Rabban Gamliel, the head of the Sanhedrin (the supreme rabbinic court), once served food to Rabbi Yehoshua with his own hands. He stood and poured wine for his guest as though he were a servant, not the most powerful Jew in the land. The other sages at the table were shocked — it seemed improper for a man of such rank to wait on anyone.
Rabbi Yehoshua saw their discomfort and calmed them with a single argument. "Do not protest," he said. "Consider Abraham. Abraham was the greatest man of his generation — a prophet, a prince, a friend of God. And yet when three strangers appeared at his tent, Abraham himself ran to serve them. He brought water, he prepared a calf, he stood over them while they ate (Genesis 18:1-8). The greatest man in the world waited on common travelers."
"And more than that," Rabbi Yehoshua continued. "God Himself serves every living creature. He sends the rain, He causes the grain to grow, He feeds the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. The Creator of the universe is, in the deepest sense, a servant — providing sustenance to every being He has made. If God serves us, shall Rabban Gamliel not serve me?"
The sages fell silent. The argument was irrefutable. If service is good enough for Abraham and for God, it cannot be beneath any human being — no matter how exalted their rank. The person who serves others does not diminish themselves. They join a tradition that begins with the Patriarch and extends to the Almighty.