The Small Alef of Vayikra — Leviticus 1:1
וַיִּקְרָא
What to look for
The alef ending Vayikra — the first word of Leviticus — is written half-sized, floating at the word's end.
What it is
The most famous small letter in the Torah, opening the book of the offerings.
Why it matters
Without the alef, the word reads vayikar — 'and He happened upon' — the distant way God met the pagan prophet Balaam. With it, God calls Moses by name, in love.
How it has been understood
Tradition says Moses, in humility, wanted to write vayikar, as if his meetings with God were mere chance; God insisted on the calling, and the compromise is an alef written small. The book of drawing near to God opens with a letter shrunk by the humility of the man God called.