"Bigdei Kahuna" Parsha page by Rabbi Yehuda Katz

BALOTICHAH

" Now the man Moses was most humble, more than any man on the face of the earth." (12:3)

A question can be asked on this verse. Why does it say the extra words, "on the face of the earth"? It should have just said , "more than any man". The meaning would have been readily discernable with fewer words. What is the Torah teaching us ? There seems to be a connection between humility and the earth. I would like to propose the following original answer, Bezrat Hashem, as follows: When G-d created the universe, it was created "Yeysh Miayin" (something from nothing, or ex nilo).However, Adam (Man) was formed from the dust of the earth that already existed. (Genesis2:7---"Then G-d formed the man of the dust of the ground.......")Rashi quotes Sanhedrin38a, as follows:" G-d gathered the dust from the entire earth, so that in whatever place man may die, the earth should receive him for burial." (End of quote) This is a most fascinating statement from CHAZAL (Sages). It means that at the very moment G-d was creating Adam (Man), G-d was intimately concerned that Man should have a proper burial so that the earth should not reject man's remains. The love for man by G-d is unfathomable, it is most humbling.Moses was the most humble man "on the face of the earth" precisely because from the earth itself he was overtaken with humility when confronted by G-d's overwhelming graciousness towards Adam (man) at the time of creation. When Moses viewed the earth, he saw G-d's love. This humbled him in excess of any other man on earth. This is the connection between Moses' humility and the earth as brought forth in verse 12:3. I would like to further explain this concept with an original "mashal" (Parable), Bezrat Hashem. There once existed a very powerful King that ruled a huge country. There was a rumor in this kingdom of an extremely wealthy man that would go out of his way to take care of any poor man and or guest that would come to his home. The King was fascinated and amazed by this rumor, and wanted to see for himself if this was actually true . The King decided to dress like a poor beggar , and thereby test the validity of the rumor for himself. Not only did this wealthy man greet the so called beggar graciously at the door, but he himself took care of all of his needs without the help of his many servants. The wealthy man went to such great lengths to accommodate the "so called beggar's" needs that it caused the King to be humbled by the extreme graciousness of his host.Moses was a great man, but was made even greater because of his humility, namely by witnessing G-d's graciousness in the very earth itself. We must all develop "Hakoras Hatov" (gratitude) for the goodness that G-d has bestowed on us personally and on Mankind as a whole. The key is being able to discover it in the most uncommon places like the Sages have taught us. Have a good Shabbos