Parshah Summary – P’shat
The parshah opens with Hashem calling to Moses, hence the name of the parshah – וַיִּקְרָא Vayikra, which means “called.” This call comes to Moses from the Ohel Mo’ed, the Tent of Meeting, which is one of the terms used for the tent-like structure that serves as the portable temple for the Israelites in the wilderness, also called the Mishkan or Mikdash, the “Sanctuary” or “Tabernacle” in English. Hashem then instructs Moses in the laws of the korbanot, that is, the order of offerings that are to be brought to the Ohel Mo’ed, and much later to the Temple in Jerusalem. These instructions list the Olah, the “Elevation Offering” that is burned completely on the altar; the different types of Minkhah, or “Meal Offerings” prepared with fine flour, olive oil and frankincense; the Shlamim, or “Peace Offerings,” which were eaten by the ones who brought it, after some of parts were first burned on the altar and others were given to the kohanim, the priests; the different types of Hatat, or “Sin Offerings” brought to atone for transgressions committed by the either the kohen gadol – the high priest, or any individual within the community, or the entire community as a whole, or the king – though there was no king at that time; and the Asham, or “Guilt Offering” brought by one who is in doubt as to whether they did they did something wrong, or who has lied in order to defraud someone, or who has mis-used some aspect of the Sanctuary.
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְ–הֹ–וָ–ה֙ אֵלָ֔יו מֵאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד לֵאמֹֽר׃ The Divine called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying… - Vayikra (Leviticus) 1:1, 2 Parshat Vayikra
On the surface, this verse is the opening to a revelation about how to perform the sacrifices. But on a deeper level, the “Tent of Meeting” and the “Divine call” that emanates from there hints at something we can find in our own experience, right now.
Several years ago, I saw a video piece about the daily routine of a very old man – nearly one hundred years old. I don’t know who the man was or even what I was watching; I must have been in an airport or doctor’s office, somewhere that had a television on. It showed the old man’s daily routine, from the moment he woke up in the morning. He could hardly do anything for himself, but he had an attendant who helped him sit up, helped him use the bathroom, gave him a sponge bath, dressed him up in nice clothes, helped him to the kitchen, gave him coffee and breakfast, then took him out into the world. That’s about all I saw, but it filled me with a feeling of deep joy to watch. I asked myself, why am I so happy seeing this old man that can hardly do anything? Then I realized – it’s because even though he wasn’t able to do much for himself, he didn’t let that stop him. He could have been resigned to just lie in front of the television all day; he could have had his attendant bring him breakfast in bed. But no! He dressed up real nice, real snazzy. He ate at the kitchen table, he went out into the world and did things. He had a routine, a practice, and through that practice he enjoyed his life. There is such a crucial lesson here for our spiritual lives as well. It is so common for people go through their days taking care of physical things, without much attention to the spirit. But your inner life needs attention too, just like your outer life – only it’s not as obvious. If we don’t eat and breath, we die. But if we don’t have any spiritual practice, especially meditation in some form, we might be alive, but we’ll probably miss out on appreciating the miracle of aliveness. And even on the physical level, meditation slows our aging, sharpens the mind, and brings forth a sense of happiness and well-being. But, in order to have the motivation it takes to make meditation part of our lives, we need to hear the call. There is a hint in our opening verse: וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה - And called to Moses… There is an unusual phrasing in this first pasuk: God is calling to Moses, but unlike other times when God speaks, it doesn’t mention God’s Name; it is as if to say that this Divine Call is beyond all names, beyond words, beyond thought. Put another way, it is the call of silence, beckoning to practice, represented by the various offerings. Furthermore, the letter א alef in the opening word Vayikra is written smaller than the other letters. Alef is a silent letter, and it has the numerical value of one, hinting: through the practice of silence, we can come to know the experience of Oneness directly. It’s written small in a Torah scroll as if to say that the Oneness is hidden within all things, calling to us from the Ohel Mo’ed of this moment. The problem is, it’s much easier to hear all the other calls – the call of our mundane responsibilities, and innumerable other distractions. But if you want to hear the Call of the Divine, you’ve got to get up in the morning with the Divine in mind, even if you can barely move – “Modeh/modah ani lifanekha – I give thanks before you for this gift of being.” Like that old man, you’ve got to put on your special clothes – your tallit, your tefillin, or whatever signifies to you that you are coming into the Ohel Mo’ed of this moment to meet the Divine. And then, give yourself the gift of the nourishment you need from the deepest level of your being – the level of consciousness. This nourishment happens spontaneously when you let go of the ordinary activities of consciousness – the activities of dividing reality into different parts – aiming toward this and away from that, wanting this and judging that – and instead, say Yes to the call of the present moment, resisting nothing, feeling everything, even feelings of resistance. Because when you feel all feelings, when you don’t resist even the feelings of resistance, the Oneness of your own being can blossom. And in this inner Oneness is not separate from the One, all-embracing Reality we call the Divine. This opening to the fullness of feeling is the essence of meditation, represented by that tiny, silent letter aleph, the Oneness hidden within this moment.
Read past teachings on Vayikra HERE
Learn Integral Jewish Meditation
Get Free Guided Meditation Below:
0 Comments
Parshah Summary – P’shat
The parshah opens with Moses taking a census of the Children of Israel. Each person who is counted must contribute a makhazit hashekel – a half shekel of silver to the Sanctuary. Instructions are also given regarding the making of the Sanctuary’s water basin, anointing oil and incense. The “wise-hearted” artisans Betzalel and Aholiav are singled out as possessing hokhmat halev – “wisdom of the heart” – and are placed in charge of the Sanctuary’s construction.
