Adapted from "Encountering God in the Sacred Silence" by Rabbi Ben Spratt[1]
This Shabbat we begin the Book of Leviticus. The book opens with the word Vayikra, which is translated as "And [God] called." For the philosopher Franz Rosenzweig, this single word summarizes the substance of all that was revealed to the Israelites on Sinai – God called to humanity. The Torah and all the subsequent writings are simply our response.[2]
There is also an orthographic oddity in this single word, Vayikra. Written in the Torah, the final letter, aleph, is half the size of the rest of the word. Last year I spoke about the Ten Commandments and how some thinkers imagined the only thing God uttered was the first letter of the Ten Commandments – the letter aleph, the letter of silence.[3]
Out of that silence, God calls out to us. Our early Sages imagined that since the dawn of time God has been calling out to every person at every moment: Abraham was simply the first person to be silent enough to notice. Moses was the first person to see the burning bush. Elijah was the first to hear the "still, small voice" on the mountaintop.[4]
Our tradition believes the universe was created with words and encourages us to fill our homes and sanctuaries with words and song. We fill our days with noise and use "white noise" to sleep. Take away our sensory distractions and we become uncomfortable. In silence we are forced to hear the things we so often drown out: The soul, the solitude, the questions of person, place and purpose.
In 1654, French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote, "All of humanity's problems stem from a person's inability to sit quietly in a room alone."[5]
Vayikra, God calls out to us, in each moment of each day. Let us be still and silent enough to hear.
Shabbat shalom.
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