Call For Me And I WIll Be There (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Lazy River Road")

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          Like everyone, we have remained mostly confined to our home. Our three children who are home go outside and take walks. I go to the office to pick up books. Running “errands” are infrequent and confined to Passover and essentials. Indeed the world has become a frightening place that seems quite arbitrary. Some people get infected some don’t. Some have symptoms and some are asymptomatic. Some will survive and sadly many have passed away. With our daughter in Boston and our older parents “sheltering in place” in San Francisco and Rochester, NY, with our sisters, brothers in law and nieces and nephew in Los Angeles and New York; we are all filled with anxiety We all make a concerted effort to speak to each other, to check-in, to connect. Among the casualties of this “new normal” has been our ability to connect to God. We no longer connect to God a minyan, we daven by ourselves. We no longer connect to God when we see grandparents, extended family or friends gathered together for Shabbat meals, we Facetime, Whatsapp, Skype or Zoom. We no longer sense God amid the joy of dancing at a wedding or consoling each other with a hug during times of sorrow. We make a phone call, we send an email and we watch from afar. So we are left to listen for God, sense God’s presence, and connect to God in different ways.

          This Shabbat, we begin the third book of the Torah with the Parsha of the same name, Vayikra, otherwise known as Leviticus. B’reishit and Shmot are essentially a series of narratives about a family and ultimately an entire people. However, Sefer VaYikra is presented in both a narrative format as well as a user manual for ritual sacrifices - KoRBonot. This “user manual” seems to be designed for the Kohanim since it was their job to make the ritual sacrifice on behalf of the B’nai Yisroel. Since one of the most important issues in making KoRBonot is ritual purity. Ritual purity extends to three aspects of the Korbonot process, the person making the KoRBon -the Kohen; the Korbon itself, and the person bringing the KoRBon-everyone who was not a kohen. The Parsha begins with the general rules for Korbonot, mainly that the animal in question, needs to be pure, that is to say, blemish-free. The Parsha lists the various categories of Korbonot to beginning with the Oleh Offering, an offering completely for God. The offering was completely consumed by God and its purpose was to create a means for a person to connect to God for no reason except out of a desire to do so. Other offerings have distinct purposes such as the Sin-offering (seeking forgiveness), and Peace offering (showing a deep love of God), the Guilt offering (in case one has doubt about doing something wrong). Included in each of the categories of offerings was a list of animals to be offered as well as what was to be cooked completely and left for God, what was cooked and left for the Kohen, and what was cooked and to be shared with the community. Operating beneath the institution of KoRBonot was B’nai Yisroel’s desire to be near God, to connect with God. Even the word KoRBonot - with the three-lettered root Ku-f Resh- Bet means “close in proximity”. These offerings were designed to allow the person to draw closer to God for the myriad of reasons that a person would want to be near God including: thankfulness, forgiveness, joy/happiness, or doubt in the relationship. Following the fiasco of the Golden Calf, B’nai Yisroel required an acceptable format so that they could connect to God, they required a means that when they heard God, they could offer an appropriate response.

          Even before God tells Moshe about all the commandments concerning KoRBonot, God does something very unique, something that God had never done before and could only do because of his relationship to Moshe Rabeinu. Vayikrah El Moshe, VaYidaber Adoshem Eilav M’Ohel Moed Leimor - He called out to Moshe and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of the Meeting saying (Lev 1:1). God called, God spoke and God said; three very similar verbs yet slightly different when examined through the lens of “proximity” “intimacy” and “formality”. One calls out to a person when there is a physical distance that needs to be overcome, or when trying to get another person’s attention. Rashi, the great 11th-century French commentator, offers several explanations. First, this “calling” is Lashon Chiba - a language of endearment. God called out to Moshe in a loving manner and only to Moshe. No one else heard this particular call. Once called, Moshe knew to approach. After Moshe draws closer, God speaks to him. “Speaking” to someone assumes a relationship, a partnership, and a dialogue. The partnership might not be a 50/50 split and the dialogue might not be an equally two-sided dialogue, but “speaking” suggests that there is a response. However “telling” someone something suggests a clear delineation of authority. The party “telling” has the authority and the person to the listening lacks authority. “Telling” suggests neither partnership nor dialogue but rather the dry transmission of data and information. For the first time and the last time God Vayikra el Moshe - God called out to Moshe. God singled Moshe out for a vital task: to instruct the Kohanim and B’nai Yisroel how to appropriately connect to God. While it was certainly novel that God called, it was equally important that Moshe heard the call. Indeed, Moshe was spiritually sensitive and in tune with his relationship to God that he, and only he, herd the endearing call from God.

