Musar zu Mischlej 22:4

Dost thou not see that humility is the highest degree of the nobles and of the prophets, distinguished by their divine rank?³Cf. Bahya, vi. 8 and 10; Briill (p. 75, note i). One of them said (Gen. xviii. 27), "I am but dust and ashes "; another said (Ps. xxii. 7), "I am a worm and no man"; and so forth. They were praised for their actions and were honored. A man of intelligence should know that lowliness and meekness cause him to realize his desire in regard to present things, as thou knowest from the account of what happened to the captains of Achaziah, because of their folly; and what happened to the third captain who gently spake to Elijah (II Kings i. 13), "I pray thee let my life and the life of these thy fifty servants be precious in thy sight." Him there befell the reverse of what had befallen the former. Verily, fame and glory will be the reward of whosoever is lowly. The recompense of meekness is honor and prosperity, and also the deserving of honor. Thus it is said (Prov. xxii. 4), "The reward of humility and the fear of God are riches, and honor, and life."

Modesty is a ladder by which one ascends to the ways of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is said: "He guides the humble in justice and He teaches the humble His way" (Ps. 25:9). Through humility he attains the reverence of God, Blessed be He, as it is said: "The reward of humility is fear" (Prov. 22:4). The Shekinah dwells on the humble as it is said : "I dwell… with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit" (Is. 57:15). The Holy One, Blessed be He, ignored all the high mountains and hills and inclined His Spirit to Mount Sinai and descended to this lowly mountain. And it is written: "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust — for thy dew is as the dew of light" (Is. 26:19). He that lives in the dust in his earthy life will live in the world to come.

When you will have freed yourself from anger, the quality of humility will enter your heart which is the best of all good traits, as is written(Mishlei 22:4), "The return for humility is fear of G-d."

Acquiring true reverence for G–d is in direct ratio to one's immersion in Torah and one's appreciation of G–d's greatness as a result of this immersion in Torah on all levels. There is no target, no ultimate goal for this reverence. When a person believes that relative to others he has attained great insights both as regards the understanding of the physical as well as that of the Celestial part of the universe, these insights are as nothing compared to the grandeur of G–d Himself. The ultimate source of all wisdom is G–d Himself. This is the reason Solomon taught us in Proverbs 22,4: עקב ענוה יראת ה', "The result of humility is fear of the Lord." What Solomon means is that the more fear of the Lord one acquires the more humble one becomes. Expressed differently: The more understanding one gains of the greatness of G–d the more one becomes aware of one's own insignificance. What does man have to offer that he should consider himself significant, important? The cause of humility then is reverence for G–d. The more learned the scholar the more humble he is apt to become. Greatness equates with humility because the truly great keep finding out how much is beyond their ability to ever comprehend. The ultimate wisdom we can acquire is the knowledge that we know very little. We will explain this later in connection with the attributes of G–d who is described in 10,17 as הא-ל הגדול, הגבור, והנורא, attributes which can be appreciated only by observing manifestations of these attributes, G–d in His פעולותיו. In view of what we have just said it is natural that Moses is described as the most humble man who ever lived, for he had acquired more insights into the workings of G–d and of the universe on all levels than anyone before or after him. A truly humble and modest person is a sign of one's deep insights into the greatness of the Creator. Anyone displaying arrogance, pretending to be superior, reveals that he is both shallow and hollow inside. Having explained the nature of the virtue of humility we can understand why G–d allows His Presence to rest on the humble, the modest, and the most unassuming people. It rests on them because they have acquired the greatest insights, have the deepest appreciation of HIM. Even people who are not intellectually equipped to become humble through their studies, i.e. through recognizing the wide gap between what they know and what there is to know, may experience G–d's Presence if they are poor, suffer afflictions; these people make a point of putting their trust in G–d. They are far more likely to do so than a rich man who believes that he does not need G–d's help.