Vayikra - The Sound of Silence

"Hello darkness, my old friend,

I've come to talk with you again

Because a vision softly creeping

Left its seeds while I was sleeping

And the vision that was planted in my brain

Still remains

Within the sound of silence."

You will no doubt recognise the above lyrics, written by Paul Simon nearly sixty years ago.

In this last week, as most of us sit isolated from the world, perhaps the words resonate more than they would have done three weeks ago.

In the recent past that we called 'February', our future confinement could only have been imagined within the realms of a Hollywood disaster movie.

Yet, in the not-so-merry month of March, many of us are trying to come to terms with the sound of silence.

What does silence sound like?

Is it loud, is it quiet, is it non-descriptive?

Do we notice it, and do we want to think about the lack of verbal patter that filled our eardrums such a short while ago.? In the days when we socialised with our friends and family, the ones who are now barred from visiting us, in the ever-increasing and life-changing situation that has become our 'social isolation'?

For some in our community, the sound of silence can be deafening.

ויקרא א׳:א׳

(א) וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר ה' אֵלָ֔יו מֵאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד לֵאמֹֽר׃

Leviticus 1:1

"The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying:"

If we look at the first word in this week's Parsha, after which both the Parsha and third book of the Torah are named, we see something quite strange - the last letter, the aleph is noticeably smaller than the rest of the word.

It is almost as though the word should be read as 'Vayikar' – ‘and He happened to meet’, as if Gd were meeting Moshe by chance.

The word "vayikar" is derived from the Hebrew term for chance  ‘k-a-rah’ (an idea mentioned by Rashi), the implication being that the relationship between Gd and Moses was so informal that Gd could speak with Moshe as you do when you bump into a friend whilst going for your daily walk.

Gd didn't need to call Moshe, he could just have a friendly chat, a chance meeting, as it were, where both of them were busy getting on with their daily routine and happened to bump into one another.

Following through with this notion, we are left with the feeling that the Aleph seems to be extraneous to the conversation between the two. Gd chatted with Moshe and asked him to speak to the Israelites.

The verse continues:

Leviticus 1:2-3

Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When any of you presents an offering of cattle to the Lord, he shall choose his offering from the herd or from the flock.  If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall make his offering a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, for acceptance in his behalf before the Lord....

Coming on the back of the last few parashot in the book of Shemot, this seems like the usual routine, namely, I, Gd will give you an instruction which you will then convey to the Israelites. In this case, we're going to focus on Sacrifices, particularly since you've just spent months instructing them on how to build the Mishkan, the Tabernacle.

Now that it's built and ready to go, this is how you can use the various artefacts that were made under Bezalel's stewardship (he the architect and chief artisan of the Mishkan).

But what about that little, almost invisible, silent Aleph, the letter that changes the entire meaning of the word and formalises the relationship between Gd calling out to Moshe (Vayikra) and chancing upon him (Vayikar)?

Have you considered that some of the most influential people are not necessarily the most verbose?

In many businesses, it is the the silent partner, the person who keeps out of the limelight, who makes the most important decisions concerning the direction that the business should focus on to grow and succeed.

Later in Jewish history, the prophet Elijah is fleeing for his life from King Ahab. We are told that he escapes to the wilderness, a day's journey from Beersheba.

