“And He called [Vayikra] to Moshe ….” (Vayikra, 1:1) It is written in the Midrash (Tanchuma, Vayikra, 1), “How many times does the Torah warn concerning respect for the convert? Forty-eight times, corresponding to the forty-eight times ‘wellspring’ is written in the Torah.” Connected to this, it is written in the Gemara (Rosh Hashana, 21b), “Fifty gates to understanding were created in the world, and all were given to Moshe Rabeynu minus one.” Thus we find that Moshe Rabeynu had forty-nine gates, and all the rest of Israel forty-eight, as it is not in their ability to reach the level of Moshe Rabeynu, for “never will a prophet like Moshe arise again,” so therefore they can only attain the forty-eighth gate. Corresponding to this, “wellspring” is written in the Torah forty-eight times, for a wellspring represents the desire and will for words of Torah, and by means of the desire and longing of a man for words of Torah he may acquire all of the forty-eight gates. Through this we can understand the intention of forty-eight warnings in the Torah to respect the convert. The convert came to bring himself close under the wings of the Shechina (Divine Presence) because of the great desire within him. For in the root of his life he is not cleaving to God, as cleaving to God at the source of life is a state of being only for those born of the seed of the Patriarchs. (It is solely from his great desire that brings him to a state of cleaving to God.) Corresponding to this there were forty-eight boards in the Mishkan (Tabernacle), and also concerning this it says in the holy Zohar (Bereshit, 125a), “each day forty-eight drops drip.” This is the meaning of the verse, “and He called [Vayikra] out to Moshe,” for calling out is the desire and longing of the heart. Since the Holy One, blessed be He, put “crying out” and longing in the heart of Moshe more than in all the rest of Israel, he therefore merited the forty-ninth gate.
וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה. אִיתָא בַּמִּדְרָשׁ (תנחומא ויקרא א') כַּמָּה פְּעָמִים הִזְהִירָה הַתּוֹרָה עַל הַגֵּר אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמוֹנֶה פְּעָמִים נֶגֶד אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמוֹנֶה פְּעָמִים, בְּאֵר הַכָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה. הָעִנְיָן בָּזֶה כִּי אִיתָא בַּגְּמָרָא (ראש השנה כ"א:) חֲמִשִּׁים שַׁעֲרֵי בִּינָה נִבְרְאוּ בָּעוֹלָם וְכֻלָּם נִיתְּנוּ לְמֹשֶׁה חָסֵר אֶחָד נִמְצָא שֶׁיֵּשׁ לְמֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם מ"ט, וּלְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל מ"ח שֶׁאֵין בִּיכוֹלְתָּם לְהַגִּיעַ לְמַדְרֵגוֹת מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם, כִּי "לֹא קָם נָבִיא כְּמֹשֶׁה" לָכֵן אֵין יְכוֹלִים לְהַגִּיעַ רַק לְמ"ח, וְנֶגֶד זֶה כְּתִיב גַּם מ"ח פְּעָמִים בְּאֵר בַּתּוֹרָה, כִּי בְּאֵר מוֹרֶה עַל חֵשֶׁק וְרָצוֹן לְדִבְרֵי תּוֹרָה, וְעַל יְדֵי הַחֵשֶׁק וְהַקִּיוּוּי שֶׁהָאָדָם מְצַפֶּה לְדִבְרֵי תּוֹרָה יָכוֹל לִקְנוֹת כָּל הַמ"ח שְׁעָרִים. וְעַל זֹאת הַכַּוָּונָה נֶאֱמַר גַּם גֵּר מ"ח פְּעָמִים, כִּי הַגֵּר מַה שֶּׁבָּא לְקָרֵב אֶת עַצְמוֹ תַּחַת כַּנְפֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה הוּא גַּם כֵּן רַק מִמַּה שֶּׁנִּמְצָא בּוֹ גּוֹדֶל תְּשׁוּקָה, כִּי בְּשׁוֹרֶשׁ חַיָּיו אֵינוֹ דָּבוּק בְּהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, כִּי דְּבֵיקוּת בְּשׁוֹרֶשׁ הַחַיִּים אֵינוֹ דָּבוּק רַק מִי שֶׁנּוֹלַד מִזֶּרַע הָאָבוֹת. וְנֶגֶד זֶה הָיוּ מ"ח קְרָשִׁים בַּמִּשְׁכָּן וְגַם עַל זֶה נֶאֱמַר בַּזוה"ק (בראשית קכ"ה.) כִּי בְּכָל יוֹם נוֹטֵף מ"ח טִיפִּין, וְזֶה עִנְיַן פֵּירוּשׁ הַפָּסוּק "וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה" קְרִיאָה הִיא תְּשׁוּקָה וְקִיוּוּי בַּלֵּב, וּלְפִי שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא נָתַן בְּלֵב מֹשֶׁה קְרִיאָה וְקִיוּוּי יוֹתֵר מִכָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל לָכֵן זָכָה לְשַׁעַר הַמ"ט.
“And He called [Vayikra] to Moshe ….” (Vayikra, 1:1)
It is written in the Midrash (Tanchuma, Vayikra, 1), “How many times does the Torah warn concerning respect for the convert? Forty-eight times, corresponding to the forty-eight times ‘wellspring’ is written in the Torah.” Connected to this, it is written in the Gemara (Rosh Hashana, 21b), “Fifty gates to understanding were created in the world, and all were given to Moshe Rabeynu minus one.” Thus we find that Moshe Rabeynu had forty-nine gates, and all the rest of Israel forty-eight, as it is not in their ability to reach the level of Moshe Rabeynu, for “never will a prophet like Moshe arise again,” so therefore they can only attain the forty-eighth gate. Corresponding to this, “wellspring” is written in the Torah forty-eight times, for a wellspring represents the desire and will for words of Torah, and by means of the desire and longing of a man for words of Torah he may acquire all of the forty-eight gates.
Through this we can understand the intention of forty-eight warnings in the Torah to respect the convert. The convert came to bring himself close under the wings of the Shechina (Divine Presence) because of the great desire within him. For in the root of his life he is not cleaving to God, as cleaving to God at the source of life is a state of being only for those born of the seed of the Patriarchs. (It is solely from his great desire that brings him to a state of cleaving to God.) Corresponding to this there were forty-eight boards in the Mishkan (Tabernacle), and also concerning this it says in the holy Zohar (Bereshit, 125a), “each day forty-eight drops drip.” This is the meaning of the verse, “and He called [Vayikra] out to Moshe,” for calling out is the desire and longing of the heart. Since the Holy One, blessed be He, put “crying out” and longing in the heart of Moshe more than in all the rest of Israel, he therefore merited the forty-ninth gate.