Glimpse of Greatness

“And He called to Moshe, and Hashem spoke to him from the Ohel Moed, saying…” (Vayikra 1:1)

The letter alef of the word “Vayikra — and He called,” is written smaller than the other letters. Hashem dictated to Moshe to write the word, yet Moshe felt unworthy of stating that Hashem specifically called him, an expression of affection and honor. Moshe preferred the word “Vayakar — and it happened,” suggesting it was only happenstance that Moshe was the one who answered Hashem’s call. But since Hashem had commanded him to write “Vayikra,” Moshe complied, however, wrote the alef smaller.

The Ari z”l adds that as a result of Moshe using his quill sparingly when writing the alef, there remained a minute amount of extra ink at the tip of the pen. Hashem placed this extra ink on Moshe’s face, making it glow brightly. (Rabbi Dovid Sochet)

There’s a photo sitting in a prominent place on my desk these days. It was taken at my oldest daughter’s chasunah several years ago. In it, she’s dancing with my cousin, Rebbetzin Rochel Goldberg a”h. Rebbetzin Goldberg was getting on in years by then, and found walking painful. Yet she insisted on dancing in the middle of the circle for several minutes to make the kallah happy. Looking at the photo, I can’t help being drawn to the genuine joy radiating from Rebbetzin Goldberg’s face.