Vayekra
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rabbi...@yahoo.com
Mar 23, 2009, 10:27:24 AM3/23/09
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Question 1. Why is the alef in Vayekra a small alef?
Question 2. The book of Vayekra (Leviticus) is called in the Talmud
the book of sacrficies, because G-d gives out all the details about
the sacrifices. There are two general sacrifices: private and
communal. Then in private intself there is voluntary and mandatory.
I would think when the Torah begins to tell us the laws of the
sacrifices, it should give us the communal and the mandatory. Why
does the Torah begin with the personal private and voluntary
sacrifices?
Question 2. The book of Vayekra (Leviticus) is called in the Talmud
the book of sacrficies, because G-d gives out all the details about
the sacrifices. There are two general sacrifices: private and
communal. Then in private intself there is voluntary and mandatory.
I would think when the Torah begins to tell us the laws of the
sacrifices, it should give us the communal and the mandatory. Why
does the Torah begin with the personal private and voluntary
sacrifices?
Ted Zablotsky, MD
Mar 23, 2009, 11:51:39 AM3/23/09
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I heard this from my friend Rabbi Yerachmiel Seplowitz:
They say out there that Jews have horns. Even Michelangelo thought
so--you remember his famous statue of Moses with horns. Where did he
get that crazy notion?
Actually, we read it--sort of-- in the Torah: “When Moses came down
from the mountain with the two Tablets of Testimony in his hands, he
didn’t realize that his face was shining (literally, “gave off horns”
of light) from speaking to G-d.”(Exodus, 34:29)
What caused this brilliant spiritual radiance to emanate from his
face? The Medrash Tanchuma tells us that when Moses finished taking
dictation from G-d in writing the Torah, there was some extra ink on
his pen. He wiped the ink onto his face, and that ink caused these
horns of Divine Glory to shine from his face.
------------------------------------------------------------
Take a peek at a Torah scroll that is open to this week’s portion and
you will see what looks like a typographical error. The first word of
the Book of Leviticus has one letter that is noticeably smaller than
the rest. The last letter of the word “Vayikra,” the letter Aleph, is
written in a smaller “font” than the rest of the word. It seems,
according to the Baal Haturim, that Moses objected to the use of the
word “Vayikra”-“And He (G-d) called” (to Moses). Moses preferred to
write the word “Vayikar,” without the letter Aleph.
The difference between the two words is that Vayikra (literally, “and
He called”) is a word that is used describing the summoning of a
distinguished person, while Vayikar (literally, “and He happened
upon”) is used to describe a conversation with a lesser individual.
(When G-d calls to the wicked Balaam in Numbers 23:16, the Torah uses
the word Vayikar.)
As G-d dictated the Torah to Moses, He would tell Moses what to write
and Moses would write it. When they reached Leviticus 1:1, G-d told
him to write Vayikra with an Aleph, a phrase that clearly demonstrated
the great esteem in which He held Moses. Moses, in his humility,
requested that G-d allow him to delete the Aleph, and replace the
dignified word with the more folksy and common phrase Vayikar. G-d
refused to compromise the honor of Moses and insisted that the Aleph
remain. Moses demonstrated his reluctance to accept that honor by
writing the word Vayikra, with an Aleph, but with a smaller and less
significant Aleph.
------------------------------------------------------------
Did you ever notice that the people least deserving of respect are the
ones most likely to demand it? And the truly righteous people, the
giants among us, are the ones who shy away from honor and glory. The
Talmud tells us that those who pursue honor find that honor evades
them, while the ones who flee from honor find that it always manages
to catch up with them.
Moses, the greatest of the prophets, shied away from recognition. He
argued with G-d that he wasn’t worthy of the honor of leading the
Israelites out of Egypt. G-d would no’t take no for an answer. Moses
didn’t want glorified, royal terms used to describe his relationship
with G-d. G-d would no’t take no for an answer. The more Moses tried
to avoid glory, the more it pursued him.
Remember the shining countenance of Moses we discussed above? That
spiritual glow that blazed from his face from the extra ink on his
pen? Where did that “extra” ink come from? That was the leftover ink
from the little Aleph!
They say out there that Jews have horns. Even Michelangelo thought
so--you remember his famous statue of Moses with horns. Where did he
get that crazy notion?
Actually, we read it--sort of-- in the Torah: “When Moses came down
from the mountain with the two Tablets of Testimony in his hands, he
didn’t realize that his face was shining (literally, “gave off horns”
of light) from speaking to G-d.”(Exodus, 34:29)
What caused this brilliant spiritual radiance to emanate from his
face? The Medrash Tanchuma tells us that when Moses finished taking
dictation from G-d in writing the Torah, there was some extra ink on
his pen. He wiped the ink onto his face, and that ink caused these
horns of Divine Glory to shine from his face.
------------------------------------------------------------
Take a peek at a Torah scroll that is open to this week’s portion and
you will see what looks like a typographical error. The first word of
the Book of Leviticus has one letter that is noticeably smaller than
the rest. The last letter of the word “Vayikra,” the letter Aleph, is
written in a smaller “font” than the rest of the word. It seems,
according to the Baal Haturim, that Moses objected to the use of the
word “Vayikra”-“And He (G-d) called” (to Moses). Moses preferred to
write the word “Vayikar,” without the letter Aleph.
The difference between the two words is that Vayikra (literally, “and
He called”) is a word that is used describing the summoning of a
distinguished person, while Vayikar (literally, “and He happened
upon”) is used to describe a conversation with a lesser individual.
(When G-d calls to the wicked Balaam in Numbers 23:16, the Torah uses
the word Vayikar.)
