Calling Out, Getting Closer

Vayikra

Leviticus 1:1 - 5:26

Précis: The Third Book of the Torah, Vayikra (“And He called”) is referred to in English as “Leviticus” (from its name in Greek), based on the fact that much of the Book concerns ritual sacrifices performed under the auspices of the Levites. Many traditional commentators note that the Book is found in the center of the first Five Books, and find from its positioning the “centrality” of its teachings to Jewish tradition.

The introduction to this Book in Etz Hayim reminds us that the “central concern” of the ancient Israelites was “how they were to express their loyalty” to Adonai. The answer from this Book is that they were to “be holy, for I Adonai Your God, am holy.” Yet, as noted in the Plaut Commentary, much of this “holiness” is expressed in terms of sacrificial ritual, which ceased to function with the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. The word generally used in English for the offerings in the Temple is "sacrifice," but perhaps we can find greater meaning in the Hebrew word, korban, from a root meaning “to draw closer." The system of ritual “sacrifices” (“korbanot”) was designed to allow the Israelites to come closer to the Ineffable.

Etz Hayim also reminds us of the importance of ritual: “…[S]omething in the human soul responds to ritual…There is something comforting about the familiar, the recognizable, the predictable.”


Leviticus 1:1-2 "And He called to Moses, and Adonai spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying, ‘Speak to the Israelite People and say to them:’”

Vayikra begins with an interesting linguistic puzzle. God calls to Moses, and God spoke to him. Since by tradition there are no wasted words in the Torah, why this use of two separate verbs? What is the significance of God calling out to Moses before speaking to him?

Nachmanides suggests that Moses was frightened by this encounter with God, the first to take place in the Ohel Moed (the tent of meeting) and so God first calls out to him – a sort of Divine “ahem.” Rashi says that because the word “vayikra” is used between and among angels, it was a way of God expressing his affection to Moses, comparing him to an angel.

Writing in A Taste of Torah (3/24/07) Rabbi Matthew L. Berkowitz notes that the phrase “vayikra el Moshe” is used three times, each involving Revelation (at the burning bush, at Sinai, and here, where the laws for the Levites are revealed). “Calling out,” he suggests, is rooted in both relationship and revelation.

In our encounters with God, we mimic His “calling out” to Moses by reciting just before the Amidah, “My God, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your Praise.” The words “my lips” can also be translated as “my boundaries.” We ask for God’s help to express our praise to Him, to allow us to transcend our boundaries of self, of ego, and of our daily lives.

If we are to encounter God or another human being in a loving and meaningful relationship, we begin by “calling out.” We offer an entryway into deeper and more complete communication, and we offer to break down our barriers, fears, and limitations. As we approach Passover, we should call out not only to the stranger but to those who are closest to us.