Q&A: Humility
Humility
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Is there any halakhic definition of humility, or any binding source for it?
The example of Rav Nachman (for example, “I am,” and the like) intrigues me, mainly because it seems that rabbis/commentators immediately add some apologetic qualification, and to me they seem to get tangled up in different definitions of humility, when it’s clear from several sources that this was the man and this was his style. Maybe this is actually an example of someone who was “full of himself” and rightly so—maybe that trait was the engine behind his growing achievements, and in his case it is forgivable. Or perhaps, from his point of view, there is nothing to forgive—there is no problem at all with such statements as long as they are true.
I hope I managed to turn a wondering/curious mood into a concrete question..
Thanks in advance
Answer
I am not aware of a halakhic definition of humility. There is not even a halakhic obligation to be humble (except for some very indirect suggestions, which are not really convincing). God praises Moses for being more humble than any other person on the face of the earth, and from that it is certainly clear that this is a good trait.
I wrote an article about humility and modesty, and I touched a bit on these points: https://mikyab.net/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9F-%D7%A2%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%95%D7%94-%D7%9C%D7%A6%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%AA/
In general, a person is not required not to recognize his own worth. Someone who does not recognize his own worth is not humble but foolish. A person who recognizes his own worth and even says so can be perfectly humble—as long as he does not take personal credit for it.