The Mekhilta records a pointed question that Yehudah of Kfar Acco once posed to R. Gamliel. When Moses explained to Yithro why the people came to him for judgment, Moses said: "Because the people come to me" (Exodus 18:15). Why did Moses phrase it this way? Does it not sound vain — as if Moses were boasting that the entire nation depended on him personally?
This was not an idle critique. The way a leader describes his own role reveals his character. If Moses said "the people come to me" with pride, it would cast a shadow over his reputation as the humblest man on earth. If he said it with a different intent, the meaning of the verse changes entirely.
R. Gamliel's answer was elegant in its simplicity. What else should Moses say? He was describing a fact, not making a boast. The people did come to him — that was the observable reality that Yithro himself could see. And crucially, Moses did not stop there. He concluded his explanation with the words "to enquire concerning the law of God." The people did not come for Moses' sake. They came for God's Torah.
That concluding phrase, R. Gamliel argued, suffices to free Moses of any charge of vanity. Moses was not saying "they come because I am important." He was saying "they come because God's law is important, and I happen to be the one who delivers it." The credit went to the Torah, not to its transmitter.