Vayikra
Can we hear the Call?
Reflection by Ariel Dominique Hendelman, the Or HaLev Team:
"In parshat Vayikra, we are given the details for the laws of different kinds of sacrifices. The word sacrifice, korban, comes from the same root as the word for close, karov. Thus, when we are talking about offering sacrifices in the time of the Beit Hamikdash, we are also talking about ways to come closer to the Divine right here and now.
The word vayikra means `and He called.` We are being told that there is a connection here between being called and coming close. When the Infinite One calls out to us, the way we know that we've heard and heeded that call is by the felt sense that we are closer than we were before - closer to truth, to love, to purpose, to compassion, to the source of all creation. A call from the Divine is not always like a call from a friend or a loved one. The phone doesn't ring all of a sudden and then we can answer it. The call is often more subtle, more embedded within our daily lived experience.
It is for this reason that our meditation practice is so crucial; it enables us to attune to those inner, subtler, even silent realms. This is the world of Hashketah, or quieting, as the Piassezna Rebbe called it. We return to a state of awareness & presence, to the simple yet miraculous rhythm of our breath, and we find there the Call of the Infinite. Inhale, we are called. Exhale, we come closer. Inhale, we call out. Exhale, Havayah comes closer. It is a beautiful dance of call and response. May our practice attune us to its rhythm."