VaYikra, the Book of Leviticus, begins with the words vayikra el Moshe, "And he called to Moses." Normally, when God speaks to Moses, the Torah employs the Hebrew verb amar or davar. Vayyomer Adonai, "and the Lord spoke," is a common formula throughout the Torah. Vayikra, on the other hand, is used to describe God's speaking to Moses at only three points in the story.

 

The first vayikra comes at the Burning Bush. Moses is in the wilderness tending the flock of his father-in-law Yitro when he sees a bush burning without being consumed by the fire. He turns aside from the flock to observe it more closely. "Adonai saw that he turned aside to see and God called out to him - vayikra elav Elohim - from the midst of the bush and said 'Moses! Moses!' and he replied 'Hineni - here I am!'" (Exodus 3:4).

The second vayikra comes twice at Mount Sinai. As soon as Israel arrives at the mountain, "Moses went up to God and Adonai called to him - vayikra elav - from the mountain" (Exodus 19:3). And again, after Adonai speaks the Ten Words and the first series of instructions to Moses and the people agree to obey them, Moses goes back up the mountain to receive the stone tablets. "Moses ascended the mountain and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of Adonai rested upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. And he called to Moses - vayikra el- Moshe - on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud" (Exodus 24:15-15). There are two callings at Mount Sinai, but the circumstances around them are nearly the same.

The third vayikra comes here at the beginning of our parasha. To understand it properly, we need to see vaYikra, Leviticus, as a continuation of the story of Exodus. Exodus concludes with the tabernacle or Tent of Meeting in place, erected according to the instructions that God gave to Moses. The glory-cloud of God's presence fills the Tent of Meeting so that Moses cannot go in. In this context, we read the opening words of vaYikra: "And he called to Moses, and Adonai spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting."

The Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah I.7) likewise connects the opening of Leviticus with the conclusion of Exodus.

What is written prior to this subject? The section of the Tabernacle, [every paragraph concluding,] Even as the Lord commanded Moses. This may be compared to [the case of] a king, who commanded his servant, saying to him, 'Build me a palace.' On everything he built he wrote the name of the king; he built the walls, and wrote on them the name of the king; he built pillars, and wrote on them the name of the king; he roofed it with beams, and wrote on them the name of the king. After some time the king entered the palace, and on everything he saw he found his name written.  Said he: 'All this honour has my servant done me, and I am within, whilst he is without! Call him, that he may come right in.' So, too, when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: 'Make me a Tabernacle,' he [i.e. Moses] wrote on everything he made 'Even as the Lord commanded Moses'. Said the Holy One, blessed be he: "Moses has done Me all this honour, and I am within whilst he is without! Call him, that he may enter the innermost [part of the Tabernacle].' Therefore it is said, And the Lord called unto Moses.

Whether because of Moses' faithful service, or because of his own grace, God desires to bring Moses near. He calls across the distance that separates them, the distance of his otherness and awe. The glory-cloud keeps Moses at a distance; the voice of Adonai calls him near.

This same dynamic is at work in the other two calls of Adonai. At the Burning Bush, God appears to Moses as transcendent and awe-inspiring.  The fire of God keeps him at a distance, but the voice of God calls to him across the distance. This is holy ground, but God calls Moses into dialogue with the Almighty. Likewise at Sinai; the appearance is awesome; the glory-cloud covers the mountain and no one can approach.  But the voice of God calls Moses to come near and gives him the instructions that will guide Israel from then on.

God calls to Moses across the distance of his holiness. He cannot diminish the impact of his holiness, but he still seeks to bring humanity near. Here is a remedy to our tendency to reduce the divine to our own terms, to produce a user-friendly god. The God of Israel will always transcend our understanding, but he has called to us across that divide. Spiritual development means learning to recognize God's transcendence, as well as learning to hear his call across the divide.

This divine intention is evident in the first words that Adonai speaks to Moses after he calls him. "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, 'When a man among you brings an offering to Adonai, you shall bring your offering of the livestock, of the herd and of the flock'" (Leviticus 1:2). The word for "offering" is korban, from the root karav, meaning to come or be near. Through the offering, the children of Israel can come near to God, even though his holiness would keep them at a distance. Indeed, the root karav appears twice in this one verse, for it also forms the verb translated as "bring." Literally then our verse says, "When a man among you brings near a near-offering."

God calls to Moses across the distance of his holiness and gives him instructions on how one can draw near to the holy. The offering itself bridges the distance between man and God, for it is korban, that which comes near, and a man must come near to present it.

Worship is the goal of the Exodus from Egypt. Why then does the Torah seem to make worship so difficult in the Book of Leviticus? Surely it is our understanding that is at fault; the rules of offering do not make worship more difficult; rather they make it possible. There is a vast gulf between man and God. God calls to man (or his representative Moses) across that gulf to provide a way for man to worship him.

How different is this understanding of the sacrificial system of Leviticus from the typical modern view. We tend to see the elaborate requirements and regulations of sacrifice as creating a distance between man and God. In our enlightened times, we like to emphasize the approachability of the divine. After all, God is everywhere, and we can always draw near to him. Hence, we see the altar and priesthood as impediments, relics of a bygone era.

In the context of Torah, however, altar and priesthood are precisely the opposite. God is everywhere, but his holiness keeps us at a distance.  The Levitical system is given, not to impose or maintain the distance, but to bring us near. This perspective inevitably alters our view of our current spiritual circumstance. If altar and priesthood served not to create a barrier between man and God, but to bridge the barrier, what is our situation now that they have passed away? What, or who, will bring us near to the holy God?

Shabbat Shalom!

This study is from "Gateways to Torah," by Russ Resnik, published by Messianic Jewish Publications, available at http://www.messianicjewish.net