"Vayikra el Moshe - and He called to Moshe."
(Leviticus 1:1)
Adar 29, 5775/March 20, 2015
The book of Exodus concludes with the establishment of the Tabernacle - a dwelling place for G-d's presence on this earth. The book of Leviticus opens with the inauguration of the Divine service within the Tabernacle. Together they mark a watershed moment in the reality of man. A change has happened, a transformation of reality. No longer will man need to ascend Mount Sinai to be in intimate dialogue with G-d. It can now take place within the confines ot the Tabernacle, via the performance of the Divine service, the korbanot offerings, the incense offering, the kindling of the menorah, the placing of the twelve loaves of showbread, the song of the Levites, and all the other elements that make up the daily Tamid service, the Shabbat service and the festival celebrations. But where exactly did this transformation take place and how?
"Vayikra el Moshe - and He called to Moshe." The connecting thread between the establishment of the Tabernacle and the inauguration of the Divine service takes place here, in this split second of a Divine call to Moshe, whose words are not recorded, and which is immediately followed by "and HaShem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying..." whose words are recorded in the following verse. But this initial call to Moshe from between the cheruvim on the Ark of the Covenant is ostensibly wordless, a reach-out, a gesture, a connecting moment between endless infinite G-d and mortal finite man. A gesture so profound, so pure that it is beyond the verbal, beyond the comprehensible message of commandment or instruction. It is not an intimate message - it is intimacy itself - of the highest and most supernal and of the lowest and most human expression possible. "Vayikra el Moshe - and He called to Moshe." How does Torah convey the cosmic import of this moment in these three short word?
Vayikra - and He called - is written in Hebrew with the letters Vav-Yod-Kof-Resh-Aleph, and when this opening verse of the book of Leviticus is written in a Torah scroll, the Aleph is written smaller than the other letters. Our sages have many beautiful explanations for the diminutive Aleph. Many of these insights point to the idea that the diminished Aleph is a reflection of Moshe's humility. Here he is, standing in this most sanctified place on earth, being directly confronted by G-d. His humility is not only very understandable, but it is also completely necessary. As omnipotent as G-d is, in His relationship to us, He can only be where we allow Him to be. If our own sense of self-importance, our ego, our hubris is so great, then there is no place for G-d to enter. Ultimately, creating a dwelling place for G-d on earth means extending that dwelling place into our own being. After all, didn't G-d command, "They shall build for Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them" - among them - that is, within us. The diminished Aleph, which is the Aleph of the Hebrew word ani - me - my world, my rules, my ego - symbolizes our need to set aside our own self importance when letting G-d into our world.
But the message of the diminished Aleph of Vayikra is even more profound and moving than this. The letter Aleph is constructed of three quill strokes, one long and two short. The long stroke is the equivalent of the letter Vav set at an angle. On either end of the Vav protrude two short strokes, each the equvalent of the letter Yod. Together the numerical value of the three letters is twenty six, the numerical value of the ineffable name of G-d - HaShem. The diminished Aleph of Vayikra is also symbolic of G-d diminishing His presence so that He can fit into the small place in our beings that we have opened for Him. The message of "Vayikra - and He called to Moshe" is that both man and G-d together must make space for the other, and the place where this begins and through which the world can be transformed is the Tabernacle - the Holy Temple.
We learned long ago from our father Avraham the beauty of hachnassat orchim - the welcoming of guests into our tent - making way for the other in our world. Now this humble gesture of love and unity takes on cosmic, history changing proportions as we open our tent and welcome G-d within. It is this gesture of humility and longing for intimacy with the Divine that informs the entire book of Leviticus, and which informs the performance of the korbanot (Hebrew - drawing near) offerings that the book of Leviticus comes to teach us. With humility and sober awareness of our own "small Aleph" place in the vast beautiful world that G-d created we can begin to learn how to embrace the transformative power of the Holy Temple korbanot (offerings).
Leviticus - Vayikra - opens with an intimate unspoken message to Moshe, but it is an intimate unspoken message to all of us, an invitation to participate in the new reality of a world in which a house for G-d has been established, a world in which man and G-d can exist at peace, together.
Topic: Video Study for Parsha Vayikra : Levitical Laws of Offerings (Read 2935 times)