landlines, vampires and the mysterious call

As of a few months ago, we are officially a house with a landline (albeit one that runs through the internet). It feels retro, almost old fashioned, in the most delightful of ways. I opted for a pink 80s style phone and delighted in teaching my kids how to use speed-dial. What a relief to be able to make an analog phone call, without the risk of getting lost in 10 different apps I didn’t mean to open. The motivation was largely safety related. We wanted our kids to be able to call 911 when they are home alone. 

What I did not realize was how novel it would be to learn how to answer a call. The etiquette is shockingly different from a cell phone, in large part because you don’t know who is calling. It feels awkward and a bit formal, but I often say, “Ruskin Fornari residence, Ari Lev speaking, who may I ask is calling?” Truly, I can’t remember what hip and concise things my teenage self must have said, without being rude. Meanwhile my kids just say, “Hi,” Uncertain how to initiate the conversation or ask who is calling, nevermind share their own name. 

This week we begin the book of Vayikra, which itself begins with a mysterious call from an unknown caller.

In her newest book, The Hidden Order of Intimacy, Dr. Avivah Zornberg asks, “The opening word of Leviticus: “Vayikra – And He called to Moses” (Lev 1:1). Who is the one who calls? Presumably, it is God who calls Moses’ name. But He is unnamed. … “ (3). 

In just the moment when God attempts to make a grand entrance, to settle into the newly constructed mishkan, why the anonymous call? 

Ramban suggests the answer lies in the very end of Exodus. Exodus 40:35 reads, “Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Assembly…” 

About this verse Zornberg notes, “Exodus ends with Moses excluded from the sacred space he has so faithfully constructed… “The Cloud and the fire that represent God’s presence in the Tabernacle make it impossible for him to enter that space. Until, that is, God calls his name, inviting him, as it were, to enter into the Cloud. Only with this is call is a human path opened up for him into the mysterium trememdum.”

As I was studying these words, I couldn’t help but imagine Moses as a vampire in Sinners (Best Picture imho), needing a formal invitation to enter the juke. 

But presumably Mose – liberation leader, teacher and prophet – was not in fact a vampire. 
So why couldn’t he enter the Mishkan until he got the call? 

All of this leads Rashi to wonder, what really is the purpose of calling? His gloss on the opening word Vayikra reads, “Every time God spoke or said or commanded, He prefaced the terms by calling, in a tone of affection – chibah – and encouragement – in the tone that the ministering angels us, as it is said, “They call to one another, saying Holy, Holy, Holy is the God of Hosts” (Isa. 6:3). 

Here the Hebrew in Isaiah, which we sing in the kedusha, reads: kara zeh el zeh / they call to one another. The image of angels on high calling out with affection, encouraging their song, their spirits, their faith. 

Vayikra is about divine etiquette but also more: it's about intimacy. What allows us to draw close, to ourselves, to one another and to the Divine? What allows us to answer the call at all? (Who even picks up a call from an unknown caller these days!?)

This Shabbat, under the new moon of Nisan,
may you find a moment to call out like the heavenly choir – in any place you find sanctuary – to feel the affectionate embrace of the universe encouraging your song, your spirit and your faith. 

And perhaps even more so (as I have been explaining to my kids), to listen for the call and have the courage to pick up the phone when you hear it, unsure as you may be. ​