סנהדרין סו

The great ר׳ מאיר שפירא was asked why it is said that the modesty of משה רבינו was greater than that of אברהם אבינו, who compared himself to עפר ואפר.  What could be lower than that?  He responded by relating a story about ר׳ יונתן אייבשיץ, who each יום כיפור would leave his seat at the eastern wall of his Shul and say his תפילות next to a man who prayed with כוונה and שברון לב, certain that his תפילות would go up to Heaven.  One כיפור, when he was stuck out of town, ר׳ יונתן went to a בית מדרש and took his place next to a man who was saying כל נדרי with tears running down his cheeks.  עפר אני בחיי, קל וחומר במתתי he said.  The next day, however, ר׳ יונתן was surprised to see the man arguing with the גבאי about the עליה he had been given.  When the fast was over, ר׳ יונתן asked him how a man like him, who said עפר אני בחיי, קל וחומר במתתי and who I thought was on the מדרגה of אברהם אבינו, could argue with the גבאי about the עליה.  “Is this עניוות?” he asked.  The man answered: “Perhaps you have forgotten that when אברהם אבינו said עפר אני בחיי, קל וחומר במתתי, he was standing before קונו.  But when he heard that they want to diminish the honor of his home, it says וירק את חניכיו.  Here too, the גבאי was diminishing my honor in front of the קהילה.”  Hearing this, ר׳ יונתן said:  “Now I understand the greatness of the modesty of משה רבינו.  The עניוות of אברהם אבינו was בין אדם למקום.  But the עניוות of משה רבינו was both בין אדם למקום and בין אדם לחבירו.”

06/10/2021