְ דִּ י משֶׁ ה בְּ כָל בֵּ יתִ י נֶאֱ מָ ן וגו' (יב, ז)
Not so is My servant Moshe; he is trusted in My entire house. (12:7)
Returning Hashem’s World to Him:
Rav Nochum of Stefenisht zy”a (son of the Ruzhiner Rebbe zy”a) once said about his brother, Rav Dovid Moshe of Tchotkov zy”a, that when he picked up a Sefer Tehillim in his hands and began to recite the words, Hashem says to him, “Dovid Moshe, my son! You are holding the world in your hands. Do with it as you like.”
He added, “If Hashem gave me the world, I would have a lot of ideas what to do with it. But my brother is so humble that he returns it to Hashem exactly as He gave it to him.”
