<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><br>Leviticus commences with a call: <i> "Vayikra</i> el Moshe…"<br><br>There have been many commentaries addressing the <br>miniature aleph but one which is fascinating is that <br>due to this smallness <i>vayikra</i> becomes suggestive of <i>vayikar </i> <br>used in connection with Balaam: "<i>Vayikar Elokim el Bilaam.</i>"<br><br>At first sight the comment appears far-fetched, but it <br>embodies an important truth. Moses and Balaam were<br>both prophets: one a prophet to Israel, the other to the<br>heathens. As such, they represent the highest conceptions<br>of their respective peoples, <i>l'havdil.</i> To both, God spoke: but<br>the difference of the mode of address expresses a fundamental<br>difference in outlook. To Balaam, “<i>vayikar</i>": the heathen sees life as<br>merely the product of aimless chance — we’re born; we die, <br>and that’s it: “Hatched, Matched and Dispatched.” Conversely,<br>to Moses, “<b>Vayikra</b>": Life is not chance but a “<font size="4"><b>call</b></font>” to serve the<br>Almighty. Man has a goal, a life’s calling.<br><br></body></html>