Hidden by Humility
A broken woman once came to me. With bitterness and pain, she related that her family did not have bread to eat or water to drink. Her children suffered from cold, hunger, and thirst on a daily basis. As if to prove her words, her son suddenly appeared, crying out to his mother, “I’m hungry! What can I eat?”
I was extremely distressed to hear of her dire financial situation. I asked her, “There are various charity organizations in your neighborhood. Why don’t you approach one, and ask for help?”
The woman lowered her eyes in humiliation. She related that she and her husband were too ashamed to let others know of their terrible poverty. They make every attempt to hide their true situation from outsiders. Although the family suffers, their dignity remains intact.
Of course, I tried to help her as best as I could. Afterward, I remembered Chazal’s words (Vayikra Rabbah 34:8), “More than the householder does for the pauper, the pauper does for the householder.” More than I gave to this family, I received from them. They taught me a vital lesson.
Just as this poverty-stricken family was prepared to undergo suffering, as long as they could hide the terrible hunger which was their lot, we should employ the trait of secrecy to keep our good deeds hidden from the public eye. We should not take pride in our accomplishments and certainly not broadcast them to the world. We should make every effort to conduct ourselves with humility and submission, as the Navi states (Michah 6:8), “What does Hashem ask of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your G-d.”
