Vayikra: Discovering Who We Really Are

At a Pesach farbrengen,1 the Rebbe Rayatz related the manner in which the Alter Rebbe brought his grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek, to cheder for the first time. Among the points the Rebbe Rayatz mentioned is that the Alter Rebbe instructed the teacher to study the first passage of Parshas Vayikra with the child.2 After the teacher had studied the passage with the child, the child asked the Alter Rebbe, “Why is the alef in the word vayikra small?”3

The Alter Rebbe entered a state of dveikus for quite some time. Afterwards, he replied:

Adam, the first man, was G‑d’s handiwork4 and G‑d testified that his wisdom surpassed that of the ministering angels.5 However, Adam knew his own greatness and consequently became over-impressed as a result of this awareness. Therefore, he lapsed and committed the Sin of the Tree of Knowledge.6

Moshe our teacher... also knew his own greatness. However, not only did Moshe not become over-impressed as a result of this awareness, it caused him to have a broken and contrite heart, making him appear very lowly in his own eyes.7 He thought: Were another person, who was not Amram’s son, nor the seventh generation in descent from Avraham, to have been granted such a great, lofty soul and such ancestral merit, that person would have certainly [accomplished more] than he.8

The Holy One, blessed be He, states in the Torah,9 “The man, Moshe, was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth.” No matter how low a person’s stature and how simple he was, Moshe would measure himself against him, thinking that if that person had possessed the positive spiritual qualities with which he, Moshe, had been endowed – i.e., qualities that he had not earned through his own work – as well as his ancestral merit, that person would certainly have been better than he.10

There are three types of forms for the letters which the Holy One, blessed be He, gave at Mount Sinai: oversized letters, average-sized letters, and miniature letters. Generally, the Torah is written in average-sized (beinonim) letters, for the intent is that a person should be a beinoni (an intermediate).11 Through the Torah, one reaches the level of a beinoni. With regard to Adam, the first man, whose recognition of his own greatness caused him to lapse and commit the Sin of the Tree of Knowledge, an oversized alef is used.12 With regard to Moshe, our teacher, whose Divine service of recognizing his own humbleness brought him to the highest level of humility, vayikra is written with a miniature alef.

On the surface, there is a point in this story which requires clarification: Why was it necessary for the Alter Rebbe to elaborate regarding the description of Adam, the first man, and the reason why an oversized alef is used in his name, and furthermore, to mention it before answering the question regarding Moshe? The use of an oversized alef with regard to Adam appears irrelevant to clarifying why a miniature alef is used in the word vayikra. Seemingly, it is sufficient to say that the miniature alef in vayikra is an allusion to Moshe’s great humility.

Furthermore, the explanation that the miniature alef in vayikra alludes to Moshe’s humility is stated in several of the commentaries13 to the Torah,14 which do not mention the oversized alef used with regard to Adam. How much more so does its mention seem unnecessary in the instance at hand, as the Tzemach Tzedek had not yet learned about the oversized alef used with regard to Adam. He was just beginning to study Chumash (and the oversized alef first appears in Divrei Hayomim). Thus, on the surface, it does not seem appropriate to mention — and at such great length — the concept of the oversized alef used with regard to Adam, the first man.

In particular, this is true because the explanation given by the Alter Rebbe concerning the oversized alef speaks unfavorably about Adam,15 and the Torah does not speak disparagingly even about a non-kosher animal.16 Certainly, it would not be appropriate to speak about Adam – G‑d’s handiwork, as the Alter Rebbe describes him – in such a manner unless there is a necessity to do so.17

It is also necessary to understand the Alter Rebbe’s lengthy explanation regarding the humility of Moshe. Seemingly, it would have been sufficient to state in brief (as do the other commentaries cited) that Moshe was exceedingly humble, as G‑d testifies in the Torah.It is possible to say that the Alter Rebbe wanted to clarify to the Tzemach Tzedek how Moshe could be “humble in his own eyes” despite his being aware of his own greatness, a greatness so extraordinary that no one can compare himself to Moshe.18 Indeed, Moshe thought that if another person had been granted the same positive qualities with which he, Moshe, had been endowed, i.e., his lofty soul and ancestral merit – qualities that he had not earned through his own efforts – that other person would have certainly been better than he.

Nevertheless, there are points that still require clarification:

a) This concept itself requires explanation: Why is it necessary to emphasize here that Moshe also recognized his own greatness, thereby creating a need to explain that this recognition does not contradict his humility?

b) The Alter Rebbe’s explanation of why Moshe did not become over-impressed despite his awareness of his own greatness – in contrast to Adam who did – appears superfluous. It would have been sufficient to say that Moshe’s humility resulted from him thinking that his greatness was not earned through his own labor, but rather was the result of the positive qualities he was granted from Above and his ancestral merit. Why did the Alter Rebbe also elaborate on Moshe’s comparison of himself to every other person and his supposition that, if another person had been endowed with the qualities he himself had been granted, that person would have certainly been better than he?

