CBI Blogs

We’ve reached the moment in our regular Torah reading cycle that many people dread. This week, we begin reading from the Book of Leviticus. The majority of Leviticus focuses on the rules and details involved in offering sacrifices. While we thankfully no longer offer sacrifices, we still read this book each year and find new ways to connect with it. In Hebrew, Leviticus is referred to as Vayikra, which translates to “called.” The Hebrew name of this book comes from the first notable word in the book, which also happens to be the very first word in the first portion. 

This word is notable for two reasons: 1. Vayikra is not a word you often see when God is speaking to Moses, and 2. The word itself is written differently. If you take a moment to look at the word Vayikra, you’ll notice that the final letter in the word, the letter alef, is intentionally written smaller than the other letters in Torah. Additionally, the word Vayikra is often conflated with a similar word that ends with the letter hey, which means “encounter.” 

You may be wondering, why the small alef? There are a variety of responses to this important question and much of that commentary is quite lengthy. The following include selections from some of these commentaries:

K’tzur Ba’al HaTurim said, “The alef of vayikra is small, since Moses wanted to write vayikar (he happened), as it is said of Bilaam, as if God had only happened upon him accidentally. God told him to write an alef, so he wrote it small.”

S’fat Emet said, “The alef in vayikra is small. Moses received the whole Torah during his 40 days & nights in heaven. If so, why were these sections spoken in the Tent of Meeting, below? The Israelites weren't ready to receive the Torah that Moses received in heaven, which is in the aspect of "large alef." And this teaching was in constricted consciousness compared with the level of Moses, because to him [fear of God] is a small thing.”

There are numerous other suggestions as to why this letter is smaller than the other, but I want to offer my own commentary. If we read through Parashat Vayikra without knowing there is an intentional change to one letter, we may not notice it. If we rush through this passage, like others, we may not stop to consider what makes this text special. It is quite easy to go about life in a rote manner, moving forward without pondering the small, yet significant moments, people, or things that make every day special. It’s up to us to realize these subtle changes, to consider why they exist in the first place. 

And it’s up to us to look for these small details. It’s important to take time to truly see what is around us. In doing so, we may find something so significant it could be spoken about for centuries. 

So, what small alef will you find in your life? How might it call to you? How might it impact your day? I hope your search for a small alef proves meaningful, productive, and perhaps even fun. And, in time, perhaps you’ll leave a small alef for someone else to find in the future.