PARSHAS VAYIKRA

Good Shabbos! Our portion begins: “Vayikra El Moshe - And G-d called to Moshe.”  Rashi explains that the word “Vayikra” is in recognition of the great love that G-d had for Moshe.  For that reason, before speaking to Moshe, “Vayikra”, G-d would call to him first.  

When looking at the word Vayikra in the Torah, it is obvious that the letter Aleph at the end of the word is written smaller than the other letters.  The Baal Haturim explains that when Moshe was writing the Torah, he wanted to skip the Aleph totally so that it would read “Vayikar” instead.  That expression was used regarding the prophecy of Bilaam, indicating that Hashem suddenly began to speak to him without any advance warning or preparation.  When it was time for Moshe to write the Torah, Moshe, in his humility, wanted to downplay the affection which G-d showed him and use the same word Vayikar.  Yet G-d required that Moshe write Vayikra.  Moshe followed the directive of G-d and wrote Vayikra, but did so with a small aleph at the end of the word, not wanting to “show off” that G-d treated him with such consideration and fondness. 

Conversely, we find in the book of Chronicles that Adam’s name is spelled with a large Aleph, symbolizing his greatness - and his awareness of it.  Adam knew that he was the handiwork of G-d Himself.  He imagined he must be the most perfect creation of all.  He reasoned that nothing should be beyond his scope - not even the tree from which G-d forbade him to eat. His recognition of his greatness was exactly what caused his ruin and downfall. 

Awareness of one’s good qualities is all well and good, but it must not go to one’s head.  With Adam, it did - but not with Moshe.  Moshe recognized his greatness but more importantly, he recognized that whatever greatness he had came only as a gift from G-d. 

Humility does not mean self-delusion.  It does not mean saying you are “nothing special” when you obviously have achieved great things.  Humility is the awareness of one’s talents, yet it is tempered by the acknowledgement of where these talents came from.  Moshe was aware of his qualities but he did not take the credit for them.  In fact, he said: “Were someone else to be granted these qualities, they might have done even better.”

This provides us with an important lesson for our daily conduct. If, from time to time, we feel inadequate or incapable of fulfilling some task we may face, we should remember that we are “Adams”, with a BIG Aleph.  We were created by no less than G-d Himself, and empowered by Him to fulfill our Divine Mission.  However we must learn from the humility of Moshe and avoid the over-confidence and arrogance that could lead us to ruin. 

Recognizing this lesson helps us to understand a difficult Medrash. The Medrash asks, “How did Moshe’s face become so radiant, as described in the verse: “The skin of his face had become radiant”?  (Shemos 34:30)  The Medrash answers that there was a small amount of ink left in Moshe’s quill after He wrote the Torah.  This ink dripped onto his hand. Moshe then wiped his forehead and from that moment it began to shine. 

What could this mean?  Did Moshe misuse the Divine ink of G-d?  How can we imply that G-d did not know how much ink to give  and would give any more or less than exactly what was necessary?

The Medrash may be understood as follows:  G-d gave Moshe exactly enough ink to write the Torah - but that was calculated with Moshe writing a full size Aleph in the word Vayikra.  Moshe, in his humility, chose to write the word with a small Aleph instead.  This act caused G-d to reward him by having his face shine with a G-dly light.  So it wasn’t really the extra ink that made his face shine.  It was the blessing from G-d as a reward for his humility. 

You see, because Moshe was the most humble of men, there was the chance that the people would not treat him with the respect he deserved.  Therefore, G-d made his face shine as the verse declares: “The skin of his face had become radiant, and they feared to approach him.” 

The point is that feelings of insignificance do not make a person selfless, nor do feelings of great self worth necessarily lead to arrogance and selfishness. Both feelings may be used as the drive to do something meaningful with one’s life.  The difference between these two attitudes is the difference between the 2 Alephs. 

The secret of the Aleph is to consider that G-d is the Yud on the top, and we are the yud or the “yid” down below.   We are joined together by His Divine gift of the ability to grasp Him by the study of the Torah and the fulfillment of the mitzvos. 

The big Aleph reminds us of our greatness.  We are indeed the handiwork of G-d with the ability to impact the entire world through our deeds and actions.  The little Aleph reminds us that this greatness comes as an undeserved gift from G-d.  It spurs us on to make the utmost of the talents and opportunities we have been given. 

Adam and Moshe were both great men, and both were cognizant of their greatness.  Adam was the “handiwork of G-d” made in His ”Divine Image.”  Yet his pride in being the crown of all of G-d’s creations is what led to his downfall.

Moshe was well aware of the fact that of all of G-d’s creations, he was the only one to whom G-d spoke “face to face”, and through whom He communicated His wisdom and will to His world.  But rather than the arrogant inflated Aleph of Adam, this knowledge evoked in Moshe a humble miniature sized Aleph in the word Vayikra. 

 May we all fulfill our personal and collective part in G-d’s plan and may we always remember the lesson of the Aleph, and let us say AMAIN.