This week’s Torah reading begins with the following statement: “And He (G-d) called to Moshe (Moses).” Rabbi Tzvi Black explains that the word “Vayikra” (and he called) indicates an indication of love that G-d had for Moses. Moses – so to speak – received a personal “calling” or invitation whenever G-d wished to speak with him. The letter “Alef” in the word “Vayikra” is written smaller than the other letters. This is because Moses, in his great humility wanted to minimize the implication of this word, “Vayikra.” As the transcriber of the Torah, he could not change the word but he was able to mitigate to some degree the emphasis of that word by writing its first letter a bit smaller than the rest. This was Moses’s conduct when it was his own honor at stake. In the verse “Ashrecha Yisroel Mi Kamocha” – “Fortunate are you Israel; who is like you?” (Deut. 33:29), the letter Alef of the word “Ashrecha” is written larger than usual (according to the opinion of the Minchas Shai). Here, an emphasis is placed on the praises of the Jewish nation.
We also read about the procedure for various sacrifices. One such sacrifice was the sin offering. A person was obligated to bring a sin offering if they unintentionally transgressed a commandment whose intentional violation would be punished by death. There was a sliding scale for this sacrifice. A rich person brought an ox; middle class, goat or sheep; poor, two pigeons; destitute, flour and oil. The Rambam, Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, writes that if a rich person was to bring an offering of flour and oil, his obligation would not have been met. It did, however, suffice for a poor person to bring an ox. The Alter Rebbe writes in his Letters of Repentance, that in this time, when we can no longer bring sin offerings, a person should increase their service to Hashem. If one learns one chapter daily, they should increase to two. If one gives one penny to charity, let them give two, etc. Even in Temple times, the sacrifice did not provide a magical formula for sin removal. There has never been a quick fix for repentance. The main emphasis was and is on the person increasing in their Avodas Hashem, service of the Creator. By sinning, a person puts a blemish or dent in their soul. This blemish has a direct effect on their connection to G-d. By doing teshuva, repenting, one fills in those dents and fissures and repairs the attachment.
Yeast and honey were not permitted in the offerings on the altar, but salt was. Rabbi Mordechai Gifter teaches that yeast makes the dough rise higher and honey makes things sweeter, but both are external additives. Salt, however, only brings out the food’s existing flavor. When serving Hashem, Rabbi Zelig Pliskin explains, we should follow the model of salt – we should be ourselves, but make every effort to be all that we can be. (Dipping bread in salt should remind us not only of the sacrifices, but of our obligation to use our potential to the fullest.)
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
