Shalom from Beta Vikai and thank you for joining me in the study of Parashat Vaikrah. We start a new book, Sefer Vaikrah, the book of Vaikrah or is it called the Book of Leviticus. And today I would like to speak to you about Vaikrah al-Moshe, really the opening statement of this parashah. And he called to Moshe, and Hashem spoke to him in the tent of meeting, saying to him the following. What does it mean, Vaikra al-Moshe? What does it mean that Hashem called Moshe? We know that Hashem spoke to Moshe so many times, and it says, and Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying, Why do we need here a special calling? And then Hashem spoke to him. What is the significance? What can we learn from it? And what does it mean to us regarding the entire book? So the Midrash, our sages in the Midrash in Vaikra Rabbah, say the following. So the Midrash is uh wondering what exactly is the uniqueness and the special idea here that Hashem called Moshe. What Hashem didn't call Adam when he spoke to him? It says Vaikrashem Elochim El Adam. And Hashem God called Adam. So why do we need to have Vaikra el Moshe? Ela, but rather, says the Midrash, and Gnailamelech ledabirim ariso. So the Midrash says, you know what? Maybe the idea of calling to someone, it means what? It means that Hashem does not feel, so to speak, that he's being diminished by speaking to a human being. So he already did it with Adam and now he's doing it with Moshe. But really, there is not too much to be so excited. Vaidaber Hashem elav, and Hashem spoke to him to Moshe. And what's the significance of speaking to Moshe? He also spoke with Noach. Vaidaber Elohim El Noach. Hashem already spoke to Noah too. But rather there is no disgrace for the king. To speak to if at the beginning was Arisol, which means was like almost like his employee. Here it's someone who is a little bit more than his employee. And then the Midrash continues to question this Pasuk by saying, and Hashem called Moshe, Ula Avraham Lokarah, what he didn't call Avraham. But rather there is no disgrace to Hashem to speak to his guest. As you can see, and we will talk about it in a few minutes. There is some kind of an evolution in the Midrash that we will obviously need to address. We started with employee, Adam, Noah, who is a bit more. Avram is Hashem's guest. And then the Midrash gets to the point. And the angel of God called Avraham says the midrash, a malak kure vehadibu medabeo. Meaning the calling to Avraham was from an angel, and then the voice of God came through. But the calling itself came from the angel. However, here in the case of Moshe, I'm going to call Moshe and I'm going to speak to him. No angel directly to Moshe. Sheneyamar, as it says in Isaiah, I spoke to him, I called him, and I made his path successful. So now let's just try to digress a second and try to look at this midrash. Let's try to identify what exactly is the problem. The problem of the midrash is why would the Torah mention that Moshe was called by God and Hashem spoke to him? There is nothing special with it. Hashem called other people like Adam, like Avraham. Hashem spoke to other biblical figures. Noah, Hashem spoke also to Yitzhak and to Yaakov. And what is their uniqueness? What is so special that Moshe was called? And now the Midrash gives us an answer. It is true. Hashem called other biblical figures. Hashem spoke to other biblical figures. However, it was always in a different way than he called and spoke to Moshe. With Adam, with Noah, and even with Avraham. They were always addressed as employee or a guest, but never as an equal. And what do I mean equal? Obviously, Moshe is not equal to God. But Moshe had such a, I will call it such a condition, such a situation, that he and Hashem spoke like so-called friends. Panim al-Panim, face to face. Clear view, not with covers, not with anything that is hidden. Moshe was basically dwelled on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights, and he he spoke and communicated with God in a much higher level than anyone else. He received the Torah, which was the divine gift, and gave it to the people. And now, when we start a new book, when we start the service of the Mishkan, Hashem called Moshe, called him in, not because that was unique by itself. Hashem called and spoke to other people. And that's exactly the point of the Midrash. The point of the Midrash is that the opening statement of Sepha Vaikrah, in a way, is to illustrate and to highlight and to emphasize the greatness of Moshe. So that's the point of the Midrash. But now we need to ask an additional question. Why here? Why specifically at this moment, at this junction, after the nation of Israel committed this terrible sin of the golden calf that we mentioned in Parashat Kitisa? And after we build the Mishkan, and now we are about to dedicate the Mishkan, why here? Why not before? Why not immediately after the golden calf? What's the point of mentioning here that Moshe is on such a high level? And this is the question that really all the commentators ask, and each one of them try to provide us with a different answer. So let's see the Yalku