Answer the Call

Friday April 4, 2025/6 Nisan 5785

Parashat Vayikra

Hevre/Friends,

וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהֹוָה֙ אֵלָ֔יו מֵאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד לֵאמֹֽר׃

God called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying:

Why did God call to Moshe before speaking to him, as it says in the opening of our Torah portion, Vayikra?

Rashi (11th century France) explains that all verbal interactions between God and Moshe were preceded by a Divine call in order to prepare him for the exchange that was coming, and often it was a sign of affection. Indeed, I can often sense what’s coming based on the tone (and volume) of Andi’s voice when she calls my name… and it ain’t always affection.

Some have suggested that God had to call Moshe because he was afraid to approach the Ohel Moed, the Tent of Meeting, being intimidated by its holiness. God had to reassure him that while it was indeed a daunting where God’s presence would rest, it was nonetheless appropriate and fitting for him as a human being to enter.

Others have suggested that God had to call Moshe because he had mistakenly thought that his task was done, his mission accomplished. He had led the Jews out of Egypt, brought the Torah down from Sinai, and supervised the building of the Mishkan. What more was there for him to do? Lots. Moshe now had to guide the people to engage with faith and community and to keep evolving to become the tradition’s eternal, rightful owners. He brought them to the wilderness, but now he had to teach them how to negotiate it. 

It’s interesting how these calls often echo in our own lives. We sometimes feel fearful or incapable of making the changes we know our lives demand and deserve. Or the opposite: we feel so confirmed in the choices we’ve made up until now that we delude ourselves into thinking there are no more to make. 

We are being called now to step into complicated spaces and conversations where issues of ultimate urgency are unfolding: the limits of free speech for a safe public square; the vulnerability of our democracies in the US and Israel; the harrowing choices around how to bring our hostages home. For the future of our families, communities, and societies, we cannot afford to ignore the call to get - and stay - involved. No one’s work is done. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe taught in preparation for Pesach, freedom isn’t getting everything that you want; it’s the ability to work for what you don’t yet have. Let us use our freedom wisely and effectively. Listen for the call. Answer it.

With continued prayers for our ability to bring home all the hostages, protect the soldiers, heal the injured, comfort the bereaved, and build a lasting peace in Israel and around the world, and with blessings for a Shabbat Shalom,

Dini

Photo Courtesy of Ronen Avisror