How Could Moses, with All His Incredible Qualities, Be So Humble?

Regarding Moses, it is stated (Numbers 12:3), "Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any person on the face of the earth." Let us imagine Moses our teacher. His height was about five meters, as noted in the Talmud in Berachot, his face radiant with light such that the Israelites couldn't look upon it, and he could converse with Hashem whenever he wished (far beyond ordinary divine spirit or prophecy). He studied Torah in the heavens for forty days and managed to argue with celestial angels. He was honored with the Torah being called after him, as the prophet Malachi states (Malachi 3:22) "Remember the Torah of Moses, My servant," and taught the Torah to all Israel. He was appointed by the Creator to redeem the Israelites from Egypt through signs and wonders and was also very wealthy (according to the Talmud, he found a diamond mine in his tent) and gained wealth from the fragments of the tablets. Until the day of his departure from this world, his vigor did not diminish, nor did his eyesight fade.

In short, the most perfect human on earth. Yet, with all that, he was the most humble on the face of the earth, meaning more humble than any human who had walked or would walk the earth – the epitome of humility, as described in the Torah as "very humble."

For years, I struggled to understand this. How could someone so perfect reach such a level of humility (as Rashi interprets "humble": lowly and patient) where he felt more insignificant than everyone else?

We can imagine in our mind's eye a person who is lame, mentally limited, whose appearance is not so nice, and who lacks money – they might be humble and low due to their limitations. With some logic, they would understand they have nothing to boast about.

But Moses, who was perfect, how can we grasp with our limited minds that he could reach such a level of humbleness?

Until I realized that the answer is very simple. "Mouth to mouth I speak to him, in a vision, not in riddles" (Numbers 12:8), "and you can only see My back, but My face will not be seen" (Exodus 33:23). Moses earned the privilege of perceiving the Creator more than any other human on earth. In other words, he was the greatest of believers. And when a person is privileged to recognize Hashem, understand His greatness, and know that essentially nothing exists in the world except by His will, that all wisdom comes from Him, and all successes depend on His will, true humility naturally enters his heart. For he understands two crucial things: first, how insignificant he is compared to the magnificent greatness of the King of kings, and second, that all his "success" in the world is truly not from him, but from the One who sustains him at every moment and also grants him wisdom, which is the Creator.

"In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:6) – King Solomon teaches us that as we acknowledge at every moment that we depend on the guidance of the Creator in all our ways, i.e., in both our successes and failures, "and He will make your paths straight," thus humility will enter our hearts before Him, and our actions will be righteous and corrected, free from internal pride.