Jacob the Worm

Edited and translated by Rabbi Lazer Brody
 
 
Worms are always happy. Why? Their noses are close to the ground. For the same reason, they never fall. You can’t fall if you don’t lift yourself up on a pedestal.
 
Moses was the greatest prophet of all times and the greatest spiritual leader of our long and rich history. Moses was Hashem's emissary in taking the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt and Moses was the fortunate mortal whom Hashem chose to receive the Torah on behalf of the Jewish people on Mount Sinai. On more than one occasion, Moses spent forty days and forty nights learning Torah on Mount Sinai with Hashem, without eating drinking or sleeping, for Hashem sustained him directly. We learn that Moses was the closest thing to an angel – an entirely spiritual being – that any human ever became. How could he do all this?
 
That's not all. Hashem chose Moses to erect the Holy Tabernacle – the Mishkan. If that's not enough, Moses performed all the priestly duties for the initial seven days that preceded the formal inauguration of the Mishkan.
 
What was so great about Moses? There were other tzaddikim in his generation. The Torah itself tells us that other people had ruach hakodesh, a holy spirit. Betzalel was a master craftsmen who was entrusted with creating the utensils of the Mishkan. Aaron had a phenomenal love for every Jew and was a master peacemaker. Nachshon was brave and dedicated. There were certainly people who were smarter than Moses. There were other great people who had remarkable personal attributes. Yet, Moses remains alone in greatness, in leadership, and as the archetype of spiritual guides for all times. So what was so great about him?
 
One word – humility. The Torah testifies that Moses was more humble than any human that ever walked the face of the earth.
 
One would think that a person who got closer to Hashem than any other person on earth would be at least a tiny bit proud. Not Moses. His humility was such that he felt like zero.
 
Feeling like zero doesn't mean that you're not aware of your strengths and talents. Any good soldier must know that he has capable weapons a his disposal, otherwise, he's not a good soldier. But, Moses knew that all his talents were from Hashem. This was a lesson that Hashem personally taught him when he first encountered Hashem on Mount Sinai. Moses simply had his nose close to the ground; that's why he didn't fall.
 
When you're nose is close to the ground, even if you do fall, you don't hurt yourself.
 
Arrogance is the culprit behind all our setbacks. If a person wants to know why his or her life is so difficult, he or she should look for the arrogance. Arrogance in our souls is like garbage swept under the rug; you may not see it at first, but sooner or later, it won't be pleasant, to say the least.
 
Hashem gives us difficulties in life to make us stop and think. Most people cry and complain when life doesn't go according to their plans. Some think that Hashem has chutzpa to remove them from their comfort zones. So, instead of utilizing Hashem's message for character improvement, they just make things worse. People that walk around like arrogant peacocks with an inflated sense of entitlement get their fancy feathers ruffled all the time. They're never happy because they think they deserve the whole world. They see Hashem as a need-fulfiller to be put on the shelf or taken off the shelf at their whim. Nothing could be more arrogant…
 
Hashem says that He and the arrogant person can't dwell in the same universe. Arrogance is therefore a one-way ticket to a spiritual Siberia, and that's bad news.
 
A humble person is happy all the time. Since he has a zero-level sense of entitlement, he rarely falls. How can he? His nose is so close to the ground! Now we understand also how King David became Hashem's anointed and King of Israel. He said about himself in Psalm 18, "I'm a worm and not a person!" The great attribute of the worm is that not only his nose is close to the ground, his whole body is close to the ground.
 
With the above in mind, we can no understand the prophet Isaiah's reassurance, "Don't be afraid, worm of Jacob!" When "Jacob", the Jewish people, are so humble that they act like a worm, then they have nothing to worry about. As a nation of Moses and Davids, Hashem will always be at their sides and no evil can possibly befall them.
 
The way to escape difficult times in life is to first of all lower our noses. Arrogance is something we should all rid ourselves of to the extreme. True humility means knowing my nothingness and knowing that everything is from Hashem.
 
Doomsday prophecies and stiff moralizing is not our way. The way to get close to Hashem is with emuna and teshuva from love. But only a fool can ignore everything that is happening around us. When we remember that we're the worm of Jacob, we invoke unbelievable Divine compassion and attain closeness with Hashem. With enhanced humility, we'll certainly see Moshiach and the rebuilding of our Holy Temple soon, amen.