The awesome experience of our emancipation from Egyptian bondage and its exhilarating summit at the base of Mt. Sinai begins in this week's Parsha. The process starts with ten debilitating plagues that broke our oppressors' might and set the stage for our ultimate redemption. The ten plagues brought forth on the Egyptian people were not just an outpouring of divine wrath on those that had dared to subjugate the Jewish people. There was a much deeper purpose. The ten plagues enabled the nascent Jewish people to solidify their belief in Hashem as an omnipotent and omniscient Master that would not allow injustice.

At the very epicenter of it all stands God's chosen messenger, Moshe Rabbeinu. It is he who stands at the helm and nurtures the foundling nation from infancy to spiritual greatness. We are taught that the defining hallmark of Moshe Rabbeinu, the character trait which defined his very essence, was the middah of anivus, humility. The humility of Moshe Rabbeinu is something that deserves significant attention. We tend to think of humility as a self-effacing way of being, that the humble person shuns the limelight and disavows attention. Yet Moshe, it seems, was the exact opposite. He stood at the forefront of the Jewish people leading and directing. He took public stands whether they were popular or otherwise and never backed down even when threatened with great opposition. Moshe was certainly a great leader, but where does his humility lie?

The answer is that humility does not mean that one is not self-aware. Humility means that whatever gifts one has, be they material, physical, or spiritual, he or she is meant to use them as a tool to serve Hashem through personal devotion and sharing that talent with the Jewish people.  Moshe Rabbeinu was acutely aware of the nobility of his mission and the spiritual gifts he was given to carry it out to perfection. With it all, Moshe always saw himself as the consummate shliach tzibbur, the divine messenger whose every breath, whose every effort was dedicated to the sacred cause of uplifting, inspiring, and leading his brethren. In that respect, Moshe never considered himself more worthy than any other Jew.

Moshe's example calls out to us across the generations. True humility means to be aware of one's self and offer that which one has to the community. The humble person feels indebted to his or her Creator at having been chosen to carry out whatever mission is in store . He or she is grateful for the opportunity to draw close to Hashem through allocating whatever abilities they might have in the service of Hashem. When our divine service is carried out from a place of gratitude and indebtedness, when we take stock of the goodness that surrounds us and look for opportunities to share that goodness with others, our avodas Hashem becomes sweet and meaningful. When it is performed merely out of a sense of obligation, it becomes dull and meaningless. The message of the life of Moshe Rabbeinu is to remain ever fresh in our avodas Hashem through the realization that every moment of life is an opportunity for greatness and the chance to tap into inner reservoirs and become great through the experience.