What other moments of someone being called by God can you remember from the Torah?
(א) וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר ה' אֵלָ֔יו מֵאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד לֵאמֹֽר׃ (ב) דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵקֶ֔ם אָדָ֗ם כִּֽי־יַקְרִ֥יב מִכֶּ֛ם קָרְבָּ֖ן לַֽה' מִן־הַבְּהֵמָ֗ה מִן־הַבָּקָר֙ וּמִן־הַצֹּ֔אן תַּקְרִ֖יבוּ אֶת־קָרְבַּנְכֶֽם׃
(1) The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying: (2) Speak to the Israelite people, and say to them: When any of you presents an offering of cattle to the LORD, he shall choose his offering from the herd or from the flock.
Dibur is focused on the whom
amira is focused on the what
kriah is focused on connection
(ט) וַיִּקְרָ֛א ה' אֱלֹקִ֖ים אֶל־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ אַיֶּֽכָּה׃
(ד) וַיַּ֥רְא ה' כִּ֣י סָ֣ר לִרְא֑וֹת וַיִּקְרָא֩ אֵלָ֨יו אֱלֹקִ֜ים מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַסְּנֶ֗ה וַיֹּ֛אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֥ה מֹשֶׁ֖ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃
(יא) וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֵלָ֜יו מַלְאַ֤ךְ ה' מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֣ם ׀ אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃
(ג) וְקָרָ֨א זֶ֤ה אֶל־זֶה֙ וְאָמַ֔ר קָד֧וֹשׁ ׀ קָד֛וֹשׁ קָד֖וֹשׁ ה' צְבָא֑וֹת מְלֹ֥א כָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃
() ויקרא אל משה (ויקרא א, א). ויקרא אל"ף זעירא. יבואר על דרך שבארנו (שמות כד, א) ואל משה אמר עלה אל ה', כי כשאדם עושה מצוה זה המצוה עושה רושם למעלה וזה מעורר אותו לעשות תמיד רצון הבורא בזה המצוה. והנה משה רבינו עליו השלום רצון שלו היה לעשות ולעלות תמיד אל ה' כמבואר בזוהר הקדוש ומשה עלה אל האלקים (שם יט, ג) . ונמצא זה שהיה רצונו תמיד לעלות אל ה' זה היה מעורר אותו תמיד לעלות אל ה'. וזהו ואל משה אמר עלה אל ה', זה שהיה רצונו לעלות אל ה' זה אמר לו עלה אל ה'. וזהו הרמז באלף זעירא, כי משה רבינו עליו השלום מדתו היה שהיה עניו מכל אדם ולכך האל"ף זעירא לרמוז על מדתו. הכלל, כי קרבן בדמות השפע שהקדוש ברוך הוא משפיע מחמת חסדו הגדול בלא מעשה התחתונים לזה הקרבן הוא חי, כי חי הוא מהקדוש ברוך הוא והנסכים הם מצומצמים והוא על ידי מעשה התחתונים שאדם צריך לעשות בו איזה פעולה לנטוע או לזרוע. והנסכים מורים על השפע הנשפע מהבורא ברוך הוא מחמת מעשה התחתונים שישראל ראוים מחמת מעשיהם הטובים שהבורא ברוך הוא ישפיע עליהם טובות. והנה ישראל במדבר היו בבחינה שהקדוש ברוך הוא השפיע להם מחמת חסדו הגדול ולכך היה השפע הנשפע להם בדוגמא זו, דהיינו המן והבאר שאין בהם כלל מעשה מאדם אבל בארץ ישראל היה השפע הנשפע עליהם מחמת מעשה התחתונים כנ"ל ולזה היה השפע הנשפע עליהם מה שזרעו ונטעו מזה אכלו דוגמת השפע הנשפע עליהם מחמת מעשה התחתונים כנ"ל. וזהו הרמז בפסוק (במדבר טו, ב-ג) כי תבואו אל ארץ מושבותיכם כו' ועשיתם עולה לה' וכו', ותלוים הנסכים בארץ לרמוז על הנ"ל שהנסכים מורים על השפע שנשפע אל הארץ כנ"ל. וזו שפירש רש"י שאין אומרים שירה אלא על היין, כי זה השפע הנשפע לאדם מחמת מעשה התחתונים הוא שמחה לאדם:
