5b: Importance of Humility

After disparaging arrogance, the Talmud then looks at the other side of the coin -- humility. There are some beautiful statements on the bottom of 5a and into 5b about humility. My favorite is on the top of 5b by R. Joshua ben Levi: "When the beit hamikdash was standing - a person would bring an oleh offering and would get credit for an oleh, a minha offering and would get credit for a minha offering. But if that person was humble, bringing one offering would be as if that person brought all of the offerings at once."

This is nice commentary on not only the importance of the act of sacrifice (or prayer for us today), but on the importance of the person who is bringing that sacrifice. One can just just go through the motions of ritual and get credit for what they did. However the ideal person is someone who does not separate their observance from their one actions.