The nephew of Hakham Yoseph Hayyim (the Ben Ish Hai) tells of how one 'Ereb Shabbath he went to see his venerable uncle and found him crying. He asked him why he was crying. The Ben Ish Hai explained that approximately an hour earlier, the man who's job it was to clean the trash from the yard had come. The man came into the house and members of the household offered him some food from the delicacies that they had prepared in honor of Shabbath. The man refused them saying that he was particular not to derive any pleasure from that which was not his.
Hakham Yoseph Hayyim, 'a"h, said that he was so emotional when he heard this that he was even jealous, seeing this simple man who, he said, was even greater than he was. The Gemarra states that one who benefits from his own hard labor is greater than a Yerei Shamayim (one who fears Heaven). That, he said, is why he was crying.
We see from this that despite his greatness and importance, his humility was even greater. A powerful lesson for us all.
(See Hakhmei Babel, Hakham Yoseph Hayyim)
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