Chimoni. Little bit of a later midrash, and our sages says the following. Exactly like Hashem commended Moshe. And then he built the tabernacle, then he built the ark, then he built the menorah, everything there it says, Ka'ashel tziva shem et moshe. Like Hashem commended Moshe. So the Midrash says there is probably a connection between this idea of Moshe did exactly like he was commended, and all the other builders did exactly like Hashem commended Moshe, to the opening statement of Parashat Vaikra. So what is the connection? So the Midrash says, you know what? I will try to portray to you a parable. What's the mashal, the parable? So mashalemelik. So there is a parable to a king. So a king told his slave, his servant, I would like to ask you to build for me a palace. So this servant, the builder, he was also very smart. Everything he built, every wall, every window, every furniture that he created, he wrote on it the name of the king. Ayabu Neqtalim, he built walls, the Kotevalem Shmoshal Melech. So he would write the king's name on the walls. Ayak Ma'amid Amudim, so he established pillars for the building. He would write the king's name on them. So he wrote on each beam the king's name. So after a while, so the king came into the palace. And on everything that the king looked at, he looked at the walls, the windows, the beams, the roof. So he found his name. So the king said, this entire honor and glory. This servant did it for me. So just imagine, the king went into his new palace, everywhere he looks, there is his name. So that's obviously something that it's very honorable. And so what will be the end result of this mashal? So our sages says, So the king says to himself, it's not nice. My servant did so much for me. He honored me. My name is everywhere. It's not nice that I am in the palace, and my servant, the builder, is outside. So what should I do? So the king himself called the servant, the builder, and told him, Come in, come to the palace that you built for me. So that's the mashal, that's the parable. What's the nimshal? What's the lesson from it? So the same way that when Hashem told Moshe, his servant, to build for him a mishkan, Al call davar ve davar, shayyause on everything that he did, Hayak kutevalav ka'asher tsiva ashem et moshe. Not literally, but figuratively, which means everything that Moshe did, he did in such a meticulous way, it was like he wrote God's name on everything he built in the tabernacle, in the Mishkan. This entire honor that Moshe did for me, I'm going to be inside the tabernacle, inside the Mishkan, and Moshe will stand outside. So Hashem called Moshe, come in, please. Come to the palace. This is why Hashem called Moshe. So now let's try to analyze what is the meaning of this midrash. When you look at the parable, when you look at the story, the story basically illustrated not only faithfulness and trustworthiness, but more than that, the servant knew that he will do everything for the king. He wanted that every detail of that palace will show, will reflect his king's name, his king's content and meaning. When Hashem told Moshe to build the tabernacle, there were obviously a very detailed plan of how to build it. According to our sages, there were even few things that Moshe, it was very difficult for him to comprehend how to build it, like the menorah, for example. And Hashem showed it to him. Now, everyone who has a little bit of a sense of art and aesthetics knows that even when you tell a builder what to do and you give him the plans, every artist, every builder, everyone who is creative like to add something that has my name. You know, almost every painter he can paint something beautiful, but he will sign his name. You want your own personal contribution, your own personal mark on what you created. But like the servant in the parable, Moshe realized that it's not about him. And it's not about any of the artists or the workmen and women that created the Mishkan. It's about God. It should reflect purely, clearly, God's presence. That's the glory of the Mishkan. That's the glory of the tabernacle. Yes, we create it. We are the one to create it, to create it, we are the one to build it, we are the one to structure it, but it needs to reflect God and the divine presence. And therefore, everything, every little detail that it's in the Mishkan, it's kaashel tziva ashemeth moshe. It's exactly like what God commanded Moshe, not even with one little change. When Hashem, so to speak, came into the Mishkan, to his palace, and the divine presence fills up the entire Mishkan, the entire tabernacle. There is no place that it's that there is anything else besides the divine presence. Hashem says, it's not nice for me to be here, and the main builder, Moshe Rabbeinu, is outside. He needs to come in. So take a look at the in a way, the illogical lesson of the midrash. On one hand, the Mishkan has, when it's built, there is nothing human there, there is only divine presence. But then when Hashem fills up the Mishkan, he says, I want human beings to be back in the palace. He invites Moshe back. And that's the significance of Vaikai and Moshe. This