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Good Shabbos! This week we start a new book of the Torah, the book of Vayikra. In the first verse, Rashi explains an apparent redundancy to teach us that Moshe was tasked to deliver a sobering idea to the Jewish people;
Hashem only spoke to Moshe for the sake of the Jewish people.
Hashem didn’t speak to Moshe for 38 years, when the Jews sinned in the desert and weren’t worthy of a prophet. Even though Moshe didn’t sin, remained a great tzaddik and leader during that time, he couldn't receive any new prophecies, because the nation didn’t deserve it.
This sobering lesson carries within it an uplifting mission.
Sometimes, we think that we are unimportant in the grand scheme of things and our actions don’t matter, because we aren’t a great leader or public figure. From here we see how important we each are, as the Jewish people can only reach its pinnacle when we are all righteous. Furthermore, even our greatest leaders can only have as strong a connection with Hashem as we merit them. Lastly, it is not enough for us to work on becoming great ourselves. We must also work to help our fellow Jews as well, because if they don’t grow it puts a ceiling on our growth.
With Pesach coming up, we have a great opportunity to apply both these lessons. Let’s use Pesach to work on our own growth and connection with Hashem, and let’s each make sure to reach out to at least one fellow Jew to make sure they can grow from this holiday as well. Have a great Shabbos!