Weekly Torah Portion

Music is an important part of my life. I usually get the eye roll from the teenagers I work with at JSU when I tell them the only music on the radio worth listening to is country music. You either love it or hate it and I get that. Yet again, a thought from this week’s Torah portion can be understood with the title of a country song: “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking.”

This week’s Torah portion begins with G-d calling out to Moshe. The word for call, Vayikra, is spelled with a small first letter, aleph. The Baal Haturim (1269-1343) explains that Moshe wanted the recorded word to be vayakar, which means G-d happened upon him instead of that He called him. This would display Moshe’s humbleness and feeling unworthy to receive direct communication from G-d. That word was also the same one the Torah used to describe G-d speaking to Bilaam, the evil prophet that tried to curse the Jews.

In the end, a compromise was made and the word remained Vayikra, but a small aleph was used to display Moshe’s humility. The question remains, Why here of all places for Moshe to show his humility? G-d called to Moshe many times throughout the Torah.

Reb Yitzchak of Vorki (1779-1848) explained that in this instance only Moshe heard the call. It was a private audience between Moshe and G-d. Moshe could have feigned humility in a big crowd, but acting humble in front of many can appear vain and lacking authenticity. Here, where it was just Moshe and G-d, Moshe could truly express his humbleness and tell Him, “I am not worthy of you calling me.”

This message resonated with me on a deep level. For many, our Judaism is confined to the four walls of the synagogue. Only in a group do we observe our tradition. What about in our own homes though? As we know, one of the most important nights of the Jewish calendar, the Seder night of Passover, happens in our home. The beauty of shabbos can radiate from our homes, as well.

Of course the communal gatherings are important, but what if those gatherings are just the starting point for our personal connection to flourish? On a deeper level, what this Torah portion is urging us to do is learn from Moshe.

What does my Judaism look like when no one is around? If we don’t already, we should each strive to have a personal mitzvah that only G-d and ourselves know about.

Let’s take the lesson from Moshe and strive to have a Judaism we are proud of even when no one is looking.