is the reason why. Meaning, in a way there is almost like a back and forth. In order for the divine presence to fill up the Mishkan, humans, people must live, but in order for the divine presence to dwell, we need people in. People like Moshe. And that's the idea of the Midrash. Not just as a reward for what he did, not only as a somewhat, some kind of an award for the fact that he wrote God's name on everything in the tabernacle, but in order to show that there is this complete harmony between the divine presence and the humans who built it. Rashi takes the question of why there was a need to call Moshe, and he says the following. Hashem called Moshe, because that's a language of khiba of being liked and loved. Sheneyamar is it says, they call each other. These two sentences are very important. Rashi says that Hashem also calls other prophets, prophets that belong to the other nations. But with them the language is different. It says vayikar, vav yud kufres, not vayikra. The aleph is missing. What is vayikal? It's language of mikre. It's like happen to be that he needs to talk to them. Or even from the word kheri, which is impurity. In a way, Rashi is telling us that va'ikra and moshe signifies the idea that Hashem called Moshe with khibah, with likeness. He wanted to talk to him. He didn't need to talk to him. He was not, quote unquote, forced to talk to Moshe. He desired to talk to Moshe. But that Srrashi is a bit problematic because, okay, but why here? Why do I need to say it here that Moshe is different than Bilam, the magician? Obviously, he's different. Why is it so important here to show that Moshe is distinguished from all the other prophets? Says Rashbam, Rash's grandson, something with tremendous insight. He says, the fishekatuvle mala, because it says before, which means at the end of Parashat Kuday that we read last week, the fishekatuvle mala besofase. Rashbam says to us, wait, go back to the last verse, to the last few verses in Parashat Kudai. And there it says, What? The glory of God, the divine presence fills up the entire Mishkan, and Moshe could not go in. So just imagine the leader of the Jewish people who was able to go to Mount Sinai and to stay there for 40 days and 40 nights three times. The first one came back with the first tablets and then broke them, went back for another 40 days and 40 nights to besiege God for forgiveness, and then go up again to receive the second tablets. So for 120 days, he goes up to the mountain, speaks to God, brings the first tablet, then later on brings the second tablets, and now he cannot go in. So people would look at him and they will look at other people and they say to themselves, wait, Moshe is not that different than all of us. He cannot go in, I cannot go in, you cannot go in, he cannot go in, we are all the same. And perhaps next time when he's being called, maybe maybe it just happened to be that he was called. Maybe it just happened to be that Hashem didn't find anyone else, so you know he had to talk to someone, so he spoke to Moshe to tell him what to do, so he can tell us what to do. In order to avoid Such a thought. Now imagine the Mishkan is filled with the divine presence. They would say that there is like a major cloud that fills up the entire tabernacle, no one can go in, everyone is afraid, and then a sound comes from that cloud and says to Moshe, come in. Vaikrah, full vaikrah, which means in a way Moshe is being re-chosen. And why is it? Because maybe Moshe completed his job. He took the Jewish people from Egypt, he took them through Yamsuf, split the sea, received the Torah, broke the tablets, gave them the new tablets, built the Mishkan, the divine presence fills the Mishkan. Maybe now from now on there is no need for Moshe. Maybe from now on, God will just take them and that's it, and Moshe can sit aside. Answer is, or he will be used from time to time. Answer is no. Moshe did not finish his job. There is still work to do. He needs to lead the Jewish people through the desert and bring them to the land of Israel. But in a way, because we reached a point that can be perceived as the end of the story, Rashbam says after Moshe was not able to come into the Mishkan, now it's time to what? To in a way choose him again. In front of everyone. No one else can come in, only Moshe. So now we understand. What his grandfather said, Rashi, Vajra and Moshe. At that junction, at that moment in history, Moshe had to be re-elected by God to show Amisle that two things really, two messages. One, the divine presence dwells in something that you all build. All of you at the same time. It's not about just being all of you. Your leader will continue to lead. Moshe. So this is the uniqueness, according to the Rashbam and Rashi, in the special calling that was the opening statement really of our parsha. Rapshim Shan Rafael Hirsch, 19th century in Germany, says the following Kahlim Danu Akatuf, that's what the verse, the narrative teaches us. When spoke to Moshe, it was dibu and moshe, it was to him. And by saying that, he's basically rebuking the other people who think that's a good thing. Some people, some