Boulder Aish Kodesh

The first word of the book of Vayikra – Levitticus – is, interestingly enough, Vayikra.  The word means ‘and He called’.  But it is written in an interesting way – with a small Aleph.  If you take away the Aleph, you get the word Vayikar.  That means something different entirely – it means ‘and he happened upon.’  They are opposites. 

The Midrash in Vayikra Rabba takes up this irony, when it writes that G-d does not speak to the prophets of the world like G-d speaks to Moshe.  When G-d spoke to Bil’am, it says, ‘Vayikar’ – G-d ‘happened to him’.  But by Moshe, it says ‘Vayikra’ – and He called. 

The difference between the two is explained further by the Shem Mishmuel, a student of R’ Menachem Mendel of Kotzk.  He explains that calling is meant to bring on closer, and happening upon is meant to keep one where he is.  Moshe is called – G-d wants him to come closer.  Bil’am – G-d is happy to have stay as far as he is.

So why write the word ‘Vayikra’ with a small Aleph? If G-d wants to draw Moshe closer, why doesn’t G-d say it outright?  Because often what we experience in life could be both.  Every experience we have can be either a means of distancing or a means of coming close.  It depends on how we handle it.  When we experience something that distances us from G-d, it is actually an opportunity to come closer.  At that moment, we can say ‘Master of the World, I feel so far from you.  This and that happened, and I don’t understand what you are putting me through. Please help me understand.’  Or we can give up, and say ‘Obviously G-d is not interested in having a relationship with me.’

Much of the book of Vayikra is about sacrifices.  But the word sacrifices is really a mistranslation.  The word korban means ‘coming close’, from the word karov.  It is an amazing system – you can come close for so many reasons – because you are feeling god, or you are feeling bad.  You can bring a korban because you feel close to G-d, or because you feel far.  But we must accustom ourselves to approaching G-d with whatever happens to us.