English: “Dust and ashes.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: I desire you because even at the moment when I bestow greatness upon you, you make yourselves small before Me. I gave greatness to Avraham and he said, “I am but dust and ashes.”
On the daf / in context: Avraham’s humility at the height of his intercession is held up as the model of the proper Jewish response to divine favor.
Type of Learning
Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The self-description is cited as paradigmatic humility.
What Is Learned
Hashem values Israel because they diminish themselves even when greatness is given to them; Avraham’s “I am dust and ashes” is the classic example.