Why is the letter aleph in the word va’yikra, the very first word of the Book of Leviticus, written smaller than the others? It is smaller, suggests the Ba’al Haturim, because it reveals Moses’s humility, teaching an ethical lesson. Moses preferred the text to read va’yikar, without a final aleph, as va’yikar means “by chance.” Rather than state that God called Moses (va’yikra), implying a constant close relationship, Moses in his modesty wished the text to read that on occasion, God spoke with him (va’yikar). Moses, of course, adheres to God’s command that the aleph be included, but he does so humbly and writes a small aleph.
A second, more mystical thought comes from Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, who proposes that the soul is comprised of Hebrew letters. When a person performs a mitzvah, the letters of that person’s soul shine brightly, especially the aleph, the first letter of the alphabet, representing all Hebrew letters (since aleph literally means chief). In turn, the soulful lights of the letters, led by the aleph, inspire the doer of the mitzvah to draw closer to God. It does so gently, softly – hence it is written small.
AP Photo/Oded Balilty
Jewish men pray at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. AP Photo/Oded Balilty
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach often told the story of the Munkatcher passport, which can also shape our understanding of the small aleph. A Chassid asked the Munkatcher Rebbe for a passport to travel from Munkatch (then part of Czechoslovakia) to Berlin before World War II. Considering the climate of the times, the request seemed impossible to fulfill. After many hours, the Rebbe emerged from his private chambers and gave him an empty piece of paper soaked in tears, with which the chassid was escorted everywhere in Germany with great honor.
The Munkatcher passport surfaces over and over in our lives. When a bride walks around her groom, they give each other the Munkatcher passport. When children are born, they close their eyes and cry, giving to and receiving from their parents the Munkatcher passport. And when we stand near the Kotel and place a kvittel in its crevice, we do so with the Munkatcher passport. And, concluded Rabbi Carlebach, every tractate of the Talmud begins with daf bet (page 2). Where is daf aleph, the first page? It is blank, absolutely blank. It is the Munkatcher passport.
What is the Munkatcher passport? Perhaps it represents infinite love. The aleph of va’yikra is small to remind us of the importance of approaching God humbly, gently, and with daf aleph, with the Munkatcher passport – symbol of the unconditional love that we ought to have for God and that God has for us – and that we should all have for each other.
Candle lighting
Vayikra parsha
March 22nd at 7:16 p.m.