At the beginning of this week’s Parsha the Possuk states; וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶה וַיְדַבֵּר ה׳ אֵּלָיו מֵּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵּד לֵּאמֹר “And He called to Moshe, and HaShem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying...”
The Alter Rebbe points out in Likkutei Torah regarding the small sized letter Aleph of the word Va’Yikroh which is the first word of the book of Va’Yikroh that there are three types of letters in the Torah, there are large letters, there are medium sized letters, and there are small sized letters.
The Torah is generally written with medium sized letters but there is also an Aleph Beis of large letters and an Aleph Beis of small letters (as it has been brought down in the books regarding the traditions).
The Aleph of the small letters is the Aleph of Va’Yikroh [and the Aleph of the large letters is at the beginning of the book of Diverei Hayomim that describes the history of the human species, as the Possuk states: אָדָם שֵּת אֱנוֹש “Odom Sheis Enosh” the first letter Aleph from the word Odom is a large Aleph.]
All this raises questions. First, why is Va’Yikroh written with a small Aleph? Secondly, we need to clarify the words of the Zohar (on Parshas Va’Yeiroh) as highlighted in Likkutei Torah that the Torah tells us ‘He called Moshe’ but it does not say who [it was who] called Moshe. Thirdly, why does the Torah first say ‘Va’Yikroh’ [HaShem called Moshe] followed by ‘Va’YeDaber’ that there was a calling before the speaking, seemingly this is not self-understood. What is this all about especially, as this Possuk is talking to Moshe Rabbeinu?
If we were speaking of anyone else, then the calling would be as a preparation for the speaking. However, Moshe Rabbeinu was always ready to speak with HaShem as the Possuk tells us: וְאַתָה פֹה עֲמֹד עִּמָדִּי “But as for you, stand here with Me” and particularly as it is known that Moshe would be upstanding when he would receive his prophesy because his whole body was also a suitable receptacle for the prophesy.
The Torah is eternal, and specifically the lessons in Torah, inasmuch as all lessons in Torah are relevant for a person’s Avodah, at all times, hence its eternity. This is because a person’s Avodah is the purpose for which he was created as the Talmud states “I, was created to serve the One Who formed me” and similarly regarding all the issues being discussing here [there is an eternal lesson to be learned in one’s Avodah].