מלכים א י״ט:ט׳-י״ג

(ט) וַיָּבֹא־שָׁ֥ם אֶל־הַמְּעָרָ֖ה וַיָּ֣לֶן שָׁ֑ם וְהִנֵּ֤ה דְבַר־ה' אֵלָ֔יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ מַה־לְּךָ֥ פֹ֖ה אֵלִיָּֽהוּ׃ (י) וַיֹּאמֶר֩ קַנֹּ֨א קִנֵּ֜אתִי לַה' ׀ אֱלֹקֵ֣י צְבָא֗וֹת כִּֽי־עָזְב֤וּ בְרִֽיתְךָ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶת־מִזְבְּחֹתֶ֣יךָ הָרָ֔סוּ וְאֶת־נְבִיאֶ֖יךָ הָרְג֣וּ בֶחָ֑רֶב וָֽאִוָּתֵ֤ר אֲנִי֙ לְבַדִּ֔י וַיְבַקְשׁ֥וּ אֶת־נַפְשִׁ֖י לְקַחְתָּֽהּ׃ (יא) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר צֵ֣א וְעָמַדְתָּ֣ בָהָר֮ לִפְנֵ֣י ה' וְהִנֵּ֧ה ה' עֹבֵ֗ר וְר֣וּחַ גְּדוֹלָ֡ה וְחָזָ֞ק מְפָרֵק֩ הָרִ֨ים וּמְשַׁבֵּ֤ר סְלָעִים֙ לִפְנֵ֣י ה' לֹ֥א בָר֖וּחַ ה' וְאַחַ֤ר הָר֨וּחַ רַ֔עַשׁ לֹ֥א בָרַ֖עַשׁ ה'׃ (יב) וְאַחַ֤ר הָרַ֙עַשׁ֙ אֵ֔שׁ לֹ֥א בָאֵ֖שׁ ה' וְאַחַ֣ר הָאֵ֔שׁ ק֖וֹל דְּמָמָ֥ה דַקָּֽה׃ (יג) וַיְהִ֣י ׀ כִּשְׁמֹ֣עַ אֵלִיָּ֗הוּ וַיָּ֤לֶט פָּנָיו֙ בְּאַדַּרְתּ֔וֹ וַיֵּצֵ֕א וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֖ד פֶּ֣תַח הַמְּעָרָ֑ה וְהִנֵּ֤ה אֵלָיו֙ ק֔וֹל וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מַה־לְּךָ֥ פֹ֖ה אֵלִיָּֽהוּ׃

Kings I 19:9-13

(9) There he went into a cave, and there he spent the night. Then the word of the Lord came to him.

He said to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?”

(10) He replied, “I have acted with great zeal for the Lord, the Gd of Hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they now seek to take my life.”

11) “Come out [of the cave],” He called, “and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by. There was a great and mighty wind, smashing mountains and shattering rocks by the power of the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

(12) After the earthquake, came a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, thin sound.

(13) When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his mantle about his face and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice addressed him: “Why are you here, Elijah?”

Sometimes, we don't need Gd's fireworks to convey a message to us. Sometimes, it is the still, thin, almost invisible, almost silent sound, that speaks the loudest. Sometimes, it is the silence between the words that makes the greatest impact. Sometimes, the silence of our thoughts that leaves its seeds, waiting to germinate into fully developed ideas. That silence that grants us the opportunity to reflect, think and internalise - separating the wheat from the chaff.

Vayikra teaches us that yes, Gd did call out to Moshe, but at the same time, perhaps in a quiet, modest manner. His voice enveloped in a still, thin, almost imperceptible voice. From that silence, He created a sound that was worth listening to.

Many of our fellow Jews, countrymen and women are currently isolated at home, trying to come to terms with their newly found unwelcome and frightening status.  Perhaps they are listening to the silence to perceive some welcoming sounds. 

We cannot chance by them physically, but the sound of a telephone ringing and a friendly voice travelling down the line can be so appreciated. We do not want them to make a friend of their silence and at the same time, we need to be careful to avoid deafening them with our extraneous sounds. We need to find the balance between the two.

Perhaps we can take the example of Gd, who spoke to Moshe, as a friend in a quiet and reserved manner. Reassuring them that they will be fine, this too will pass and most importantly, that they are not alone - even if they may feel they have been accustomed to the silence that they thought was their companion.

Silence can be deadly, but if used thoughtfully, can measure what we say and how we do this.

Hello darkness my old friend - let us bring light to their darkness and friendship to their silence.

Shabbat Shalom brachot to you and your families.