Initially, when viewing the Alter Rebbe’s explanation, it appears that the oversized alef used with regard to Adam is an allusion to an undesirable quality – the fact that he became over-impressed due to the awareness of his greatness – in contrast to the miniature alef in vayikra which alludes to the humility of Moshe.

In truth, this cannot be said, for there is a clear-cut principle that the oversized letters in the Torah are loftier than the average-sized letters and, certainly, the miniature letters.19 Even a child can understand that the Torah uses an oversized letter to indicate a degree of greatness and importance as judged by the scales of the Torah of truth.

For this reason, commentaries20 explain that the oversized alef used with regard to Adam alludes to the fact “that there was never a man as great as he… or to the profuse wisdom he possessed, to the extent that he was able to name all the created beings.”21

Furthermore, in Likkutei Torah,22 the Alter Rebbe himself discusses the difference between the miniature alef of vayikra and the oversized alef of Adam in Divrei HaYamim and explains how it indicates that Adam was even greater than Moshe.

In that discourse, the Alter Rebbe explains that the oversized alef refers to Adam as he existed “before the sin, when he was on a very lofty and exalted level.”23 (Accordingly, he was able to receive influence from the oversized alef, i.e., “the attribute of Kesser, as it is subsumed in G‑d’s very Essence.”)³ With regard to Moshe, by contrast, the Torah states,24 “And Moshe could not enter the Tent of the Meeting because the cloud had rested upon it.” The cloud reflects influence from “a very sublime and awesome level,”25 Kesser, which Moshe could not access. For this reason, with regard to Moshe, vayikra is written with a miniature alef, for calling – i.e., drawing down influence – to Moshe from the sublime level of the cloud was possible only through a tzimtzum, a contraction alluded to by the miniature alef.26

Thus, the Alter Rebbe’s addition – the discussion of the oversized alef used with regard to Adam – seemingly defeats his purpose, as it appears to indicate that Adam was on a higher level than Moshe. Moreover, it alludes not to Adam’s stumbling through the Sin of the Tree of Knowledge but, on the contrary, to his superior level prior to the sin.

It is possible to offer the following resolution: By presenting this explanation to the Tzemach Tzedek, the Alter Rebbe was not merely answering his question concerning the verse. Instead, the Alter Rebbe was primarily concerned with educating the Tzemach Tzedek and teaching him the lesson in Divine service that can be derived from the miniature alef in Vayikra.27

[This explains how this story is connected to statements of the Rebbe Rayatz at an earlier farbrengen,28 that the Alter Rebbe personally devoted himself to the education and the training of the Tzemach Tzedek. That was the reason he personally took him to cheder for the first time, as well as undertaking other matters related to his education and training.]

In order for the lesson from the miniature alef to be complete, it was necessary for the Alter Rebbe to introduce his explanation with the critique of Adam’s conduct.

By elaborating on Adam’s qualities and the fact that he appreciated his own greatness, the Alter Rebbe’s intent was not merely to negate the undesirable aspects of Adam’s conduct. Quite the contrary, every Jew – due to the spark of Adam he possesses, as will be explained in sec. 7 – must emulate the positive self-esteem Adam possessed. To refer to the well-known adage,29 “Just as a person must recognize his own shortcomings, so, too, must he recognize his own positive qualities.”

This teaches us how we must approach “recognizing our own humbleness.” That awareness should not negate the recognition of one’s positive qualities.30 Instead, the two can coexist. Though one is aware of his positive qualities, that recognition need not lead to haughtiness because he realizes these potentials were granted him from Above. They were not earned through his own efforts, but instead resulted from his inherent spiritual gifts and his ancestral merit. The paradigm for this is the humility of Moshe.31 Such humility can be achieved by every person, for every Jew possesses a spark from the soul of Moshe.32

Furthermore, when a person recognizes his positive qualities, it is necessary that he possess an extreme drive toward humility, like Moshe, who was “exceedingly humble, more than any person,” as will be explained in sec. 9.

Therefore, there is no contradiction. The oversized alef used with regard to Adam alludes to the genuinely great powers he possessed, as explained above in sec. 4. Simultaneously, it alludes to the fact that he recognized his own superiority. Although such awareness could lead to negative consequences, it is not necessarily a fault. On the contrary, the recognition of one’s own superior qualities is a path in Divine service mandated by the Torah. Indeed, such awareness is specifically associated with the Divine service of the righteous (tzaddikim), as will be explained in sec. 7.