commentators, not all Jews, but some of them were Jewish people that basically thought that Moshe's revel the revelations to Moshe came from his heart. It was not really a conversation between him and God. Moses' prophecy was not in a dream. Moshe's prophecy was not an ecstasy. Moshe's prophecy was not something that he got excited. But rather ish like we speak to each other. When we speak to each other, it's not from your heart, it's I speak. I create the language. I create the words, the sentences, and it comes to you. Not in a dream, not in an illusion. It's God's speech. Not coming something that comes from Moshe's heart. Hashem speaks externally and then Moshe receives it. Hashem calls Moshe and says, Come, I don't want you to be sleepy, I don't want you to be dreamy, I don't want you to dream. I want you to be awake when I speak to you. It signifies that Hashem is the only one who speaks to Moshe. He didn't know when Hashem will speak to him. But rather the speech that Hashem's calling came to him as an event that he did not know before. Now, why is that so important? Leave alone that Hapsim Shana Hirsch lived in Germany in the 19th century and obviously he had to debate biblical criticism and other opinions regarding Moshe's prophecy. But that's the historical side. Let's talk about the content of his commentary. Basically, Rapshim Shon Aphael Hirosh wanted to re-emphasize the idea that Moshe's prophecy is unique, special, unlike any other prophets, but not only that. It's the idea that Hashem spoke to Moshe and Moshe listens. And when it says, Kashet Zivashemeth Moshem, we, the people who believe in the Torah, we believe that Moshe did exactly without changing anything from what Hashem said. Because without it, the authenticity of the Torah will obviously be jeopardized. We need to believe that whatever Hashem told Moshe, Moshe did and implemented in the Torah. And that's the importance of Moshe, Vayadaber Hashem elav. That everything that Moshe said, everything that Moshe created in the past and will ask for you in the future, you need to know that it's exactly what Hashem told him. The Rabbi Milubavich focused on something else. If you open up the Torah, you will see that Vaikra, you can see it also in the Humashim, the last letter, the Aleph, is little, is small. Why is that? So the Rabbi Milubavich says the following. The aleph, the letter Aleph in Vaikrah of the word for he called, which is Vaikrah, the first word in the book of Leviticus, is written smaller than usual, alluding to Moses' humility even in the face of his own greatness and his selection by God for his exalted role in human history. So the Aleph is small to show Moses' humility. His humility was not self-delusional, but the result of simple reasoning. I cannot take any credit for any of my gifts or accomplishments, he thought, since they are all God-given. Indeed, were another person to have been given my potentials, he would have accomplished more and climbed greater heights than I have, says Moshe. He understood that true humility does not mean denigrating oneself, but seeing the virtue in others. That itself has tremendous insight. Humility does not mean to be, as we say in Yiddish, a schmate. Someone who, oh, I'm not smart, no, I'm not great, really, I didn't accomplish anything. That's not the idea of humility. That's fake humility. Humility is to understand that I have potential, I have tools, I have potential, I have capabilities, I can accomplish a lot. But you know what? If someone else will have my same potential, he probably will do more, which means I need to work harder. I need to be thankful to God to everything He gave me. But I know that I can maximize my potential even more than I do now. That's true humility. It's to recognize your capabilities and to know that I have work to do. Moreover, if we remember the small Aleph, we too will merit to be called by God. And that's a lesson to each one of us. And his revelation will provide us with the strength to answer God's call. God is calling each one of us. But we need to be humble enough to listen to it. We need to be humble enough to know that he is calling us. And also we need to be humble enough to know that when God calls us, he calls us for a reason. This is the true essence of the sacrifice whose laws are introduced by the lesson of small alif. This is the idea of Qurban. Is to give something of yourself, is to understand who you are and the gifts that God gave you and to continue to walk out to accomplish more. So now Hashem called Moshe. And this little calling revealed to us with so much depth, the understanding that there is some kind of a harmony between the divine presence and human deeds, to understand the idea that Moshe had to be re-elected in a way, and to understand that there is a calling not only to Moshe, but to each one of us, to enter the tent of meeting, to do something for Am Israel, for the Jewish people, to do something for the state of Israel, to do something for another Jew, to do something for another person, to understand the calling, to hear the calling, to realize who we are and what we can be. Thank you.