Big Alef and Small Alef:

The opening word of our Torah portion Vayikra means “And He called.” It is the name of the third volume (of five) of the Torah and the first word of that volume.

When we look at the word Vayikra, we can see that it has an unusual sized letter. The last letter of this word, the Alef, is very small.

This is not the only Alef in the Bible which is of a different size.

In the book of Chronicles I, there is another irregular Alef.

It is in the word Adam, in the verse which tells us the order of the generations beginning with Adam, the very first man.

The Alef in the word Adam is not small like the Alef in the word Vayikra. Quite the opposite. This Alef is oversized, larger than the other letters.

We can learn something about Adam from the oversized Alef in his name.

Adam knew he was very special, because he was created by G‑d‘s own hands. He felt very sure about himself, so sure of himself that he wasn’t careful and he made the mistake of eating from the “Tree of Knowledge.”

Every person should know how special he is, but he should not become proud or careless.

Moses surely knew that he was special. After all, he was the only one to speak to G‑d “face to face.” Yet, Moses felt more humble than any other person.

He used to tell himself: “All that I have is a gift from G‑d. If G‑d had given these opportunities to someone else, he surely would have been much better than me.”

Moses considered himself smaller and less important than others.

That’s why there is a little Alef in the word Vayikra. The famous commentator Rashi tells us that G‑d’s calling Moses was a sign of special care. G‑d loves humble people. Because Moses was so humble, G‑d called to him and showed him special attention.

We are all children of Adam and each of us has a spark of Moses in his soul. To be as great as Adam could have been, we have to act small and humble, as Moses did.

Micah 6:8 declares;

He has shown you O man, what is good; and what does God require of you, but to do justly (seek justice, live to serve the code of law of justice), to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Article taken from http://www.chabad.org