Sometimes fame comes by chance.
Recently there was some speculation regarding the viability of Bibi Netanyahu.
To put the rumors to rest, Bibi Netanyahu’s media team circulated a post of the Prime Minister in a coffee shop. The intended outcome was to show the world that Bibi Netanyahu is alive and well and all he was dying for was a cup of coffee.
The unintended result?
The quick capture of the charming smile of the young woman who served as the barista.
She happened to be in the right place at the right time and overnight became the darling of the internet.
This week’s Torah portion is VaYikra which refers to the fact that Gd called out to Moses.
The word is VaYikra and it ends with the Hebrew letter Aleph.
Strangely, the Aleph is written in a smaller font than all the other letters.
What is the reason for this typesetting change?
If you leave off the letter aleph from the word VaYikra, the remaining word is VaYikar.
The difference between those words is quite subtle.
VaYikra denotes closeness and intentionality.
Gd specifically called out to Moses to begin a dialogue.
VaYikar denotes a meeting by happenstance. Just like the barista who happened to be in the right place at the right time to access her moment in the sun, so too VaYikar would create a sense that Moses was not called by Gd specifically, rather he just happened to be in the right place at the right time to serve as Gd’s messenger.
What’s the difference?
This little aleph is a symbol of Moses extreme humility.
When Gd was dictating the words for Moses to write down Gd chose a word which denotes the unique relationship that Moses enjoyed with Gd.
Other prophets received prophecy in a much less intimate manner. They just happened to be in the right place at the right time so Gd would confer a message in that context.

So Gd wanted it to say VaYikra to highlight the special relationship Moses had with Gd, and Moses wanted it to say VaYikar because he was a humble person. A compromise was reached.
It does say VaYikra but the aleph is small, a testimony to Moses humility.
Moses did not have a false sense of humility. He knew himself well.
Our Sages teach us that it is critical that we do know ourselves and become sensitized to who we are and what our mission is in this world.
One way we can hone in on our inner world is by understanding that every event and interaction we have is not happenstance at all. Every situation in our lives is tailor made to help us understand ourselves.
If you have ever wondered how the pulpit rabbi has so many marvelous vignettes collected from travels along the way when we repeatedly have not experienced even a so called bageling - this is the secret:
Keeping one’s eyes open and looking for the story in every interaction.
There is a beautiful story told of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter, great Rabbi and 19th century founder of the Mussar (self improvement) movement.
On a dark night Rabbi Salanter saw a light burning in the workshop of the cobbler. He went to investigate and told the cobbler that it was dark and late, perhaps he should go to sleep. To which the cobbler replied
“While the candle is burning, it is possible to repair”.
Because Rabbi Salanter’s soul and heart were open to the messages coming his way, he internalized a much deeper meaning from the words uttered by the humble cobbler.
The words became a mantra for Rabbi Salanter because he took them as a personal message directed to him.
While there is still light, while there is still life, it is possible to repair, a person can work on their character traits until the last moment.
If there is a messy relationship which requires your involvement in repair, while there is still light, one can repair it. If there is a messy relationship within oneself, one’s ego or character is in the way of personal growth, there is still a chance to fix things.
Rabbi Salanter was open to the messages coming his way and this gave him an insight which illuminated his own inner world.
It was not a mistake that he chanced upon the cobbler that evening, it was a tailor made event that informed his life.
When we are engaged in challenging situations with others, instead of focusing on the injustice that was done to ourselves, perhaps we can reframe that as a springboard for personal growth.
The event did not happen TO me, it happened FOR me.
This particular challenge was sent my way as a vehicle to grow and improve.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe teaches that the word VaYikra is a personal summons to each of us to step up and step forward.
We constantly need to take the vagaries of life and use them as stepping stones.
It is not enough to endure.
These situations need to bear fruit and become action.
In the many posts which have been written about the Israeli society during wartime there are themes which emerges.
Resilience. Love. Caring. Unity.
Weddings are taking place in bomb shelters.
People celebrate birthdays and share cake during the sirens.
Random people are congregating in underground shelters and an app has been created to connect singles to one another - a match made not in heaven but in the bowels of the earth.
Israel is being “forged” by this war.
When faced with such trying circumstances we are meeting our best selves and the actions that are resulting are breathtaking.
This war has made many heroes.
Some of them seem to have emerged unexpectedly.
One would never think they were called by name.
So an unlikely barista can be touted for her charm under fire and her smile will lift the spirits of the population.
Then there is Rachel Goldberg Polin who never wanted her name to be called.
But it was.
And she has lifted us all time and again with her courage elegance and eloquence.
Just this week she said it all.
“We are not what we think, we are not what we say, and we're not even what we believe. In this life, we are what we do”.
“After her son, Hersh, was brutally kidnapped and murdered by Hamas, Rachel turned unimaginable grief into a voice that resonated with the world.”
Rachel has just been named USA Today’s Woman of the Year.
In Hebrew a general is an Aluf, and in Israel the Generals lead from the front. They are the Aleph the first.
So we must not see ourselves as a little Aleph, but rather recognizete job we must do, the role we must play.
“In this life we are what we do”
May we hear when our name is called. It’s not the wrong number.
Shabbat Shalom and so much love.