Vayikra - Bangkok , Ben Franklin and the ancient art of catching spiritual lightening bolts.

[Music] Moser raenu had such a close relationship with Hashem that he could be walking in the desert on any given day at any given time and literally hear Hashem call out to him yeah Moshe was on a speed Nal basis with Hashem the word VRA canotes such tremendous love that this entire safer is called VRA meaning to say it is one big giant call of love the CRA writes that in truth every time hasem spoke to M he first called out to him he didn't just start speaking he would call out my dear Misha he did this every single time he would speak to him nevertheless the Tyra writes the word vayikra in only three places the first time was when hasm first introduced himself to mha at the snet the burning bush Moshe was walking in the desert a million miles away from the Jewish people minding his own business shepherding his sheep when Hashem called out to him VRA the second time it says the word VRA was at the top of Hari before Hashem gave Moshe the Torah the third time was now in Parra when Hashem spoke to Moshe in his tent so the question is if every time Hashem spoke to mosha it was preempted by a ikra why is it written in the Torah in only three locations if the Torah chooses to write it so then why isn't it written every time and if not why is it written in these instances either write it every time or don't write it at all sotion ra H offers the following explanation the Tyra specifically writes the word vayikra at the burning bush the top of Hari and in front of moshe's tent to teach us a very specific lesson the tah is telling us that at any and every scenario in our lives Hashem will always be there lovingly calling to us at a lonely bush in the middle of a deserted desert on top of ouri at the most pivotal Earth changing spiritual moment in world history or on a run-ofthe-mill day at home putting away the dishes Hashem will be there calling wanting our relationship from the low points to the highs from the middle of Kipper to the middle of Camp color War Hashem is their calling he wants a relationship with us he lovingly wants us to love him we don't leave Hashem when we walk out of SCH to go home he is there waiting for us we don't leave ashem when we leave yiva or seminary to go to work he's there as well sadly it's easy to mistakenly think that Hashem is in our lives only when one is actively involved in a Mitzvah or F or spiritual man but he is always there he is lovingly there he is lovingly watching to see if we can inject Holiness into the mundane spirituality into the physicality meaning into the seemingly meaningless sometimes we let out a sigh as we change our child's fifth diaper nostalgically remembering those Golden Days in seminary filled with Torah anded or sometimes we let out a sigh as we slide into our desk at the accounting firm remembering those Golden Days in Yeshiva filled with learning doing and growth sometimes we let out a sigh as we enter our second grade classroom to teach remembering those days in kylo blissfully swimming the Sea of halaka we sigh and we tell ourselves those were the days as we groggy stumble on through life a small tinge of guilt festering and growing within us this para tells us that's a mistake this para tells us that that way of thinking is wrong at every single stage in our lives we have our very own VRA at every step of our journey through life Hashem is there calling us he is there waiting to see if we live for him on fire if we serve him no matter where and no matter when whether you're in the kitchen or the office or on a hike or in a hospital or in a middle seat a lowbudget airline Hashem once showed Moshe his Heavenly Throne he gave him a tour and the tah describes what Moshe saw the T yud says that the throne was made out of livas hasap sapphire bricks so rers comments that Hashem specifically constructed his great kako his great Throne out of bricks to symbolize that his very Throne is made out of the brick and mortar of everyday life it symbolizes that Hashem does not want us to serve him in only the absolute perfect conditions in our energetic 20s in the perfect yiva with the perfect Kusa on a perfect Sunny spring day after we had a perfectly brewed cup of coffee no he wants to see us serve him with passion and joy when the conditions are not perfect when the baby woke up in the middle of the night and on the way to shakas the coffee spilled on our shirt and your first client hung up on you yeah he wants to see us serve him there with the rest of the family went to Neila but you stayed home to watch the baby wants to see us serve him even then it is brought down that one of the reasons why we jump onim T when we say the words Moshe is because we are showing Hashem that we are ready to jump out of our comfort zones to serve him and who knows Perhaps it is precisely out of our comfort zones where we will find Hashem the most I once spent Pim on Yeshiva Lane and Yeshiva scar Baltimore so I had a wonderful time I went from house to house visiting all my old ream and teachers after my suda so when I stumbled into my dorm room to collapse for the night I could not locate my phone anywhere I searched everywhere so true I was a tad inebriated but I was still able to do a pretty thorough search of the room and I came up empty so I decided to retrace my steps and I went to each and every house that I had gone to that day looking to see if perhaps my phone had fallen out of my pocket I left it somewhere I dropped it on in the bathroom again I came up empty-handed so after two hours of searching I went back to my room I was dejected okay I told myself I lost my phone when I reached to turn the door knob I looked down at my hand and lo and behold what did I see my phone my phone had been in my hand the entire time for over two hours I was searching high and low for a phone that was in my hand the entire time sometimes we feel that our best years of spirituality are behind us and now that we've entered quote unquote real life we only meet Hashem and sches and yeshivas we sometimes look outward for our spirituality when Hashem is very much within he is at our side he is forever calling out VRA [Music]