the price of admission is a bit of humility

 וַיִּקְרָא אֶל משֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר ה׳ – מִכָּן אָמְרוּ כָּל תַּלְמִיד חָכָם שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ דַעַת, נְבֵלָה טוֹבָה הֵימֶנּוּ, תֵּדַע לְךָ שֶׁכֵּן, צֵא וּלְמַד מִמּשֶׁה אֲבִי הַחָכְמָה, אֲבִי הַנְּבִיאִים, שֶׁהוֹצִיא יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרַיִם, וְעַל יָדוֹ נַעֲשׂוּ כַּמָּה נִסִּים בְּמִצְרַיִם וְנוֹרָאוֹת עַל יַם סוּף, וְעָלָה לִשְׁמֵי מָרוֹם וְהוֹרִיד תּוֹרָה מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְנִתְעַסֵּק בִּמְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן וְלֹא נִכְנַס לִפְנַי וְלִפְנִים עַד שֶׁקָּרָא לוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא א׳:א׳): וַיִּקְרָא אֶל משֶׁה

The end of last week's parsha tells us וְלֹא־יָכֹ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה לָבוֹא֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד כִּֽי־שָׁכַ֥ן עָלָ֖יו הֶעָנָ֑ן, Moshe could not enter the Ohel Moed because the cloud of Hashem's presence enveloped it.  That's why he waited until Hashem called to him to enter.  Where is the display of daas (which here seems to mean something like derech eretz, not IQ points) -- Moshe had no choice in the matter?

Sometimes the Torah uses the words lo yachol or lo tuchal and it does not mean the thing cannot be done, i.e. it is practically impossible, but rather it means the thing may not be done, e.g. it is assur or not the right thing to do.  We discussed this once before in the context of the Torah's command לֹא-תוּכַל לֶאֱכֹל בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ, מַעְשַׂר דְּגָנְךָ וְתִירֹשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ, וּבְכֹרֹת בְּקָרְךָ, וְצֹאנֶךָ; וְכָל-נְדָרֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר תִּדֹּר, וְנִדְבֹתֶיךָ וּתְרוּמַת יָדֶךָ, to eat these items in Yerushalayim when you make aliya la'regel, not at home or on the road.  Rashi there comments that lo tuchal doesn't mean it's impossible to do (as the literal translation suggests), but rather that it's assur.  So why does the Torah use an expression that needs a peirush rashi instead of some other expression that clearly means it's assur?  Tiferes Shlomo explains that the Torah in hinting that you should feel that it's something impossible to do, that when you've experienced the kedushas Yerushalayim, you should say to yourself, "How can I possibly choose to eat these foods at home and not here in holiness?" 

So too here, explains the Sefas Emes, וְלֹא־יָכֹ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה לָבוֹא֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד כִּֽי־שָׁכַ֥ן עָלָ֖יו הֶעָנָ֑ן does not mean that it was impossible for Moshe to enter Ohel Moed because of some barrier stopping him, but rather he could not enter because mentally and emotionally he felt that he had no right to be in a place with such holiness.  His own mind was the barrier.  That's daas -- to understand where and when you belong and where and when you do not.  Moshe Rabeinu, for all his gadlus -- the man who took us out the Egypt, who split Yam Suf, who got the Torah, the greatest of nevi'im -- felt that he had no right to walk through the door of the Mishkan uninvited.  

A proof: the gemara (Sukkah 45b), speaking about Rashbi and his son, tells us:

וּדְמִסְתַּכְּלִי בְּאַסְפַּקְלַרְיָא הַמְּאִירָה מִי זוּטְרֵי כּוּלֵּי הַאי וְהָא אָמַר אַבָּיֵי לָא פָּחֵית עָלְמָא מִתְּלָתִין וְשִׁיתָּא צַדִּיקֵי דִּמְקַבְּלִי אַפֵּי שְׁכִינָה בְּכׇל יוֹם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר אַשְׁרֵי כׇּל חוֹכֵי לוֹ לוֹ בְּגִימַטְרִיָּא תְּלָתִין וְשִׁיתָּא הָווּ לָא קַשְׁיָא הָא דְּעָיְילִי בְּבַר הָא דְּעָיְילִי בְּלָא בַּר

Rashi explains: עיילי בלא בר. בלא רשות מועטים הן ובהנהו קאמר אני ובני מהם

I'm not interested now in the stira between whether only Moshe was zoche to ispaklarya ha'meira, as other gemaras indicate, vs what Rashbi was zoche to.  These things are above my pay grade.   But what we do see clearly is that Rashbi and kal v'chomer Moshe did not need permission to come in and go out!  They had reshus to come and go as they pleased.

Al korchacha וְלֹא־יָכֹ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה לָבוֹא֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד is not because Moshe was not allowed to enter without permission, but rather because he could not bring himself to enter.  And that's the lesson we should take away for ourselves.

Maybe it wouldn't be an idea to put a plaque up at the entrance to shuls with this pasuk לֹא־יָכֹ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה לָבוֹא֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד כִּֽי־שָׁכַ֥ן עָלָ֖יו הֶעָנָ֑ן.  A person goes to a neighbor or friend's house, he knocks at the door and waits for the host to invite them in, he waits to be offered food and drink, etc.  However, comes Shabbos morning, people walk into a shul and slam the door open to make sure eveyone takes note of their (late) arrival, they march right in like a melech, and the truly brazen feel free to stop off in the kitchen for a shot of schnaps and a piece of kugel along the way or when they need a break.  It's only Moshe Rabeinu who stands at the door trembling because he knows maybe coming into such a place of holiness is above his madreiga, but Joe Ploni barges in like he owns the place.  

That's just an extreme example, of course.  There are many more subtle examples of people thinking they are a bar hachi for whatever, they are ba'alei komah and such-and-such is befitting them, all because they lack the daas to have a little humility and tremble a bit.  Everyone can think on their own and apply the idea as they see fit.

The Kozhiglover quotes the Rashi לכל דברות ולכל אמירות ולכל ציווים קדמה קריאה and writes that the price of admission, so to speak, to Torah, to the amiros and tzivuyim and dibros, is feeling a sense of unworthiness, of humility.  That's why there is a little aleph in VaYikra, to hint to the smallness of ego that has to precede everything.  You wait to be called, you don't barge in.  That's how Moshe approached every encounter.  As Rashi writes later in Shmini (9:7), שהיה אהרן בוש וירא לגשת, אמר לו משה: מה אתה בוש לכך נבחרת.  L'kach nivcharta = because שהיה אהרן בוש, because of the humility, the lack of feeling entitled.  

Davka those who feel unworthy, those who feel a sense of awe and reverence, are the ones Hashem calls to and draws close.