It’s been almost a year since we worked on the trait of humility (anavah – ענוה). We will pick up where we left off and see how much further over the next two weeks we can explore and deepen our daily work on this trait.
To continue our work on humility it’s worth re-iterating that the Jewish view of humility is about knowing your place and occupying the maximum space that G-d wants you to occupy. Nothing more AND nothing less. The challenge in doing that, besides knowing where your personal boundaries are, is knowing at all times that whatever you think or do is because G-d allows you to think and do. In honouring this reality, we must let go of the ego that drives us beyond our capabilities. Instead it is as though we’ve been entrusted with a body and soul and directed to act in a certain way. It is in this relationship framework that we navigate the trait of humility.
With that short background we will look at a story (midrash) presented in Genesis/Bereshit Rabbah (81).
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