Parshas Vayishlach
By Rabbi Dovid Zauderer
It’s that time of year again, when everyone will be looking to purchase all kinds of holiday gifts for their friends and relatives.
Did you know that Americans will likely spend over $1 trillion (!) on the holidays this year? US consumers tell Gallup pollsters they plan to spend an average of $942 on holiday gifts this year – $57 more than last year.
In related news, Cyber Monday (“Cyber Monday†is a marketing term for the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States) just became the biggest online shopping day in U.S. history, with consumers spending $10.8 billion online, according to Adobe Analytics. Purchases totaled $12 million a minute between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. PT, with around 37 percent of total purchases coming from smartphones as more shoppers migrate to buying on social media.
Talk about spending a lot of money on gifts for relatives … check out the massive gift that our forefather Jacob gave to his twin brother Esau, as recorded in this week’s Torah portion, Parshas Vayishlach:
“… He [Jacob] then took, from that which had come in his hand, a gift for Esau, his brother: Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats; two hundred ewes and twenty rams; thirty nursing camels with their colts; forty cows and ten bulls; twenty she-donkeys and ten he-donkeys ….†(Genesis 32:14-16).
I wonder how Jacob sent all those animals to Esau? Amazon Prime Rib? And what blessing did Esau recite upon receiving them? Birkas H-Amazon?
All kidding aside … Do you remember the famous and highly successful “Priceless†ad campaign by MasterCard in the late 1990’s? Well, here’s my own version of the ad, inspired by a recent Friday night Shabbos meal:
Oculus - Quest 2 Advanced All-in-One Virtual Reality Headset $525
Apple iPhone 12 $979
Moose Knuckle Parka $1395
The family sitting together at a Shabbos meal… PRICELESS
There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else there’s MasterCard.
Yes, folks, it’s really true … there are things which all the riches of the world simply cannot buy. And sitting together with one’s family at the Shabbos table (especially on Friday night) is one of them.
Spending time together at the Shabbos table on the weekend is especially critical when you consider how little time families spend together during the workweek.
Families today spend less quality time together, contributing to negative youth development, poor family fitness and lack of family communication and trust. This is a growing issue because when there is a lack of family quality together time many youths get involved in risky and delinquent activities, family’s health and wellness is passed over and forgotten, and family's either do not trust one another or do not know how to work together as one.
Truth be told, there is something spiritual about a Shabbos meal together with family that just can’t be recreated at any other time. The magic of this meal is a combination of many factors – everyone is dressed up in their Shabbos finery, a traditional Shabbos meal is served, Shabbos songs (called Zemiros in Hebrew) are sung, and words of Torah are shared by both adults and children – making the Shabbos meal a truly unique and priceless experience.
I would like to conclude with a beautiful excerpt about the lofty and spiritual nature of the Shabbos table from the book Living Shabbos by Rabbi David Sutton (and which one of my daughters read to all of us at the Shabbos table on Friday night a few weeks ago!):
“Our Sages teach us that on Shabbos, wherever we are, we are in a Beis HaMikdash (“Holy Templeâ€) of sorts. Indeed, a number of commandments we observe on Shabbos are intended to turn our homes into a mikdash, a holy place.
“The woman lights the Shabbos candles, which correspond to the candles of the Menorah (“Candelabrumâ€) that were lit in the Temple, and the loaves of challah bread on the Shabbos table resemble the “show bread†on the Shulchan (“Tableâ€) in the Temple. On Shabbos there is a special requirement of shalom bayis (lit., “domestic harmonyâ€), to maintain an atmosphere of peace and serenity, which brings the presence of the Shechinah (“Divine Presenceâ€) into the home, just as the Shechinah rested over the Aron (“Holy Arkâ€) in the Mikdash.
“Thus, although we should always endeavor throughout the week to turn our home into a repository of holiness, there is a special requirement on Shabbos to transform our home into a mini Beis HaMikdash.
“Now we all understand that the way we speak and conduct ourselves in an important place, and certainly in a holy place, must be of a different quality and standard. It is true that many people unfortunately fail to exercise the proper restraint in the synagogue and engage in conversation, but nevertheless, it is commonly understood and acknowledged that this is inappropriate. A sacred place demands a level of reverence and raising our standards. It thus follows that on Shabbos, when throughout the day we are in a “zone†of holiness, we must raise the standards of conduct and conversation.
“This is especially important as we sit at the Shabbos table, which we should be aware is compared to the Shulchan in the Mikdash. Just as it is inappropriate to infringe upon the sanctity of the synagogue through idle chatter and frivolity, similarly, we must ensure not to degrade the sanctity of the Shabbos table through inappropriate talk.
“We should make an effort to “elevate†the standard of talk at our Shabbos table, by spending time discussing words of Torah, and relating inspiring and uplifting stories about special people.â€
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