Moses does not return when expected from Mount Sinai. The people lose faith, and make themselves a golden calf to worship. Hashem grows angry and proposes to destroy the errant nation, but Moses prays for them. Moses descends from the mountain carrying the edut – the “tablets of the testimony” engraved with the Ten Commandments. But when he sees the people dancing about their idol, he breaks the tablets, and destroys the golden calf. But then he pleads once again with God: “If You will not forgive them, blot me out from the book that You have written.” Hashem forgives them, but says that the effect will be felt for many generations, and as they continue their journey, Hashem will not be with them; only an angel will accompany them. But, Moses pleads that Hashem to continue to accompany them on their journey to the promised land. Moses then prepares a new set of tablets himself (as opposed the first set which were inscribed by God). On the mountain, Moses is also granted a vision of the “Thirteen Attributes of Compassion.” When Moses returns, his face is so radiant that he must cover it with a veil, which he removes only to speak with God and to teach Torah to the people.
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
זֶ֣ה יִתְּנ֗וּ כׇּל־הָעֹבֵר֙ עַל־הַפְּקֻדִ֔ים מַחֲצִ֥ית הַשֶּׁ֖קֶל בְּשֶׁ֣קֶל הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ עֶשְׂרִ֤ים גֵּרָה֙ הַשֶּׁ֔קֶל מַחֲצִ֣ית הַשֶּׁ֔קֶל תְּרוּמָ֖ה לַֽי–הֹ–וָֽ–ה׃ This shall be given by all who pass through the counting: a half-shekel by the sanctuary weight--twenty gerahs to the shekel—a half-shekel as an offering to the Divine. - Shemot (Exodus) 30:13, Parshat Ki Tisa
There is a teaching ascribed to the Hasidic master, the Maggid of Mezritch, in which he taught: “Today the holy spirit comes upon us more easily than when the Temple was standing. Once there was a king of a country that was conquered by a foreign power, and the king was driven into exile. In the course of his wanderings, he came upon the home of some poor people who recognized him as king. They took him in, offered him modest food and shelter, and treated him as honored royalty the best they could. The king deeply appreciated their hospitality and chatted intimately with his hosts, as he had once done in his court with those closest to him. Now that the Holy One is in exile from His Holy Temple, He does the same with us.”
This teaching gets at the open secret for communing with the Divine Presence – that is, to humbly and gratefully offer yourself to this moment as it is, in all its fullness, in its beauty and ugliness, in its orderliness and chaos, because this Presence is not something other than your own Essence, hearing these words right now. This Presence is a gift – you cannot manufacture It, you cannot generate It, but you can do your part to open to It, to reveal Its Reality through you; this is meditation. There is a hint in our verse: זֶ֣ה יִתְּנ֗וּ כָּל־הָעֹבֵר֙ עַל־הַפְּקֻדִ֔ים מַחֲצִ֥ית הַשֶּׁ֖קֶל... תְּרוּמָ֖ה לַֽי–ה–וָֽ–ה This shall be given by all who pass through the counting – a half shekel, an offering to the Divine… - Exodus 30:13 The “half” that we bring into the sanctuary of this moment is ourselves; we, meaning our bodies, our feelings, our thoughts, are “half” – the other half is the Divine, the Reality behind all forms, and also our own Essence. Bring the half, that is your “self” to this moment, and the Other Half appears. How do we do it? וַיַּעֲבֹ֨ר יְ–ה–וָ֥–ה עַל־פָּנָיו֮ וַיִּקְרָא֒ יְ–ה–וָ֣–ה יְ–ה–וָ֔–ה אֵ֥ל רַח֖וּם וְחַנּ֑וּן אֶ֥רֶךְ אַפַּ֖יִם וְרַב־חֶ֥סֶד וֶאֱמֶֽת: The Divine passed before his face and called out, “Hashem! Hashem! Compassionate and Gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in Lovingkindness and Truth!” - Exodus 34:6 These Divine qualities that God reveals to Moses are a practical instruction: Hashem! Hashem! The Divine Name that means “Being” or “Existence” is said twice, indicating the realization that whatever is before you is a form of the Divine, and your own consciousness is also the Divine; through the meeting, The Divine becomes One with Itself. This is the fundamental knowledge that brings the felt connection with the Divine Presence. El Rakhum V’Hanun – Compassionate and Gracious God… that is, make the qualities of compassion and grace “God” over all your other qualities…You may not feel like it, but you can bring forth these qualities if you decide that they are “God” to you – meaning, that you revere them: Erekh apayim v’rav hesed v’emet – Slow to Anger, and Abundant in Lovingkindness and Truth… You have the ability to not get caught by anger and bitterness. Instead, choose love. And then to make sure you get it, it also says Emet –Truth – because it is not about “faking” it; it is about holding these qualities as our highest ideal. Then, the prophesy of Purim will be fulfilled, as says in Megilat Ester: לַיְּהוּדִים הָיְתָה אוֹרָה וְשִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשׁוֹן וִיקָר... For the Jews there was Light, Joy, Gladness and Essence… - Ester 8:16 And as we say every week at the close of Shabbat: כֵּן תִּהְיֶה לָנוּ – So may it be for us! In order for this Light, Joy, Gladness and Essence to blossom, we don’t need to micro manage it or manufacture it. We only need to recognize the inconceivable gift we are now being given, the gift of Being, the gifts of Light and Joy that are always our potential, and open to this potential with humility and gratitude. This is embodied by the sefirah of Hod on the Tree of Life.
Read past teachings on Ki Tisa HERE
Learn Integral Jewish Meditation
Get Free Guided Meditation Below: |
Free Integral Jewish Meditation Instructional Recordings Here.
Daily Meditation on Zoom: Experience our growing community Here Archives
April 2026
|
RSS Feed