The Medrish asks why is the letter Alef in Vayikra smaller than the other letters.

The reason our Sages teach that the Alef is smaller is because Moshe was extremely humble and wanted to write the word without an Alef so that it would read Vayaker, the same word which was used when Hashem appeared to Balaam, and one which implies a purely chance event.

Hashem insisted that the word be Vayikra “And he called” to show Hashem’s love of Moshe.  Moshe felt uncomfortable, so a compromise was reached and Moshe wrote it with a little Alef.

Reb Shlomo teaches in the name of Reb Simcha Bunim of Pshischa that even though Moshe attained the greatest heights, he was unmoved by that and remained as humble as ever.

When a person stands at the top of a mountain, he doesn’t  boast about how tall he is, because it is the mountain which makes him tall.

Moshe felt that whatever he had accomplished was due to Hashem, and he had no reason to feel proud of his achievements.

                                               Purim

Purim and Shalach Manos: Sending our love and our thoughts

When you love somebody very much, you think about them even when they are not there. This is “shalach manos”; sending gifts of food to one another, through a messenger. Why not face to face? Because in this way, you are telling your friends that you are sending them your love, your thoughts, even when they are not there.

Everybody knows that the downfall of the world is “loshon harah”. The Gemara says that Haman is the master of “loshon hara”. Mordechai and Esther are masters of NON-”loshon hara”. On Purim, if we do not send “shalach manos” face to face, we are telling each other, even behind your back, I shall not speak evil about you.

Purim: The beginning of our redemption

Our holy Rabbis called Purim “the Dawn” – the sun isn’t rising yet, but it’s no longer night. It’s in between, which is what makes dawn so special.

According to our holy Rabbis, it is the time when babies wake up and want to be nursed, the time when husband and wife wake up and want to be so close to each other. It is the time when the light of the Messiah is shining. It is a time when everyone dreams that today is the day of their redemption.

Anybody who has ever been up all night has tasted the awesome depth and sweetness of davening at dawn. Have you ever prayed by the Holy Wall (the Kotel) at dawn?

So Purim is the beginning of our redemption. We’re waking up being drunk with the joy of being Jewish. Dawn is still too dark; we don’t really see each other. We only see with the eyes of our soul and my soul sees only G-d. On Purim, I send out gifts, but not face to face. This is how I let you know I see you with the eyes of my soul.