A Calling Order
Parsha and its fulfillment - Parshat Vayikra - Rabbi Eliezer Shenvald - 5769
The two Parashiyot, Vayikra & Tzav, that open the Sefer of Vayikra, deal with the laws of sacrifices. In contrast to the simplistic reading of the Parasha, it not only deals with the technical aspects of sacrifice, but also with the profound and faithful meaning of the act of humans sacrificing to G-d. And the willingness to choose to bear the cost of the difficulty and inconvenience involved in giving, which we learnt from the first victim in the history of the world, from the battle of Cain and Abel, Abel's sacrifice was accepted because "and Abel, for his part, brought the choicest of the firstlings of his flock. Hashem paid heed to Abel and his offering" (Bereshit 4: 4), who gave of himself the best that he had.
The doctrine of sacrifice opens with a Divine call to Moshe: "Hashem called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying: Speak to the Israelite people, and say to them: When any of you presents an offering of cattle to Hashem, he shall choose his offering from the herd or from the flock." (Vayikra 1: 1-2). The Sages gave their opinion on the place of this calling, which precedes the speaking: "For every word and every commandment and every saying was preceded by a calling, the language of affection - The Torah is teaching etiquette: A person should not say anything to another unless he calls him first". (Yoma 4b), "It is a way of expressing affection, the mode used by the ministering angels when addressing each other, as it is said (Ishayahu 6:3) “And one called unto another” (Rashi ibid).
The Sages pointed to the common denominator between the calling of Moshe at the burning bush and at the revelation at Mount Sinai: "'Vayikra'" - "Vayidaver" – the calling preceded the speaking.
[א] "ויקרא...וידבר" – הקדים קריאה לדיבור. הלא דין הוא! נאמר כאן 'דיבור' ונאמר בסנה דיבור (שמות ג, ד-ה עיין שם): מה דיבור האמור בסנה – הקדים קריאה לדיבור, אף דיבור האמור כאן – הקדים קריאה לדיבור.
1) (Vayikra 1:1): "And He called ("vayikra") to Moses, and the L–rd spoke ("vayedaber") to him from the tent of meeting, saying" — Now is this not evident? (that He called him before He spoke to him? Why need it be written?) Dibbur (speaking) is written here, and dibbur is written in relation to the sneh (the burning bush [(Shemoth 3:4): "And G d called to him from the midst of the sneh, and He said ("vayomer" - comparable to "vayedaber") …]). Just as in the instance of the sneh, kriyah (calling) precedes dibbur, so here, (it is understood that) kriyah precedes dibbur!
[ב] לא! אם אמרת בדיבור הסנה – שהוא תחלה לדברות; תאמר בדיבור אהל מועד שאינו תחלה לדברות!? דיבור הר סיני יוכיח! שאינו תחלה לדברות והקדים בו קריאה לדיבור (שמות יט, ג)!
2) Not necessarily. This may be so with the sneh, the beginning of G d's speaking, but not with the ohel moed (the tent of meeting), which was not the beginning. — This is refuted by Mount Sinai, which was not the beginning of G-d's speaking to him, and where dibbur is nonetheless preceded by kriyah (Shemoth 19:3). (Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Chapter 1)
What is the meaning of this calling? At the crossroads, at the beginning of a new, fateful and meaningful historical era to the world, at the beginning of another stage in the course of the development of the universe there is a divine call to man, to the people of Israel; A resounding Divine "calling order" that calls - to be harnessed to lead the process. To be an active partner not in a forced partnership, but in a partnership that has an inner desire that comes from identification and enthusiasm. The Divine calling is a call of affection. An inviting call that comes from Divine love for His people of Israel and from His appreciation for the burden this partnership with God is bringing on. On the other hand, at the beginning of a new era, there is a need to renew and change the existing situation. The Divine call is intended to awaken the person from the fixation, from lack of attention. Exit the comfort zone. It is at this point that there is a tendency not to hear the Divine call.
Deaf ears are not listening, perhaps not so interested.
The G-dly call since the giving of the Torah is repeated every day: אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי, בְּכָל יוֹם וָיוֹם בַּת קוֹל יוֹצֵאת מֵהַר חוֹרֵב וּמַכְרֶזֶת וְאוֹמֶרֶת, אוֹי לָהֶם לַבְּרִיּוֹת מֵעֶלְבּוֹנָהּ שֶׁל תּוֹרָה.
"Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Each and every day a heavenly echo goes out from Mount Horeb and announces and says: "Woe to the creatures for disparaging the Torah;" (Pirkei Avot 6:2). People who do not hear the voice's call! The calling intensifies at the beginning of every crucial chapter and every stage at which the enlistment of man and Israel is required. In an age when there is no prophecy and we do not hear Divine voices, we perceive the Divine calls from the actual events: "The voice of the multitude is like the voice of G-d."
Rabbi Soloveitchik, in his famous sermon for Yom Ha'atzmaut 5715 (1955) called "Kol Dodi Dofek" refers to the Divine call in the establishment of the State of Israel after the Holocaust, as the generation's "knocks" on the door "inviting" Hashem to enter and connect to promote Jewish history. And the tragic meaning of the procrastination and missed opportunities.
There is another common denominator between the three fateful historical callings. In all three of them, the response of Moshe Rabbeinu was immediate and unconditional:
[י] ומנין שכל הקריאות היו "משה! משה!"? תלמוד לומר (שמות ג, ד) "ויקרא אליו אלקים מתוך הסנה ויאמר משה משה", שאין תלמוד לומר "ויאמר..."; ומה תלמוד לומר "ויאמר..."? – מלמד שכל הקריאות היו "משה! משה!".
10) "And whence is it derived that all the kriyoth were "Moshe, Moshe"? From (Shemoth 3:4): "And G d called to him from the midst of the sneh and He said 'Moshe, Moshe.'" Let "and He said (vayomer)" not be written. Why is it written? We are hereby taught that all the kriyoth were "Moshe, Moshe."
[יא] ומנין שעל כל קריאה היה אומר "הנני"? תלמוד לומר (שמות ג, ד) "ויאמר הנני", שאין תלמוד לומר "ויאמר..."; ומה תלמוד לומר "ויאמר הנני"? – מלמד שעל כל קריאה וקריאה היה אומר "הנני".
11 ) And whence is it derived that for every kriyah he said "Hineni" ("Here I am")? From (Shemoth 3:4): "… and He said … 'Hineni.'" — whereby we are taught that all the kriyoth were answered "Hineni." (i.e., Just as "and He said" indicates that all the kriyoth were "Moshe, Moshe," so does it indicate that all of them were answered "Hineni."((Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Chapter 1:10-11)
Hannah Szenes, who enlisted in the struggle against the Nazis, responded to the historic "calling order":
"קוֹל קָרָא, וְהָלַכְתִּי, הָלַכְתִּי, כִּי קָרָא הַקּוֹל. הָלַכְתִּי לְבַל אֶפֹּל"
"The voice called, and I went, went, because the voice called." The State of Israel is at a crossroads. The "calling" echoes, to harness action and promote Judaism, nationalism, the building and the security of the land. Demanding action involving paying a price and leaving personal comfort areas.
Are our ears ready to hear ?!
Will we be prepared to declare: 'Hineni!'