Parshas Vayishlach
By Rabbi Dovid Zauderer
Rabbi Gamliel Rabinowitz shlitâ€a, a great Tzaddik (righteous person) and Kabbalist (mystic) in Jerusalem, tells the following true story:
After the Holocaust, a Jewish couple from Hungary emigrated to the United States to build for themselves a new home. In those days, it was very difficult for a Torah-observant Jew to find a job that didn’t involve working on Shabbos. Sadly, many Jews felt they had no choice so they began coming into work on Saturdays. This Hungarian couple, however, decided to open a small grocery store – this way, they could decide for themselves which days they would work and which days they would keep their little store closed.
And so it was that they opened a grocery store near their home – but not on Shabbos - and that was their livelihood. Many in the community – Jews and non-Jews - used to frequent their grocery store, since they recognized the couple’s honesty and integrity.
Years passed, until one day another Jewish person opened a grocery store right across the street from them, only this fellow was not observant, and kept his store open on Shabbos. For the non-Jews in the neighborhood it was easier to shop in the same store all week, so they began shopping at the grocery store that was open on Shabbos. Soon enough it came to a point where no one went into the first grocery store anymore.
But then – miracle of miracles! – all the original non-Jewish shoppers started returning to the first grocery store! What happened? It seems that the local priest had said in his Sunday morning sermon that “we respect those who keep their faith and who stand by their morals, so from now on, let’s only buy food from the Jew who keeps his store closed on the Sabbath!â€
In our generation – explains Rav Gamliel – it might be attractive and easy to follow whatever the non-Jewish world around us is doing, thinking as we may that the more we “fit in†the more they will “like usâ€.
However, we must remember that even though our gentile neighbors seem to want us to become more assimilated into their culture (and especially in the U.S. and Canada), deep down in their heart of hearts many of them have a greater respect for those Jews who stick to their religion than they do for those who drop their religion so that they can fit in.
Rav Gamliel suggests that perhaps this is the meaning of the message that Jacob sent on ahead to his twin brother and nemesis Esau in this week’s Torah portion, when he told him: “Im Lavan garti … I have ‘sojourned’ with Laban and have lingered until now … and I am sending to tell my lord to find favor in your eyes†(see Genesis 32:5-6).
Rashi cites the Midrash which points out that the numerical value of the Hebrew word “garti†- spelled gimmel, reish, tuf, yud, - is 613. [Gimmel = 3, reish = 200, tuf = 400, yud =10 totaling 613.] Thus, Jacob was telling Esau, “Though I have sojourned with Laban, I have observed the 613 Divine commandments ...†And the message to Esau was that he shouldn’t expect Jacob to drop even one of the Torah’s commandments, seeing as Jacob did that the only way for him to truly find favor and gain respect in the eyes of his non-Jewish neighbors was not by “fitting in†but rather by “sticking out†and sticking to his own religion and observing all of its commandments, come what may.
Wow! What an important lesson for all us Jews today living in a society in which intermarriage and assimilation rates are skyrocketing!
Allow me to conclude with the following delightful (and true) short story which I believe perfectly illustrates this lesson. Enjoy!
The Prince, the Queen, and the Rabbi
A number of years ago, Rabbi Marvin Hier was invited to a very special dinner in Victoria, British Columbia [Canada] with Queen Elizabeth II of England [together with other Commonwealth nations] and her husband, Prince Phillip. [Ed. note: Rabbi Moshe "Marvin" Hier is the dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, its Museum of Tolerance, and of Moriah, the Center's film division, in Los Angeles, California.]
He informed the organizers that although he was quite touched and flattered by the invitation, he would be unable to attend because of his special dietary needs. But the Canadian government held Rabbi Hier [who led the orthodox Shaarei Tzedek Congregation in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, from 1964-1977,] in great esteem. They were willing to accommodate his every wish. And so, they assured him that he would have his own set of kosher dishes and cutlery, and of course, special kosher food.
Greeted by Queen Elizabeth herself, Rabbi Hier and his wife were quite honored to attend a dinner of such dignitaries. But, to their chagrin, after the first course, in an effort to allow all the guests to acquaint themselves with one another, all the guests were asked to move to another seat.
A nice idea, but not for the Rabbi and his wife. For them it created quite a problem. What would he now do about his kosher food and utensils? Although it would look strange, he and his wife decided that they were going to have to bring along their dishes and cutlery to whichever seat they moved to. Indeed, there were those who stared and thought it to be quite strange and even rude. In fact, one unaffiliated Jew was quite disturbed by the Chillul Hashem (“desecration of G-d's Nameâ€). How could it be that the Rabbi would act in such a difficult manner when the royal family had gone to such great lengths to accommodate him, he challenged.
Regardless of what it looked like, the Rabbi was not about to compromise on his standards. And so, he brought his plate with him wherever he went. The Queen and her husband walked about the room greeting the various dignitaries. And when Prince Phillip noticed the Rabbi standing with his plate in his hands, he asked about the peculiar behavior.
Rabbi Hier explained why he had to carry around his dishes and utensils, and his explanation impressed the prince. Expressing curiosity as to the details of this religious practice, the prince and the rabbi engaged in a relatively lengthy discussion about the laws of keeping kosher. Eager to share this new revelation, Prince Phillip even included Queen Elizabeth in the conversation.
Shortly thereafter, seeing how well received the Rabbi was, this non-religious fellow decided that he, too, would capitalize on his Jewishness. He approached Prince Phillip and introduced himself as another Jew. But the prince looked at him disapprovingly and asked him one piercing question: "If you are a Jew, then where are your dishes?"
Needless to say, the embarrassed fellow sheepishly walked away.
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=594