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March 30, 2001/Nisan 6, 5761, Vol. 53, No.26
Leviticus expresses God's affection
Torah Study
RABBI NEIL GILLMAN
Vayikra/Leviticus 1:1-5:26
The third of the five Books of Moses, which we begin to read this Shabbat, has different names. The conventional Hebrew name is Vayikra, the first word of its first verse, following the practice for naming the other four books.
In rabbinic literature, the book is called Torat Kohanim, which means "Teachings for the Priests." Its common English name is Leviticus, a Latin word from the Greek Levitikon meaning "priestly," which in turn reflects the Hebrew Levi, for the priests were members of the tribe of Levi.
The rabbinic name, Torat Kohanim, reflects the dual content of the book. The first division, Chapters 1-16, is a manual of instruction for the priesthood: the preparation and presentation of the various types of sacrifices, the consecration of the priests, and the laws of purity and impurity.
Chapters 17-26 consist of instructions by the priests directed to the people. It is conventionally called the "Holiness Code," following the memorable verse, 19:2, which reads "You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy."
But I linger over that unusual first word of the book, Vayikra.
Actually, the literal translation of the first part of the verse should be, "The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him." Why this roundabout formulation? Why not simply, as almost everywhere else in Torah, "The Lord spoke to Moses," or "God said to Moses." Why the reference to calling before speaking?
One suggestion is that this verse should be read in the context of the concluding passage in the Book of Exodus, immediately preceding this one. There, in Exodus 40:34-38, we are told that Moses could not enter the sanctuary because the cloud had settled upon it, and the presence of the Lord filled it. If so, then now God has to invite Moses to approach before speaking to him. Hence, the emphasis: God called to Moses from the sanctuary and then spoke to him.
The implication is that there was a forbidding or awesome quality to the sanctuary because of God's presence there, and that before speaking to Moses, God had to help him overcome that distance.
Rashi seems to echo that explanation. He suggests that this "calling" is an expression of affection. As a proof-text, he quotes Isaiah 6:3 where Isaiah beholds angels praising God: "And one (angel) would call to the other, 'Holy, holy, holy! The Lord of hosts! His presence fills all the earth.' "
How does Rashi get from Vayikra to Isaiah? First, because of the association with that concluding passage in Exodus and its own reference to God's presence filling the sanctuary, as in Isaiah, God's presence fills all the earth. Second, because of the association of this Holiness Code with the angels' threefold proclamation of God's holiness.
But the notion that God's calling to Moses was an expression of affection is nowhere explicit, neither in Isaiah nor in our passage.
For that association, simply look at the way the Hebrew word vayikra, is spelled. You will notice that the final letter of the word, the aleph, is written in miniature. Read the word without that aleph and you find the Hebrew word yakar, which means "beloved."
Despite the awesome quality of God's presence in the sanctuary, then, or precisely because of it, it was out of love that God summoned Moses into the sanctuary, as it is God's love that summons us as we approach God in prayer.
Rabbi Neil Gilman is professor of Jewish Philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary.
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