Dear Community,
 
BringThemHome – Day 433
 
The small things matter.
 
This is the nuanced message that underpins a much larger narrative in our parasha this week.
 
Jacob has left his father-in-law Laban’s home, replete with wealth that he carefully cultivated under the most constraining of circumstances. He also now has an almost complete family – 4 wives, 11 sons and a daughter (Benjamin is yet to be born) – and he is faced with a first reunion with his brother Esau, after Jacob claimed the firstborn blessings from their father, Isaac.
 
In preparation, Jacob assumes a three-pronged approach: sending gifts to Esau ahead of him, splitting his camp into two in case of attack, and praying.
 
He leads his family and flocks across the Yabok river, but returns to the other side alone, where he ends up fighting an adversary the whole night.
 
The ‘man’ is described as Esau’s guardian angel, and the fight is arduous, leaving Jacob injured but still viable. But why did he go back alone?
 
The Talmud tell us (Chulin 91a) that, as a righteous man, Jacob had forgotten “small containers” and went back to retrieve them because “…to a righteous person, his possessions are more precious than his own body, as he would never steal what was not rightfully his”.
 
The message here is that despite his wealth, he paid attention and cared for even the smallest objects. His sensitivity to those, even at a time of heightened tension and anxiety over meeting his brother (evidenced by the tremendous efforts in pre-planning for their encounter) is a message that is a subtle as it is powerful.
 
In the continuing challenges of the coming weeks and months, there are many things that our community and country will be contending with – whether domestic, international, political, religious or otherwise
 
The volume of complaints will be turned up as it has been for over a year, but it is the capacity to still see through to the small details – the real heart of the challenges – that will define whether we are entitled to call ourselves the Children of Israel or not.
 
Jacob’s name is changed by his night-long adversary – from Jacob to Israel – in recognition of the divine nature of the encounter:
 
“And he said, your name shall be called no more Ya῾aqov, but Yisra᾽el: for you have contended with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
 
May we have the strength and resilience to contend with our own challenges, but still have the wherewithal to notice the “small things” and be grateful for them as well.
 
Shabbat shalom uMevorach