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BITACHON LESSON FROM THE PARSHA
פרשת וַיִּקְרָא תשפ"ד
2 Operating Systems
וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה
And Hashem called to Moshe (Vayikra 1:1)
Rashi tells us:
וַיִּקְרָא לְשׁוֹן חִבָּה, לָשׁוֹן שֶׁמַּלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת מִשְׁתַּמְּשִׁין בּוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְקָרָא זֶה אֶל זֶה
וַיִּקְרָא is an expression of endearment that heavenly angels use when communicating with one another
The א of the word וַיִּקְרָא is written smaller than the rest of the word.
The Ba'al Haturim explains:
א' דויקרא זעירא שמשה לא רצה לכתוב אלא ויקר כדרך שנא' בבלעם כאלו לא נראה לו השם אלא במקרה ואמר לו הקב"ה לכתוב גם באל"ף וכתבה קטנה
Moshe, out of humility, did not want to write וַיִּקְרָא which is an expression of endearment, rather he wanted to write וַיִּקָּר the way it is written by Bilaam (Bamidbar 23:4), as if to say Hashem "happened" to appear to him. However, Hashem told him that he had to write it as וַיִּקְרָא, so Moshe had no choice but to write it, but he wrote the א smaller than the rest of the word.
Certainly, the lesson of this episode is one of humility, but another important lesson lies therein as well.
Why didn't Hashem allow Moshe to write it as וַיִּקָּר? Why didn't Hashem allow Moshe to express his humility the way he wanted to?
The answer is that וַיִּקָּר is an expression of מקרה, chance, and allowing Moshe to use a word that indicates "chance" is contrary to the entire truth of the Torah!
"Happenstance" doesn't ever happen.
"Incidents" are never a coincidence.
"Accidents" are divinely planned.
As the Gemara (Chulin 7b) tells us: אין אדם נוקף אצבעו מלמטה אלא אם כן מכריזין עליו מלמעלה, No person even hurts his finger down here on earth unless it was first decreed as such in heaven.
וַיִּקָּר is simply not the truth; the most Hashem could allow Moshe to do - without compromising on the truth - was to let him shrink the א.
The question that remains, then, is why is the term וַיִּקָּר used by Bilaam? True, he was a wicked person, but surely when Hashem appeared to him it, too, was not by chance.
The answer is that, of course, it was not by chance, as NOTHING is by chance. However, the S'forno (end of Parshas Tazria) explains that when it comes to people who live without Bitachon and Emunah, people who ascribe everything to "nature" and "chance", Hashem in turn deals with them via a Teva-esque operating system. Individuals, who don't believe in השגחה פרטית, don't get to benefit from that special divine providence.
As the Posuk states (Tehilim 121), ה' צִלְּךָ, Hashem is your shadow. What you give is what you get. Give a finger, get a finger. Give a hand, get a hand. Give בטחון, get השגחה פרטית. Give Teva, get Teva. Bilaam Harasha may have received prophecy directly from Hashem, but it didn't change him as a person. It didn't fill him with humility; it inflated his ego even more. It didn't lead to him internalizing that Hashem is firmly in charge of everything, so all he got is what he sowed. He got וַיִּקָּר.
The saddest human tragedy possible is to live without Bitachon. Such a person is subject to a cursed life dictated by "Teva" (See Vayikra 26:24 וְהָלַכְתִּי אַף אֲנִי עִמָּכֶם בְּקֶרִי). Such a person is in the company of Bilaam.
Our job is to remember that the א of Yiddishkeit is the ב of Bitachon!
Hold on to that א - be it large or small - and never lose sight of it, never let go of it, never live without it!
Good Shabbos!
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