Community Rabbi Corner, March 27, 2020

Rabbi Geoffrey A. Spector
Temple Beth Shalom
Livingston, New Jersey
Parashat Vayikra

Amid this global pandemic, the world of our daily lives has become much smaller.  As school buildings, synagogues, and professional offices remain shuttered, we now spend most of our days in the confines of our homes.  The radius of human activity has been drastically reduced for us all.  While this new reality forces us to combat the effects of cabin fever, boredom, and anxiety, it also affords us the opportunity to open ourselves in new ways to that which matters most in our lives.  By shrinking our locus, we may intensify our focus on those who need us the most—our spouses, our children, our parents, and our friends.

The shrinkage of physical space we are experiencing today is mirrored in the scribal tradition of this week’s Torah portion, Vayikra.  The word Vayikra means, “And He [God] called.” The last letter of that word, the aleph, is a miniscule that is written in a smaller size than the other letters.  The Kabbalists taught that aleph, which is also the first letter of ani, stands for the ego.  For Moses to have been able to hear God’s call, he first had to shrink his own sense of self-importance.

The same is true for us all.  To be receptive to God’s call today, we must look beyond our own egotistical demands and personal inconveniences.  Now is a time to downsize our egos and offer ourselves more fully to others.  A friendly phone call to check in on someone who is isolated, a kind email of gratitude to teachers or co-workers who are doing the best they can under exasperatingly difficult circumstances, or a “virtual” hug sent to an old friend are all small gestures that allow us to amplify the voice of God in our ailing world.  In the difficult days ahead, may we all shrink enough to heed the sounds of loving-kindness that can emanate from deep within the human heart.
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