Editing Mesechtas Sotah (section)

=== Do Not Teach Humility ===
The Rebbe explains that regarding humility, it is explained that a humble person knows his own virtues, and knows that these virtues are very important, but because he recognizes the truth, he does not consider them his own virtue and level, as he recognizes the truth that all the good he has is not from himself but rather what was inherited from our forefathers, etc., and furthermore he calculates in his soul that if these abilities were given to someone else, perhaps they would reveal these abilities even more.

This is also the explanation here. Rav Yosef certainly knew the greatness of his merit in Torah study - as he said "If not for this day that caused it (that I learned Torah and was elevated), how many Yosefs are there in the marketplace" - to the extent that he was called by the name "Sinai," named because "Mishnayot and Beraitot were arranged for him as they were given from Mount Sinai," and despite this he did not consider it his own achievement, knowing that all his virtues were given to him as a gift from above, and in his words: "If not for this day that caused it." Therefore, he could say "I am humble" - since the trait of humility is not at all contradictory to knowing one's own virtues, including the virtue of humility itself.

Therefore, Rav Yosef also told the Tanna not to teach humility, because of Rav Yosef's humility which recognized that all his virtues were given to him as a gift from above - he attributed them not to himself, but to Rebbi. And when he said to the Tanna "Do not teach humility for I am here," he did not intend to disagree with the Tanna's statement that "When Rebbi died, humility ceased," because without Rebbi there is no more virtue of humility, but rather meant to say that the fact that he is humble proves that Rebbi did not die.

True humility - knowing one's own virtues, on one hand, and complete self-nullification knowing that his virtues are not from himself, on the other hand - is possible only through Rebbi.
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