With his explanation, the Alter Rebbe underscored the extent to which a person must be careful regarding his recognition of his superior qualities. Even one who truly possesses very great virtues – to the extent that the Torah of truth refers to him with an oversized alef – must guard against the possibility that undesirable results may come from the recognition of his positive qualities. Indeed, this caused even Adam to lapse and commit the Sin of the Tree of Knowledge, the source for all sins.

Since Adam – even his body – was G‑d’s handiwork, it is self-evident that (as he was created), he had no connection to evil,33 for G‑d is solely the source of goodness, as Chassidus34 interprets the phrase,35 “From the mouth of the Sublime One, evil will not emerge.” Similarly, with regard to his surrounding environment, as is well known,36 there was no intermingling of good and evil before the Sin of the Tree of Knowledge. The kelipos then existedas a separate realm, lower than the world at large.37

This concept is also alluded to in the wording of the Alter Rebbe, “With regard to Adam, the first man, whose recognition of his own greatness caused him to commit the Sin of the Tree of Knowledge, an oversized alef is used.” On the surface, since the oversized alef used with regard to Adam reflects his level before the sin (as stated in sec. 4), it would seemingly have been appropriate for the Alter Rebbe to have worded his statement in the opposite order, “Adam, the first man, is referred to with an oversized alef. Throughrecognizing his own greatness, he lapsed and committed the Sin of the Tree of Knowledge.”

By phrasing his statements as he did – mentioning the oversized alef at the end – the Alter Rebbe alludes to the fact that even after Adam committed the Sin of the Tree of Knowledge, he is still referred to as Adam with an oversized alef (which, as above, alludes to his level before the sin, indicating that even after the sin he retained his original qualities, albeit in a hidden manner).

The eternal dimension of Adam’s positive qualities is reflected not only in his retention of them (at least in a hidden manner) even after the sin, but also in that they were transmitted by him to every Jew until the end of time.

As is well known,38 the Jews are referred to with the name Adam, “man,” as our Sages say,39 “You are referred to as ‘man.’ ” “[Every] soul and spark within the Jewish people [contains] a portion of the soul of Adam, the first man.”⁸ Therefore, every Jew is endowed with – at least in microcosm – Adam’s lofty positive qualities.

(Moreover, every Jew possesses a resemblance even to Adam’s “wisdom that surpassed that of the ministering angels,” as manifested through his ability to name all the created beings by recognizing “the living soul”40 that being possessed.41 Similarly, as explained in holy texts,42 the names which parents give their children are, in microcosm, an expression of the spirit of prophecy. Parents are granted from Above the insight to call the child by a name that reflects the child’s “living soul.”)

Therefore, every Jew – regardless of his current situation – possesses a reflection of the level of Adam as he existed before the sin.43 The difference is that, with regard to Adam, these virtues were also manifest from the standpoint of his body, for his body was also G‑d’s handiwork. For all others, these virtues are manifest in a revealed manner44 only from the standpoint of their souls which are an “actual part of G‑d from Above.”45

For this reason, a soul has no connection to sin. As the Zohar46 comments on the verse,47 “If a soul sins…,” stating, “The Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, ask in wonderment: ‘How could a soul sin?’ ”48 Even if a Jew stumbles in sin, Heaven forbid, his soul “remains faithful to Him, even at the time of sin.”49

This is the inner meaning of the verse,50 “Your people are all tzaddikim.”Since there is a dimension of Adam as he existed before the sin within every Jew, each Jew’s Divine service parallels that of tzaddikim despite the fact that he may previously have been involved in the direct opposite of that service. When a Jew observes the Torah and its mitzvos,as an expression of the inner dimension of his soul, the attribute of Adam within him, he is not returning to G‑d in teshuvah; he is not “one who was distant, but who was drawn close.”51 Instead, his Divine service resembles that of a tzaddik whose conduct was always virtuous,52 never having any connection to evil and sin.

Since every Jew possesses this positive quality, there is potential for every Jew to recognize his own positive virtues, for we are not discussing a person with an egocentric outlook. On the contrary, a tzaddik does not have a self-oriented identity. Instead, he is identified solely with holiness, a state that does not allow evil to take a foothold. (In contrast, even after he returns to G‑d, a baal teshuvah must be continually on guard, watching carefully lest he return to his previous undesirable conduct.53)

A person need not be inhibited by worry that adopting this approach to Divine service may lead to him becoming over-impressed by his positive qualities. On the contrary, he must recognize his positive qualities. At times, it is specifically by realizing his virtues and therefore being able to “elevate his heart in the ways of G‑d”54 – serving G‑d with happiness and pride – that one can overcome the hiddenness and concealment of G‑dliness in this world. The awareness of one’s inner potential infuses his Divine service with the power of holiness in a manner similar to the Divine service of the tzaddikim.