As G-d dictated the Torah to Moses, He would tell Moses what to write
and Moses would write it. When they reached Leviticus 1:1, G-d told
him to write Vayikra with an Aleph, a phrase that clearly demonstrated
the great esteem in which He held Moses. Moses, in his humility,
requested that G-d allow him to delete the Aleph, and replace the
dignified word with the more folksy and common phrase Vayikar. G-d
refused to compromise the honor of Moses and insisted that the Aleph
remain. Moses demonstrated his reluctance to accept that honor by
writing the word Vayikra, with an Aleph, but with a smaller and less
significant Aleph.
------------------------------------------------------------
Did you ever notice that the people least deserving of respect are the
ones most likely to demand it? And the truly righteous people, the
giants among us, are the ones who shy away from honor and glory. The
Talmud tells us that those who pursue honor find that honor evades
them, while the ones who flee from honor find that it always manages
to catch up with them.
Moses, the greatest of the prophets, shied away from recognition. He
argued with G-d that he wasn’t worthy of the honor of leading the
Israelites out of Egypt. G-d would no’t take no for an answer. Moses
didn’t want glorified, royal terms used to describe his relationship
with G-d. G-d would no’t take no for an answer. The more Moses tried
to avoid glory, the more it pursued him.
Remember the shining countenance of Moses we discussed above? That
spiritual glow that blazed from his face from the extra ink on his
pen? Where did that “extra” ink come from? That was the leftover ink
from the little Aleph!
jekra...@cs.com
Mar 23, 2009, 1:38:45 PM3/23/09
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The tow questions asked by Rabbi Gopin appear unrelated. Yet I wonder if this is so. I do not know what tradition says is the reason for the small alef, nor the reason for personal sacrifice coming before communal sacrifice. Perhaps an answer can be found in the sound of the letter Aleph - silence. Whether written large or small, Aleph has no sound. It has no substance, like the soul that comes from HaShem. It is the adding of the intangible to the tangible that animates clay into life. " I am" in Hebrew is "Ani" - Aleph, nun, and yud. As we've seen aleph holds a place yet has no sound - it could be the soul, or the vessel awaiting the soul. Nun sits in the middle of the alphabet, surrounded by all the letters which make all words - implying substance. Yud is the first letter in the unspeakable name of HaShem. It is the light, the point from which creation flows. It is holiness. Yud also contains the Divine plan. Put Aleph Nun and Yud together and you get "I am".
In Torah's directing personal sacrifice before communal sacrifice, it indicates that one must remove impediments that separate Jews from the Holy. Reconnecting with the G-dly within means reconnecting with the Aleph inside. Once whole, then individuals are able to join with the community to seek forgiveness for falling short as a group in their duties.
A smaller aleph might suggest less quanitity, but that would be incorrect, as HaShem does not give less soul to one and to another to begin life. Instead the smaller Aleph suggest humility, as from the Torah teaching "know before whom you stand." In personal sacrifice (daily prayer) we give up time for selfish pursuits, to know before whom we stand. In becoming less, we make space for the Divine part, our souls, to shine forth.
Indeed the ultimate statement of this is when Moshe came down with the commandments as second time, his face radiated such light that a mask was needed to shield the onlookers. If only we too could be so infused that we would need masks to restrain the Holy.
In Torah's directing personal sacrifice before communal sacrifice, it indicates that one must remove impediments that separate Jews from the Holy. Reconnecting with the G-dly within means reconnecting with the Aleph inside. Once whole, then individuals are able to join with the community to seek forgiveness for falling short as a group in their duties.
A smaller aleph might suggest less quanitity, but that would be incorrect, as HaShem does not give less soul to one and to another to begin life. Instead the smaller Aleph suggest humility, as from the Torah teaching "know before whom you stand." In personal sacrifice (daily prayer) we give up time for selfish pursuits, to know before whom we stand. In becoming less, we make space for the Divine part, our souls, to shine forth.
Indeed the ultimate statement of this is when Moshe came down with the commandments as second time, his face radiated such light that a mask was needed to shield the onlookers. If only we too could be so infused that we would need masks to restrain the Holy.
Rabbi Yosef Gopin
Mar 24, 2009, 9:33:39 AM3/24/09
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b''h
need your and poul phone numb. Rabbi Joseph I. Gopin Chabad House of Greater Hartford 860.232.1116 --- On Mon, 3/23/09, jekra...@cs.com <jekra...@cs.com> wrote: |
iyosk...@aol.com
Mar 24, 2009, 9:48:50 AM3/24/09
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?
From: Rabbi Yosef Gopin
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:33:39 -0700 (PDT)
To: <e-t...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [E-Torah] Re: Vayekra
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
From: Rabbi Yosef Gopin
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:33:39 -0700 (PDT)
To: <e-t...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [E-Torah] Re: Vayekra
jekra...@cs.com
Mar 24, 2009, 7:04:22 PM3/24/09
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761-1216 office
Lee Goldman
Mar 24, 2009, 9:00:02 PM3/24/09
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Comment on Q2: A more fundamental question seems to be why animal sacrifices
at all?
I learned a compellin answer from the this week's "Think Jewish" pamphlet
which I think
leads to an answer: Why does the Torah say, "If a man shall bring near of
you an offering?
Why the added "..of you?" The answer given is that is the sacrifice
symbolizes an offering
from the animal within us...taking from our animal soul and turning it as an
offering to
Hashem. Such an offering seems far more valuable-and effective-when offered
voluntarily.
at all?
I learned a compellin answer from the this week's "Think Jewish" pamphlet
which I think
leads to an answer: Why does the Torah say, "If a man shall bring near of
you an offering?
Why the added "..of you?" The answer given is that is the sacrifice
symbolizes an offering
from the animal within us...taking from our animal soul and turning it as an
offering to
Hashem. Such an offering seems far more valuable-and effective-when offered
voluntarily.
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