“He called out to Moses;” the fact that the letter א in this verse is written in smaller script is explained by something we had discussed in Exodus 24:1 on the line: ואל משה אמר עלה אל ה', “and to Moses He had said: ‘ascend towards Hashem.’” When a person performs one of God’s commandments this makes an impression in the celestial spheres and helps to awaken in him the desire to perform additional commandments so that he will constantly be occupied with doing God’s will. It had been Moses’ will to continuously perform God’s will and to thereby continue to ascend ever higher and come closer to Hashem as stated by the Zohar when explaining the line: ומשה עלה אל האלוקים, “and Moses had ascended towards God,” (Exodus 19,3). God’s invitation recorded in Exodus 24 to ascend (once again) was the result of his having done so in Exodus 19,3 when he had commenced to do so before an invitation had been issued to do so. The Zohar II,69 ascribes the invitation to Moses in our verse to ascend to Hashem as a reward for Moses’ initiative in Exodus 19:3. This is reflected here by the letter א being written in small script. It acknowledges the humility of Moses which exceeded anyone else’s humility, i.e. the “small” א.
We have a rule when offering a sacrifice to God that this offering is to reflect the largesse that God has seen fit to bestow upon us, without us in the lower regions of the universe having performed any good deeds to deserve this. This is the reason that the animal sacrifice must be dedicated and consecrated while still alive, as the ultimate gift God can bestow us is life itself. Life can only be bestowed by God Himself.
Libations, i.e. offerings consisting of oil or wine (with additives) are a form of “mini-offering,” but they represent an input by the residents in this lower part of the universe, man having had to seed and plant the earth before eventually producing the product from which oil and wine is made. These libations also reflect God’s largesse, i.e. the largesse bestowed upon us as a direct result of our constructive activities on earth. In other words, the Israelites were allowed (only after the affair of the spies) to present such libations in recognition of their good deeds.
While the Israelites were in the desert they were in the position of receiving God’s largesse without having made an input of their own as they could not seed or plant orchards or grow grain in the desert. In recognition of their inability to do so, God provided heavenly bread, i.e. the manna for them. In lieu of their offering libations to Him, God provided them with a travelling well which took care of their daily needs for fresh water.
All this has been alluded to in Numbers 15,2 when the Torah begins to describe how the people’s lives will change once they will come to the land of their inheritance, i.e.כי תבאו אל ארץ מושבתיכם וגו', “when you will come to the land in which you will reside permanently, etc.” The Torah there continues with listing the various kinds of offerings (first animal) and then libations, in that order. The reason why these sacrificial offerings are linked to the people being in possession of their permanent homes in the Holy Land is because the sacrifices are reflections, i.e. acts of acknowledgment and gratitude for God’s largesse by giving them an ancestral heritage. This also explains why the sages have decreed אין אומרים שירה אלא על היין, “when intoning songs of thanksgiving to God one must only do so while saying a blessing over wine (and drinking it) as an acknowledgment of the most precious product that the earth (lower part for the universe) has to offer us by the grace of God.”
