Why Moshe's Humility is Missing the Yud
Behaalosecha
וְהָאִישׁ מֹשֶׁה ענו מְאֹד מִכֹּל הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר עַל־פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה
Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth
Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth
Usually, the word עניו, meaning humble, is written with a Yud. In this verse the word is still pronounced as though the Yud was written, but in the Sefer Torah, the word ענו is written without a Yud.
To understand the significance of the letter Yud and its absence in this verse, the Tiferes Shlomo prefaces;
The Mishna teaches that if even one letter is missing from one of the passages in the Tefillin, the Tefillin are invalid. The Gemara questions that this law is obvious and does not need to be stated. The Gemara answers that the Mishna’s ruling is referring even to the Kotzo Shel Yud (literally the thorn of the Yud) – a reference to the point stroke on top of the Yud. This stroke is an integral part of the Yud and even if just this stoke were missing, the Tefillin would be invalid.
Despite his many great qualities, the only praise that we find in the Torah about Moshe’s character is for his great humility.
In Kabbalistic thought, the letters of the name י-ה-ו-ה represent different levels of G-dly revelation as reflected in the four primary Sefiros. The letters of the Divine name allude to these Sefiros in descending order. Even though it is the smallest letter, the Yud corresponds to the loftiest of these Sefiros, the attribute of Chochma.
The “thorn” which sits on top at the highest point of the Yud alludes to an even deeper G-dly dimension than Chochma. This is the level referred to as Kesser (lit. crown) as it transcends Chochma like a crown sits above one’s head. The subtle “thorn” on top of the Yud represents this most sublime G-dly level.
This is like the teaching of the Gemara that in the place that you find Hashem’s greatness, that is where you find His humility. So too here, the highest of level of G-dliness is alluded to in the humblest point.
Spelling the word עניו with a Yud would highlight the exceptional spiritual level attained by Moshe, suggesting that he attained the level of the letter Yud, including the “thorn” of the Yud – the level of Kesser.
However due to his great humility, Moshe did not want to write the word עניו with a Yud as this would magnify his greatness. And so in deference, the word is written in the Torah as ענו, without a Yud.
But when we read this word from the Torah, we read it as though the Yud was present. Even though Moshe in his humility shied away from his greatness, we want to show the great praise and rank of Moshe Rabbeinu.
To understand the significance of the letter Yud and its absence in this verse, the Tiferes Shlomo prefaces;
The Mishna teaches that if even one letter is missing from one of the passages in the Tefillin, the Tefillin are invalid. The Gemara questions that this law is obvious and does not need to be stated. The Gemara answers that the Mishna’s ruling is referring even to the Kotzo Shel Yud (literally the thorn of the Yud) – a reference to the point stroke on top of the Yud. This stroke is an integral part of the Yud and even if just this stoke were missing, the Tefillin would be invalid.
Despite his many great qualities, the only praise that we find in the Torah about Moshe’s character is for his great humility.
In Kabbalistic thought, the letters of the name י-ה-ו-ה represent different levels of G-dly revelation as reflected in the four primary Sefiros. The letters of the Divine name allude to these Sefiros in descending order. Even though it is the smallest letter, the Yud corresponds to the loftiest of these Sefiros, the attribute of Chochma.
The “thorn” which sits on top at the highest point of the Yud alludes to an even deeper G-dly dimension than Chochma. This is the level referred to as Kesser (lit. crown) as it transcends Chochma like a crown sits above one’s head. The subtle “thorn” on top of the Yud represents this most sublime G-dly level.
This is like the teaching of the Gemara that in the place that you find Hashem’s greatness, that is where you find His humility. So too here, the highest of level of G-dliness is alluded to in the humblest point.
Spelling the word עניו with a Yud would highlight the exceptional spiritual level attained by Moshe, suggesting that he attained the level of the letter Yud, including the “thorn” of the Yud – the level of Kesser.
However due to his great humility, Moshe did not want to write the word עניו with a Yud as this would magnify his greatness. And so in deference, the word is written in the Torah as ענו, without a Yud.
But when we read this word from the Torah, we read it as though the Yud was present. Even though Moshe in his humility shied away from his greatness, we want to show the great praise and rank of Moshe Rabbeinu.