Parshas Vayikra
Our parsha famously begins with word “Vayikra”, with Hashem “calling” to Moshe. Rashi tells us that this particular term of calling is one that denotes love and that this is the form of communication which G-d chose to use for all the commandments He gave over to Moshe Rabbeinu. However, Rashi notes that when Hashem addresses non-Jewish prophets such as Bilaam, He uses a different verb; “vayikar”. Such an expression, in contrast with “vayikra”, is a term of impurity and happenstance. Hashem dreads any interaction with the nations of the world and even their prophets. Therefore, the mode of communication is vastly dissimilar. Hashem calls warmly to the Jewish prophets and invites them to hear His words with kindness and love, while the non-Jewish prophets receive a cold reception. What leads to this distinction? Why not call warmly to the non-Jewish prophets as well and bring them closer to the truth through love?
Rav Gedalia Shorer explains “calling” as an action that one does with the intention that the person whom they are calling will direct their attention towards them and proceed to come closer to listen on their own accord. In order to be “called” by Hashem, you have to prepare yourself and become a person who will actually come and listen. Beginning with Avraham Avinu, the Jewish people were the only nation among all others that actually desired to have a relationship with Hashem and fulfill His will. When Hashem called, they listened. However, with the nations of the world, Hashem has to strain Himself and “come over to them”, so to speak, in order to achieve any form of communication. Such activity is painful for Hashem and He doesn’t enjoy interacting with such ungrateful beings. We can see from here that Hashem desiring closeness with us does not necessarily happen automatically. We ourselves have to show Hashem that we are ready to be brought close and listen to G-d’s call, completely giving our attention to Him. According to Rav Shorer, we learn about this principle here at the beginning of Sefer Vayikra because this is a central idea of what bringing a Korban is all about. A Jew has to realize that the purpose of a Korban is to “bring close” and that such closeness can only be achieved with the proper mindset. One must prepare himself. Nowadays that tefilla fills the place of Korbanos, we should realize that we have this same opportunity and responsibility every time before we start Shmoneh Esrei. We should remind ourselves that we are preparing to get close to Hashem and remember that this is something to be cherished. We must daven with the proper cavana and not let such a precious opportunity slip through our fingers.
There is an interesting Zohar that says that everyday a Bas Kol cries out from heaven: “Oh, Return (My) wayward sons.” The Slonimer Rebbe comments on this passage in the Zohar, citing the Baal Shem Tov who asks the following difficulty: Who cares? We don’t hear this voice everyday in our lives so the Bas Kol surely isn’t affecting us on an experiential level. What good does it do for us to know that such a phenomenon exists? However, the Baal Shem Tov answers this question with another question. When a person wakes up in the morning and out of the blue decides to do teshuva, where does that inspiration come from? When a person suddenly decides to completely change his life and dedicate himself to Torah learning, how does such an idea even come into the person’s head? Even when a person finds the inspiration to improve himself even a little bit, how does that happen? This is the Bas Kol. A Jew can be inspired to do teshuva at any time. Just as Hashem called to Moshe, so too we are getting called by Hashem constantly. We, the Jewish people, have such a rich tradition of listening to G-d’s call that even when we are not fitting, Hashem still tries calling out to us in little ways. This is the legacy of Moshe Rabbeinu and so many Jews throughout history who were dedicated to listening to Hashem’s word and fulfilling it in its entirety.
Rabbeinu Yona writes in Shaarei Teshuva 2:22 that a Jew should be thinking about how he can get closer to Hashem all the time. A Jew has an obligation to realize that getting close to Hashem is the basis for his entire existence and that the relationship with his Maker is the only thing that is truly meaningful in life. It is so easy to get distracted and forget about the essence of our lives, but we should remember our days are numbered. As the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos near the end of the 2nd chapter says: “The day is short and the task is great…” We have so much work to do. How are we going to achieve such lofty things like Yiras Shamayim, Ahavas Hashem, bitachon, savlanus, loving our fellow Jews, etc? We have a constant obligation to apply ourselves as much as we can to get closer and closer to Hashem. This is the essence of a Jew and this is what our reward is going to be based on when we get to the next world.
In the previous generation, one of the great Rosh yeshivas of the time was an incredibly holy rabbi by the name of Rav Aharon Cohen. He was very sick his entire life and suffered the pain of never being able to have children. Nevertheless, he lived his life inspired and was an inspiration to all those around him by being one who constantly desired to grow and become closer to Hashem. He overextended himself in all areas. He learned and taught many talmidim, treating each one as his son. He also displayed tremendous hospitality for others, even allowing those who needed to sleep at his house. Furthermore, Rav Aharon’s desire for growth and closeness to Hashem was so strong that he would go anywhere to get it. Despite the fact that Rav Aharon was a very renowned Litvish Rosh Yeshiva, he nevertheless developed a close relationship with Rav Aharon Roita who was a Hassidishe Rebbe. Rav Aharon appreciated the rebbe for his enthusiasm, especially in tefilla, and used it for his own avodas Hashem. He even would visit the rebbe every Shabbos, with the hope that the rebbe’s good qualities would rub off on him. Everything Rav Aharon did was just so that he could get closer to Hashem. For Rav Aharon, getting close to Hashem was the only thing that was important to him.
May we all be zoche to get closer to Hashem!!!