Chazal tell us that Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) was the humblest person who ever lived.
But how can this be?
Our conception of a humble person is one who doesn't push to the front, but who rather takes a seat both in the back of the shul and in life in general because he doesn't hold himself to be important.
Rabbi Avigdor Miller z"l was wont to point out that this mode of behavior is the humility of a dog.
Moshe, on the other hand, was the equivalent of a king with an absolute authority that was only circumscribed by Hashem Himself. Moreover, Hashem spoke directly to him whereas He communicated with all of the other prophets by way of dreams and the like.
So where is there an opening for humility here? By all rights Moshe should have been the biggest baal gaiva of all time.
Rav Miller stressed that He was the humblest person who ever lived because he knew who he was, not in spite of that fact.
Rabbi Yitzchak Berkowits fine tunes Rav Miller's teaching and extends it to all of us by telling us the exact opposite of what we would suppose.
Humility is all about not denying your greatness.
The truly humble person doesn't go ostrich on the reality of his abilities and capabilities. Like Moshe, his self-assessment is spot on and he knows exactly who he is.
And by not denying his greatness, Rabbi Berkowits lets us hear that the humble person appreciates his strengths to the degree that he doesn't need others to recognize them.
True humility, which is within the reach of everyone, and gaiva may at times appear to be a mirror image of each other. Both a humble person and a baal gaiva may be found either in the back or front of the shul and each may speak softly to any person regardless of his station in life. Each one may even have a reputation of doing things quietly. But the difference between them is not in their actual conduct per se.
We're talking kavana here.
Humility is recognizing the truth of oneself and quietly secreting that knowledge in the recesses of the heart, whereas gaiva takes it all public be it fact or fancy.
