According to Rashi, Yosef made sure to mix some local soil into the grain when placing it in storage, as a means of preservation.
Preserving grain by mixing it with soil reflects, in spiritual terms, the phrase we say at the conclusion of Shmoneh Esrei, וְנַפְשִׁי כֶּעָפָר לַכֹּל תִּהְיֶה, פְּתַח לִבִּי בְּתוֹרָתֶךָ —“Let my soul be like dust before all; open my heart to Your Torah.” By regarding ourselves as lowly “soil,” we ensure that our hearts will absorb and maintain the Torah that we study, which is compared to “produce” in the Talmud.
Rashi emphasizes, however, that the grain is protected from decay only when it is stored with local soil, for even humility has its place. For example, to be meek and modest when you’re needed to reach out to others and teach them Torah would be misplaced humility. The humility necessary to maintain our Torah study must be local—i.e., we must be humble within our actual study of the Torah, by prefacing and pervading our Torah study with an awareness of the Torah’s sanctity and divinity that utterly transcends human comprehension. Then we will approach Torah study not as a means of personal satisfaction and pride, but with the goal of awakening within ourselves even greater awe and love of G‑d.
—Likkutei Sichos, vol. 25, pp. 224–225
1. Sanhedrin 42a.
