God is constantly communicating with us, but we must tune our spiritual radios to the correct station to “pick up the frequency.”
By Rabbi Ari Enkin, Rabbinic Director, United with Israel
This week’s Torah portion is “Vayikra” (Leviticus 1:1-5:26) and it begins the book of Leviticus, which deals largely with Temple and sacrificial law.
The name “Leviticus” means “that which relates to the Levites,” the group responsible for the functioning of the Temple. Even the “Kohanim,” the Priests, were from the tribe of Levi. It’s a Levite’s world!
The reading opens with the words, “And He called to Moses and He spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting.” The commentaries note from this wording that God’s voice was only heard in the Tent of Meeting, a special place in the Mishkan (Tabernacle), where God spoke with Moses.
God’s voice could not be heard from beyond the curtain.
The question is asked: How was God’s voice not heard beyond the curtain? We are told that the voice of God “is powerful; the Voice of God is majestic, the Voice of God can break cedar trees.” (Psalms29:4-5)
If the God’s voice was so powerful, how was it not heard outside the Tent of Meeting?
A number of answers are offered.
According to one approach, this phenomenon was a miracle that God specifically made to prevent His voice from traveling past the curtain. According to another approach, God changed His voice during certain times, making it “quieter” rather than “powerful.”
Either way, eavesdropping was simply not possible. Nobody was able to hear the messages God was communicating to Moses.
A third, very inspirational interpretation explains that God’s voice was always a powerful volume. Loud. Very loud. Even when speaking with Moses from the Tent of Meeting. Same volume.
So why didn’t anyone other than Moses hear the voice? Because they weren’t “tuned in!” That’s right. God’s Voice is somewhat like a radio frequency, if you don’t tune in to the right frequency, you aren’t going to hear anything.
To be able to hear the Voice of God, one requires a “spiritual radio” like that of Moses. Moses was at such a high level that he was able to hear God’s voice. Nobody else was at such a level. Nobody else had such a spiritual radio. Hence, nobody else was able to hear God’s voice, nor would they have been able to even if they were in the Tent of Meeting, standing right beside Moses.
No “radio,” no “reception.”
Although God’s Voice is no longer heard by mankind in the way Moses heard it, God continues to “speak” with us. God has His ways of communicating with us. These communications can be through the unexpected emergence of a much-needed parking spot, a well-earned raise, or a spontaneous thought or feeling in one’s heart.
Our job is to ensure that our spiritual radios are always tuned in and “picking up the frequency.”
For more insights by Rabbi Enkin on this week’s Torah portion, click on the links below.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/living-torah-learning-to-be-yourself-is-the-key-to-spiritual-growth/
https://unitedwithisrael.org/living-torah-its-the-effort-that-counts/
https://unitedwithisrael.org/living-torah-salt-and-spirituality/
https://unitedwithisrael.org/living-torah-bringing-spirituality-to-the-material-world/
https://unitedwithisrael.org/living-torah-gaining-higher-spirituality/