(ד) רבי לויטס איש יבנה אומר, מאד מאד הוי שפל רוח, שתקות אנוש רמה.
(4) Rabbi Levitas, a man of Yavneh, would say: Be very, very humble in spirit, for the hope of mortal man is with the worms.
(11) And Moses said unto God: ‘Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?’
(ג) וְהָאִ֥ישׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה ענו [עָנָ֣יו] מְאֹ֑ד מִכֹּל֙ הָֽאָדָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ (ס)
(3) Now Moses was a very humble man, more than any other man that was upon the face of the earth.
אמר רבא ואיתימא ר' יוחנן: גדול שנאמר במשה ואהרן יותר ממה שנאמר באברהם. דאילו באברהם כתיב, 'ואנכי עפר ואפר'. ואילו במשה ואהרן כתיב, 'ונחנו מה?'
Rava said (and some say it was Rav Yochanan), greater was that of what Moshe and Ahron said than that of what Avraham said. Avraham Said, "and I am dust and ash", whereas Moshe and Ahron said, "Who are we?"
(1) And Moses answered and said: ‘But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they will say: The lord hath not appeared unto thee.’
http://levechad.blogspot.com/2010/08/are-humility-and-self-esteem.html
Are Humility and Self-Esteem Contradictory?
The Chofetz Chaim was once traveling by train to a Jewish community to give a lecture. A man sat down next to him during the trip and started a conversation. When the Chofetz Chaim asked where he was heading, the man replied, "I'm going into town to hear the Chofetz Chaim speak. He's the greatest tzaddik (righteous person) in the Jewish world today." Embarrassed by what he was hearing, the Chofetz Chaim told the man, "People exaggerate about his greatness. I know him very well and he's not that great." The man became infuriated by what he was hearing and slapped the Chofetz Chaim in the face. That night, the man was horrified when he came to the lecture and realized that the person he hit was actually the Chofetz Chaim. As soon as the lecture was over, the man pleaded for forgiveness. The Chofetz Chaim smiled and said, "There's no need for forgiveness - you were defending me. In fact, you taught me a great lesson: my whole life I've been teaching people not to defame others; now I've learned that it's also wrong to defame yourself."
Humility isn't just about acknowledging that which you are not, it's also about recognizing that which you are. Thus, Moses is described as the most humble man who ever lived (Numbers 12:3). Yet, he could have also been referred to as the most courageous or the most compassionate human being of all time. Why does the Torah go out of its way to only mention this characteristic? Given the above definition of humility, it becomes clear as to why this was the case. Moses was quite aware of his weaknesses (including having a speech impediment), but at the same time also understood that his strengths put him in the position to lead the Jewish people. A lesser person would have either failed to acknowledge their weaknesses, or worse yet, would have downplayed the strengths they did possess in order to avoid greater responsibility.
(9) And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people.
I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker. ----Helen Keller