          Sometimes we are not able to hear so well. Maybe there is too much noise. Maybe we are so out sorts that we can’t hear past our own fears, our own anxiety, or our own guilt. Sometimes we ignore God’s loud whisper that is meant only for us. So we will listen to God when we take a walk with our children. We sense God when we watch a wedding occur outside on the neighbor’s front lawn. Maybe God calls out to us when we take a moment and reconnect with friends through a Zoom party. Maybe we sense God by being a little more considerate of everyone in the house, by pitching in, by engaging in one more act of Kindness than the day before. Amid all of this we know that God is present, we need to only listen closely to the whisper in order to connect.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

I Feel the Quickening; I hear the Call - (Barlow/Weir "Picasso Moon")

The other night, in the middle of the night, while I deeply slumbered, I began dreaming. I dreamt that my eight year old daughter was calling out to me. She could only whisper. No matter how hard she tried, only a whisper came out of her. She didn't seem to be in any kind of distress or pain. Yet something was very important because she kept whispering my name. "Abba, Abba, wake up Abba. Abba, Abba help me Abba." I couldn't move, nor did I feel as if I was being pushed towards my daughter's whispering voice. The whispering seemed to intensify and finally I opened my eyes. There was my eight year old daughter, standing by my side of the bed, whispering in the smallest of voices. I sat up, hugged, asked if she was going to be sick, she shook her head no. I asked if she was OK. She nodded yes. I hugged her. She whispered to me that her throat hurt. I picked her up, carried her downstairs, gave her some water, felt her forehead for fever and then carried her back to bed. I sat with her for several minutes. I asked her how long she had been whispering my name, and how did she whisper so that Mommy did not wake up. She said that she whispered my name and directed the whisper only to me for just a few seconds; and I woke up nearly right away. From my perspective, the whispering seemed to last for hours. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

This week's Parsha marks the beginning of the third book of the Torah known as Vayikrah. While the entire book focuses upon sacrificial offerings, the role of Aaron and his sons and the means by which individuals and the nation achieve holiness; Parsha Vayikra begins with outlining the general rule of making sacrificial offerings, the types of sacrificial offerings and the reason to bring a sacrificial offering. The parsha begins with a very unique phrase: Vayikrah El Moshe, VaYidabeir Hashem Eilav - And He called out to Moshe; and Hashem spoke to him (Lev. 1:1). Before transmitting all this information God took a moment to call out to Moshe. Moshe was aware enough that he heard the calling, acknowledged it and only then to God begin speaking.

Throughout the previous book of Exodus (Shmot), the common phrase to begin God's transmission of laws and information was a one step process. God spoke or God said. VaYidabeir Hashem El Moshe Leimor - Hashem spoke to Moshe saying, or VaYomeir Hashem El Moshe Leimor - Hashem said to Moshe, saying. Now in Sefer VaYikrah, prior to transmitting information, prior to VaYidaber -speaking or VaYomeir -saying; God calls out - Vayikrah. Why does God call out to Moshe here, prior to the transmission of the rule for sacrificial offerings but not in Sefer Shmot? Why is the "Aleph", the last letter in the word VaYiKRAh in a diminished size? How was it that only Moshe heard God calling and the rest of B'nai Yisroel did not hear any such calling?

Rashi, the great 11th century French commentator, offers insight to these questions as well as an interesting perspective on the nature of God and Moshe's relationship. L'Chol Dibrot U'LeChol Amirot, U'LeChol Tzivuim Kadma Kriah - Before all the instances of "speaking, "saying" and "commanding", "calling" preceded them. Lashon Chiba, Lashon Sheh'Malchei HaShareit Mishtamshim Bo Sh'Ne'Emar V'Karah Zeh El Zeh V'Amar - [Calling} is the language of endearment, a term which the ministering angel used with each other as it says 'and one called out to the other (Isaiah 6:3). Before God speaks, talks, or commands, the assumption is that God first calls out. that means prior to speaking or commanding, the person to whom God wants to speak with must indicate that he heard was paying attention, that he was responsive, that he was listening and that he was spiritually in tune in with God. The fact that the Torah explicitly used the word VaYiKRah when God is about to introduce the laws for Korbonot (offerings) suggest that there is something so special about Korbonot that God endearingly calls out only to Moshe. Korbonot (offferings) comes from three lettered hebrew root word KaReiV- approach. A KoRBon (offering) is a means by which we approach God for any number of reasons including: Thanksgiving, Sin, Guilt, Peace and Daily offerings. These Korbonot emanate from our desire or our need to approach God. In order to approach however, we must be able to here God call. We may hear God's call as a result of our own internal mechanism i.e. conscience or soul; we may hear God's call because of an external mechanism i.e. communal sensibilities. Whether these mechanism are internal or external, the underlying assumption is that an effort is required to engage God in a relationship.

Rashi adds another dimension to God's calling. Hakol Holeich U'Magiyah L'Aznav V'Chol Yisroel Lo Shomin - The voice went and and reached his ears but all of Israel did not hear. The nature of this callings, with its diminished "Aleph" suggests that the "calling was directed only to Moshe. So far, Moshe has had the most intimate relationship with God. Moshe already experienced several revelations in Sefer Shmot. Even though the content of this message will focus upon Aaron, his sons, the role of the Kohen and sacrificial offerings, only Moshe has opened himself to God. Only Moshe could hear this "diminished" calling or this whisper. Only Moshe existed on such an elevated spiritual level that he could approach God when all that he heard would be the faintest of whispers.

Had my daughter yelled my name in the middle of the night standing right near my ear, I am sure that I would have heard it. However I don't know if I would have responded the same way. I don't know I would have approached her in a concerned and compassionate manner. We all hear the "loudness" of life, the "loudness" of the weekdays, the "loudness" of the material/secular world. We may not listen; we may even have grown numb to it and even stopped paying attention to it. However our most sacred relationships: our husbands/wives, our children, our family, friends and God are premised on our ability to be in tune with these sacred relationships. It is easy to hear the calling of these relationships when the calling is loud. However, when the relationship calls to us in a whisper, are we spiritually open and available enough to hear that whisper, to respond to that whisper and to draw towards the holiness of that whisper.

Peace,
Rav Yitz