Heading home from the International Shluchim Conference last week, I was checking through security at JFK airport in New York. The TSA agent checking my identification looked me up and down and then had a second look at my driver’s license. “There are Jews in Idaho?!” he asked incredulously. “Yes, that’s where I live,” I replied simply. “You must be Chabad,” he commented quickly.
From his pronunciation I quickly gathered that he himself was Jewish. “Indeed, I serve as the Chabad rabbi in Boise and I’m returning home from a Chabad conference,” I explained.
“Wow… Soon there is going to be a Shul on the moon and it will be Chabad,” he said. I smiled and continued through security.
***
In this week’s parsha, Vayishlach, we read about Jacob’s quarrel with a stranger. This stranger, we are taught, was the angel of his brother Esau. The Torah tells us, “And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.” Jacob wins the battle, but not without permanent damage to his thigh.
The Sages of the Talmud wonder why Jacob was left alone in this encounter. Was he not with his family, servants and perhaps others? The Talmud explains that, according to tradition, Jacob reversed course and crossed the river for the sake of some small jars he had left behind.
What was so important about some small jars that Jacob felt it was imperative to return for them? After all he was exceedingly wealthy, and had greater concerns to reckon with (such as a brother advancing with 400 warriors). True, we can see the lesson of never wasting, but is that the essence of it? Was that all Jacob was pursuing? And if so, why not send a servant to fetch the jars?
The Chassidic masters explain that Jacob was not in pursuit of the monetary gain achieved by recovering the jars, but by the spiritual gain. Jacob saw in his material possessions the "sparks of holiness" inherent within them. These sparks are redeemed and elevated when the object they inhabit is utilized for a constructive, sacred purpose. Jacob asserted that the very fact that Divine Providence has caused them to come into his possession indicates that their redemption is integral to his personal mission in life.
Ultimately, Jacob saw these seemingly insignificant jars as highly significant to his personal destiny. This drove him to recover them, and to do so himself.
***
In our own age, we have the great fortune of being inspired and led by example of our own Jacob. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, in his unmatched love for every person, sent Shluchim (emissaries) around the globe. He did not suffice with Rabbis in the hubs of Jewish life. He would not relent until the entire Jewish world is saturated with Torah and good deeds. To this end, his mission continues today.
To the Rebbe there are no small jars. And there are no small Jews. And there are no small places.
***
Tragically, last week, I lost another friend. My fellow colleague, Rabbi Levi Deitsch of Tysons Corner, Virginia succumbed to cancer after a three-year struggle. His love for his fellow, passion for his community and fulfilling the Rebbe’s dream were palpable. He was a people’s person, making friends with everybody. He will be sorely missed by all.
Perhaps one of his greatest virtues was his insatiable thirst to help others. You did not have to know Levi well to be on the receiving end of his friendship, his constant smile and his generosity.
To Levi – perhaps as the paradigm of a follower of the Rebbe – there were no small jars. No “small” friends. Levi had time and energy for everyone, to his last days.
***
Ultimately, Jacob prevails in his epic tussle and is renamed Yisroel/Israel, reflecting spiritual dominance.
Ultimately, we need to ask ourselves, “What have I overlooked today?” Am I screening all items in the checkpoint of life, or am I letting some items slip through unnoticed?
In doing so, we won’t only be helping the world around us and others, but also helping ourselves meet our own spiritual calling.