At the same time, caution is necessary. The awareness of one’s positive qualities must be coupled with an awareness of one’s fundamental humbleness. Otherwise, the recognition of one’s positive qualities can cause one to descend and lapse into haughtiness that could lead to sin.

It is obvious that a person who is not right­eous, whose natural tendencies still possess evil “in its full power and strength,”55 must surely be careful with regard to the potential drawbacks of recognizing his own positive qualities. Otherwise, he may fall prey to the elemental yeshus (self-centered focus) that stems from the yetzer hara.

The Alter Rebbe was endeavoring to educate the Tzemach Tzedek, who was by nature a tzaddik56 and would grow up to be a nasi (leader)57 among the Jewish people. Precisely because of that, he felt that even greater caution was necessary. After all, Adam was a tzaddik and, what is more, G‑d’s handiwork; seemingly, he had no connection to sin, nor was there a foothold for the powers of evil within his personality. Nevertheless, even in his instance, the awareness of his own positive qualities caused him to lapse and commit the Sin of the Tree of Knowledge. Certainly every other tzaddik must take precautions with regard to the recognition of his positive qualities.58

On this basis, we can also understand why the Alter Rebbe elaborated when explaining Moshe’s humility. Not only did he explain that Moshe was humble because he recognized that his positive qualities had been endowed from Above, but the Alter Rebbe emphasized that Moshe compared himself to others. He thought that if another person had been granted these positive qualities, he would have certainly been better than him.

This is necessary because a person granted such lofty qualities must take precautions. Since he adopts a stance that reflects the power that stems from holiness and involves the recognition of his positive qualities, it is possible that yeshus will arise. Hence, the ordinary recognition of his own humbleness is not sufficient. Instead, he must go to the opposite extreme59and manifest absolute humility and self-nullification (bittul).

Genuine humility is demonstrated not only by seeking to emphasize one’s own nothingness and insignificance, but also by seeking to highlight the positive qualities which another person possesses.

We see this in actual fact. There are people who are able to bring about bittul within themselves; moreover, they can even bear to hear another person reduce their ego to nothingness. Even so, it is possible for the thought to enter their minds, “It’s true, I’m nothing, but the other person is even more of a nothing than I am.”

To bring himself to the level that he thinks about himself as nothing and views the other person as important requires a very different approach to Divine service, one that demands a greater and loftier degree of bittul.

Here as well, we see the great humility of Moshe, who rectified the Sin of the Tree of Knowledge. As is well known, when “Moshe received the Torah at Sinai,”60 the contamination from the Sin of the Tree of Knowledge ceased.61 Not only was Moshe humble, he was the direct opposite of yeshus: “exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth.”62 He compared himself with every Jew, in doing so coming to respect them, thinking that “had that person been given his positive qualities… he would certainly have been better than him.”

This leads to one of the practical lessons we can derive from this story. On one hand, every Jew must realize that he is endowed with a heritage of awesome potentials and must recognize his own positive qualities. And that is extremely important. In this way, when a mitzvah presents itself he will not shy away, for recognizing the failings within his own spiritual standing might otherwise cause him to protest, “Who am I? How can a person like me undertake this holy project?”63 Instead, he must realize that he possesses within himself an attribute that reflects Adam as he existed before the sin. That is his present standing. Accordingly, regardless of his previous actions, at this moment, he must – and has the potential to – conduct himself as if he is utterly above any connection to sin.

However, he must realize that all these awesome positive qualities are endowed to him from Above. Were they to have been given to another person, that person could have possibly achieved more than he. Consequently, the recognition of his own positive qualities will not cause him to feel self-important. On the contrary, it will cause him to be humble in his own eyes.

This bittul enables him to reach true greatness, as it is said,64 “He who is small is great.” And this will lead to G‑d “call[ing] to Moshe” – to the attribute of Moshe each Jew possesses in his soul, addressing him with endearment.65 This, in turn, enables the Divine service of bringing sacrifices, including even the consummate expression of this phase of Divine service in the Third Beis HaMikdash, where “We will offer before You the sacrifices we are obligated… in accordance with the command of Your will.”66 May this take place in the immediate future.

Likkutei Sichos, Volume 17, P. 1ff.
Adapted from a sichah delivered on Nissan 13, 5726 [1966]