Vayikra 2022
Isaac’s Parsha Corner · 2022
At the end of Parshat Pikudei, we read that Moshe was unable to enter the Ohel Moed because the cloud (or Shechinah) rested upon it. The physical manifestation of God’s presence left no room for Moses. The lesson was one of personal distance and of reverence in the presence of Shechinah. In the first pasuk of our Parsha, God calls out to Moshe from the Ohel Moed. Famously, the letter “Aleph” in Vayikra, the first word of our Parsha, is written smaller than the other letters. Aleph is the first letter of the word “Ani,” or “me”. Once again, the Torah has instructed us how to conduct ourselves in worship service. We must reduce the “Ani.” It need not disappear, but it must be diminished. Somehow, this message was lost on Nadav and Avihu, who stumbled fatally later on in Shemini. In Avodah, the objective is total diminishment of ego.
This lesson is equally relevant for our times. Although we no longer have the Temple or sacrifices, nevertheless we must behave as our forebears were instructed. The synagogue is not a place to assert one’s self. It is a place of community and of sharing. If one is blessed with a beautiful voice, it should be used to inspire and not to impress. If one has been blessed with economic prosperity, it should find expression in the form of charity and not in an ostentatious display of expensive jewelry or clothing. The more we reduce the “Ahnee” – the “me” – in our worship, the closer we will be to His Shechinah.
Dedicated to the memory of Joel Shulman A’H.