Rabbi Yoḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: Any person who has arrogance within him is considered as if he were an idol worshipper, as it is written here: “Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 16:5), and it is written there concerning the destruction of idols: “And you shall not bring an abomination into your house” (Deuteronomy 7:26). And Rabbi Yoḥanan said his own statement: Any person who has arrogance within him is considered as if he has denied the core belief in God’s existence, as it is stated: “Then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:14). ... Rav Avira interpreted the following verse homiletically: “They are exalted for a little while, and they are gone; yes, they are brought low, they are gathered in as all others, and wither as the tops of the husks” (Job 24:24). There were times when he said this interpretation in the name of Rav Asi and there were times when he said it in the name of Rav Ami: Any person who has arrogance within him will ultimately be diminished in standing, as it is stated in the phrase: “They are exalted for a little while,” indicating that one who raises himself above others will be exalted only briefly. And lest you say that even if he is diminished he will still exist in this world and live a full life, the verse states: “And they are gone,” indicating that they die before their time. He continues the interpretation: But if he repents from his arrogance, he is gathered in death at his proper time like Abraham our forefather, as it is stated: “Yes, they are brought low, they are gathered in as all [kakkol] others” (Job 24:24), indicating that when he repents from his arrogance he will die like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as it is written about them that they were blessed with the term “all,” as in the verse above. With regard to Abraham, the verse states: “And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things [bakkol]” (Genesis 24:1). With regard to Isaac, the verse states: “And I have eaten of all [mikkol]” (Genesis 27:33). With regard to Jacob, the verse states: “And because I have all [khol]” (Genesis 33:11). And if one does not repent, then, the verse in Job continues: “And wither like the tops of the husk.” The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of the phrase “and wither like the tops of the husks”? Rav Huna and Rav Ḥisda offered differing interpretations. One says that it means: Like the awn of bristle-like growth on the top of the husk, and one says that it means: Like the husk itself. The Gemara comments: Granted, according to the one who says: Like the awn of bristle-like growth on the top of the husk, that is that which is written in the verse: “And wither like the tops of the husks,” since this awn is on the top of the husk. But according to the one who says: Like the husk itself, what is the meaning of the expression “and wither like the tops of the husks”? Rav Asi says, and similarly the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: This can be explained by way of an analogy to a person who enters into his field, as he gathers the taller stalks before the shorter ones. The verse is therefore referring to the tallest stalks, not the tops of the stalks. The Gemara continues the discussion of arrogance, and its converse, humility. The verse states: “For thus says the High and Lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, also with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15). Rav Huna and Rav Ḥisda offered differing interpretations of this verse. One says that the verse means: Together with Me is the person who is contrite and humble. In other words, God elevates the humble. And one says that the verse means: I, God, descend, and am found together with the person who is contrite and humble. The Gemara comments on this: And it stands to reason that the meaning of the verse is like the one who says: I am with the contrite person, as the Holy One, Blessed be He, disregarded all of the mountains and hills, and rested His Divine Presence on the lowly Mount Sinai, and He did not choose to raise Mount Sinai up toward Him. God chose to give the Torah on Mount Sinai, as it was a symbol of humility due to its lack of height, and He lowered His Divine Presence, as it were, to the mountain. Rav Yosef says: A person should always learn proper behavior from the wisdom of his Creator, as the Holy One, Blessed be He, disregarded all of the mountains and hills and rested His Divine Presence on the lowly Mount Sinai. And similarly, when appearing to Moses, He disregarded all of the beautiful trees and rested His Divine Presence on the bush (Exodus 3:2). ... And Rabbi Elazar says: Concerning any person who has arrogance within him, the Divine Presence wails over him. As it is stated: “For though the Lord is high, yet regards He the lowly, and from the haughty He is pained from afar” (Psalms 138:6). Rav Avira interpreted a verse homiletically, and some say that Rabbi Elazar interpreted as follows: Come and see that the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not like the attribute of flesh and blood. The attribute of flesh and blood is that the elevated sees the elevated, but the elevated does not see the lowly. But the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not like that. He is elevated but sees specifically the lowly, as it is stated: “For though the Lord is high, yet regards He the lowly” (Psalms 138:6). Rav Ḥisda says, and some say that Mar Ukva says: Concerning any person who has arrogance within him, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: He and I cannot dwell together in the world, as it is stated: “He who slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I destroy; he who is haughty of eye and proud of heart, him will I not suffer [oto lo ukhal]” (Psalms 101:5–6). These verses should be understood as follows: Do not read the verse as: “Oto lo ukhal”; rather, read it as: Itto lo ukhal, meaning, with him, I cannot bear to dwell. ... Rabbi Alexandri says: Concerning any person who has arrogance within him, even a slight wind disturbs him, as it is stated: “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, for it cannot rest” (Isaiah 57:20). ...
Menachem Mendl of Kotzk:
"I stood between God and you" (Deut. 5:5) - it is the I, your ego, stands between God and you.