This is an extract of something I said at a Sheva Berachot this last week.
We begin reading Chumash Vayikra this week, and we are launched into the world of sacrifices. The word "sacrifice" come from a Latin root meaning "to make holy". The Hebrew word is korban, meaning something that effects closeness, something that helps one draw close to Hashem. Ultimately, the best way to draw close to Hashem is to give Hashem our everything (apologies to Tom Paxton). And in fact, some have written that the religious motive behind sacrifice is giving up our lives to Hashem, ALMOST. That is, we use a surrogate, an animal from our flock, to stand for ourselves - see Ramban's understanding of korban.
There is a curious prohibition regarding sacrifices. We are forbidden to offer to Hashem leavening or fruit presereves/honey. Rambam sees this prohibition as directed toward stamping out all vestiges of idolatry. Others add that symbolically, leavening and honey are symbolic of the excesses of a materially blessed life.
But what would be wrong with giving Hashem "the best"? It's the stuff we'd like for ourselves, so why not offer it up to Hashem. The reason is precisely that: we love this stuff, but we can do without it. It's not our "everything". The poor person's meal offering is preferable to Hashem than the rich person's fattling llamb, since it's his everything. Thus, in describing the meal-offering, it says, "when a SOUL offers", whereas when describing an animal offering, it says, "when a MAN offers".
It's in this light I want to understand an astonishing midrash. Hashem tells Moshe he wants to write in the Torah "And HE called to Moshe" - Vayikra - spelled yud-kuf-resh-aleph. This word is used when one calls to or summons someone intentionally, fully aware of their personhood. Moshe was the humblest of men, so he insisted that Hashem write the word Vayikra WITHOUT the final letter aleph. The word would then read, Vayikar - "and he chanced up". Moshe didn't feel worthy to be directly and intentionally addressed by the Infinite One of Being, he insisted on being addressed as though he was a mere sorcerer like Bil'am, whom Hashem "chanced upon" with that language.
Hashem refused to remove a letter from His Torah, but he did agree to write the letter aleph small. Aleph can be seen to stand for ANOCHI - that is, and chest-thumping I. Hashem accepted Moshe's offer of self diminution, and had the aleph written small.
But there's a problem - what to do with the "ink" left over in the Divine "pen"? After all, the Torah has been "written" on high since before Creation. No problem, Hashem wiped the ink on Moshe's face, and it was that ink which cause the unbearable to gaze upon transcendent glow upon Moshe's face as he descended from
Moshe offered Hashem his everything. Don't address me as a me, says Moshe, because when You are addressing me, I am all yours, all toward you, totally consumed by Your Youness. Moshe's indescribable humility is his gift, his korban, and Hashem's respond - he's in Moshe's face in the best sense of the word.
Give the gift that keeps giving - give your everything, you don't know how close you are to how close He is.
The tefillin worn on the head (henceforth, “ shel rosh ”) differ in a number of respects from the tefillin worn on the arm (henceforth, “ shel yad ”). One of the differences is this: Though both must contain the four passages in the Torah which make mention of the mitzvah of tefillin, the shel yad has all four passages written on a single parchment, in the order they appear in the Torah, rolled up and placed in the single compartment of the shel yad . The shel rosh , however, is constructed such that it has four small compartments side by side. Though these compartments appear to be tightly bound to one another, in fact, they are almost actually completely separate from one another. They only join at a common base, like the fingers of one’s hand. Into each compartment is placed one of the four passages, written on four separate parchments. Here is a list of the passages, in the order they appear in the Torah: 1. Kadesh Li – Shemot 13:1-10 ...
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