As you may know, this week our family was blessed with a wonderful new addition; a precious new baby boy. For the past few days I have been “holding down the fort” single handedly. (Well, almost; I have the help of six very involved children). Here’s the thing, when Goldie is home and in control, everything miraculously appears in it’s place at the right time. We never run out of the random basics in the house and everyone is happy.
Last night, when I suddenly realized that I had no more garbage bags, I realized once again how much happens here beneath the radar. Often it’s the littlest and most insignificant items that are really important and I’m very lucky that Goldie usually ensures that they’re all in place.
If you’ve read my emails before you know that I manage to relate everything to the weekly Torah portion - and this is no exception. This week we read about Jacob finally heading home to the land of (then) Canaan. During his more than 20 years away he had grown into a large family and accumulated immense wealth (both physically and spiritually).
Along the way he is informed that his wicked brother Esau still hates him and is heading toward him with a powerful army. Jacob hopes for the best and sends gifts of goodwill to his brother; but prepares for the worst and organizes his camp for war.
The night before the dramatic encounter, the Torah relates a peculiar event: Jacob was crossing a river and assisting his family to do so too. Everyone was safely across when he realized that he had left some small jugs back on the other side. So he headed back to get them and ended up encountering an enigmatic “man,” who turned out to be Esau’s guardian angel, who wrestled with him the entire night.
Now, why would Jacob, who is extremely wealthy and is in the midst of tense battle preparations, decide to cross back over the river for mere jugs? He certainly could easily have ordered a few replacements on Amazon (or the ancient equivalent)?
Perhaps Jacob understood something that I finally came to realize last night; the small things are not so small. I don’t usually think about garbage bags, but when I needed them and they we’re not there, I suddenly realized their importance.
Not to compare Jewish observance to garbage bags. However, we often downplay the importance of doing mitzvot the proper way. Does it really matter if I light Shabbat Candles at precisely 4:25pm tonight (in Folsom/EDH)? What if I can’t get home until my usual 6:00pm? Do I really have to tie the tefillin in a particular manner? Isn’t the intention most important?
Jacob appreciated the value of even the seemingly small details, he understood that serving G-d is intentional and deliberate; everything has it’s purpose. When we approach life as truly and inherently valuable, we realize that our actions and choices have to be purposeful. Even the seemingly insignificant actions hold value and are part of the plan.