“A tiger can jump out of the forest at any moment.”
Vayikra [ויקר] “And He called...”
With this pasuk, this is where small children have traditionally begun to learn Torah. We are told that that is because they associate themselves with the diminutive alef at the end of the word.
And, we may well ask, why is the alef written small [take a look at your Chumash if you do not have a Torah Scroll handy]? Rashi says that it is written that way because without the letter alef the word would be read as: vayikar, and that means that a Divine vision came to him (Moshie)without preparation; whereas the word vayikra would imply that this was an expression of Divine endearment. HaShem was calling to Moses and inviting him into His immediate presence with dignity.
Now we know that Moshie was the most humble of men but we are perplexed by his resistance at writing the Torah in a manner which would (seem to) imply that he was boasting and the HaShem had extended a great honor to him personally. After all, he must have reasoned, he was simply just another man. But he was instructed to write the Torah exactly as it was dictated to him, so me made a compromise; he wrote the alef smaller than the rest of the word.
Moshie was showing that he was humble. He probably well knew that there would never be a prophet like him. He probably well knew that G-d did love him greatly. He probably well knew that he had achieved a spiritual level that was - and would be - unequaled by any other human. But that did not make him vain. Or arrogant. He knew that any status that man achieves should be recognized but should not be something that makes him “turn his head”.
There are two men that continue to teach us this lesson. One is quite well known in our time. The other has been obscured through time but is very important in teaching us also. Both achieved much in their lifetimes and speak to us across time and space.
The second man [his name is spelt variously as: Zusia; Zusya; Zuzya; etc.] was a man who always spoke of himself in the third person; a man with an equally well-known brother, Rabbi Elimelech of Lizensk. Rabbi Zuzya (of Onipol) was a man who sometimes appeared as a fool and dunce. Rabbi Zusia once said, “If I could arrange that I be Abraham and that Abraham be Zuzya, I would not do so. For what would G-d gain thereby? There would still be only one Abraham and one Zuzya.” He was a humble man.
The second story is about Rabbi Israel Meir HaCohen - otherwise better known as the Chafetz Chaim. We all know of his teaching on Lashan Hara, gossip, slander or evil talk - and this gives us a pretty good insight into his own practices: Once on a train returning from a trip, he met a man and fell into conversation. The Chafetz Chaim asked where the man was going and the man replied that he was going to see the great tzaddik, the Chafetz Chaim!
The Chafetz Chaim said; “Why do you call him a tzaddik? What is so special about him that you refer to him that way? He is just a person like any other.”
With that the man replied, “How dare you speak with such insolence.” And he proceeded to slap him across the sage’s face!
Later when he was finally introduced to the Chafetz Chaim the embarrassed man asked for forgiveness for his rudness but the Chafetz Chaim replied, “There is no need to apologize, after all it was my honor that you were defending.” Thus we learn, as Moshie knew years earlier: you must not speak badly of any person, even of yourself.
Sometimes I find that if takes a tiger jumping out of the forest to awaken me to something like a small alef in a word to get my attention. Someone once said that another person was so engrossed in what they were doing that when they sat down they could just as well be sitting on an elephant. Perhaps it is human nature that we must overcome in order to become aware to something more important. Sometimes it is G-d who causes the tiger to jump out of the forest, at just the correct moment, to get our attention. In the meantime... be aware of the gifts that He has bestowed on you. But don’t let it turn your head.
[You probably note that there is 'no' alef above - this is simply written w/o vowels here]
And, we may well ask, why is the alef written small [take a look at your Chumash if you do not have a Torah Scroll handy]? Rashi says that it is written that way because without the letter alef the word would be read as: vayikar, and that means that a Divine vision came to him (Moshie)without preparation; whereas the word vayikra would imply that this was an expression of Divine endearment. HaShem was calling to Moses and inviting him into His immediate presence with dignity.
“A tiger can jump out of the forest at any moment.”
__Søren Kierkegård
Now we know that Moshie was the most humble of men but we are perplexed by his resistance at writing the Torah in a manner which would (seem to) imply that he was boasting and the HaShem had extended a great honor to him personally. After all, he must have reasoned, he was simply just another man. But he was instructed to write the Torah exactly as it was dictated to him, so me made a compromise; he wrote the alef smaller than the rest of the word.
Moshie was showing that he was humble. He probably well knew that there would never be a prophet like him. He probably well knew that G-d did love him greatly. He probably well knew that he had achieved a spiritual level that was - and would be - unequaled by any other human. But that did not make him vain. Or arrogant. He knew that any status that man achieves should be recognized but should not be something that makes him “turn his head”.
There are two men that continue to teach us this lesson. One is quite well known in our time. The other has been obscured through time but is very important in teaching us also. Both achieved much in their lifetimes and speak to us across time and space.
The second man [his name is spelt variously as: Zusia; Zusya; Zuzya; etc.] was a man who always spoke of himself in the third person; a man with an equally well-known brother, Rabbi Elimelech of Lizensk. Rabbi Zuzya (of Onipol) was a man who sometimes appeared as a fool and dunce. Rabbi Zusia once said, “If I could arrange that I be Abraham and that Abraham be Zuzya, I would not do so. For what would G-d gain thereby? There would still be only one Abraham and one Zuzya.” He was a humble man.
The second story is about Rabbi Israel Meir HaCohen - otherwise better known as the Chafetz Chaim. We all know of his teaching on Lashan Hara, gossip, slander or evil talk - and this gives us a pretty good insight into his own practices: Once on a train returning from a trip, he met a man and fell into conversation. The Chafetz Chaim asked where the man was going and the man replied that he was going to see the great tzaddik, the Chafetz Chaim!
The Chafetz Chaim said; “Why do you call him a tzaddik? What is so special about him that you refer to him that way? He is just a person like any other.”
With that the man replied, “How dare you speak with such insolence.” And he proceeded to slap him across the sage’s face!
Later when he was finally introduced to the Chafetz Chaim the embarrassed man asked for forgiveness for his rudness but the Chafetz Chaim replied, “There is no need to apologize, after all it was my honor that you were defending.” Thus we learn, as Moshie knew years earlier: you must not speak badly of any person, even of yourself.
Sometimes I find that if takes a tiger jumping out of the forest to awaken me to something like a small alef in a word to get my attention. Someone once said that another person was so engrossed in what they were doing that when they sat down they could just as well be sitting on an elephant. Perhaps it is human nature that we must overcome in order to become aware to something more important. Sometimes it is G-d who causes the tiger to jump out of the forest, at just the correct moment, to get our attention. In the meantime... be aware of the gifts that He has bestowed on you. But don’t let it turn your head.
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