Moshe Rabbeinu (our teacher), we know, is called Moshe. I mentioned in a previous shiur (lecture) on Yitro that Moshe Rabbeinu had many names. All of the names of Moshe describe the greatness of Moshe. But the name that Moshe chooses to use is the name Moshe: Ki min hamayim meshitihu. Because he was drawn from the water. The only name of Moshe that has nothing to do with Moshe is the name Moshe. Why don't we call him by a name that describes what he's achieved, Tuvia, which describes how great he was, how he was a shining light when he was born? Why don't we describe Moshe by the name of his great achievement, Avi Socho, the fact that he was the father of all prophets?
The Chachamim (Sages) explain that actually that was Moshe's greatest achievement: that Moshe Rabbeinu could look at everything that he had done and realize and recognize and live with the fact that, but for this woman who risked her life to save a Jewish baby, that there was a decree upon death for Moshe never would have lived at all. So he called himself by the kindness that was done to him back then. Someone who could see that their everything is owed to somebody else. That's the essence of humility, and that was Moshe's essence. So, in a roundabout way, we are describing Moshe's greatest gift. And what was his greatest gift? That he gave and attributed his gifts to everyone else but himself.
If you're a great person, if you've achieved, do not take that credit all to yourself. Yes, you worked and you hustled. But you know who else works and hustles? The garbage man. The person who shovels the streets in cities other than New York. The person who is a policeman also works very hard. He's not making the same money you're making. You might have people hustling, barely putting food on the table. They might be working harder than you. So what's the answer? I'm smarter. Did you make yourself smarter? You were born with a head, with a brain. No, no, no. I wasn't born smart. I worked hard. I studied in university and school. Really? Not every kid has the chance to go to a good school. So you were born in the right zip code. So there was a good school there. And you were born to parents who had enough money and sense to be able to send you to a good school or yeshiva. So you're taking the credit because you had a good education. That was also given to you?
I'm not saying that we take or play no role in the outcome of our lives. Of course we do, but we are building on the shoulders of giants. To not recognize what your parents have given to you, to not recognize what your teachers have given to you, to not recognize what God has given to you is just a false version of the story. So how do we tell the story? How did I get here? First, you were born in the right zip code. Also, you were born in the right moment in time. You were also born in the right country. Did you do that? Did you decide that you should not be born in freezing Russia and behind the Iron Curtain? Did you decide, right, that you should be born where Jewish education was punishable by law? Did you decide they should be born in Lakewood or Borough Park? You didn't decide that.
And if you were born in Russia, do you decide whether you'd be in the city that the Chabad shaliach (emissary) went to and risked his life to come teach you? He found you and brought you to some camp. He turned your life around. Now, yes, I put in a lot of work. I risked, but I had to build with the opportunities that were given to me. Never, ever, ever decouple yourself in your own understanding of self from those who helped you arrive at that place. That humility not only keeps you honest, but grounds you firmly in the realities of this world.