Yaakov remained alone (Bereshis 32:25)
He had forgotten some small jars and he returned for them. – RASHI

How much is a dollar worth?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of blessed memory, used to greet people for hours every day and give them a dollar to give to tzedaka. Many people gave a different dollar to tzedaka and kept this dollar bill they received from the Rebbe. I personally never met the Rebbe. I do know a few people who did and they happily display the dollar they got. How much is this dollar worth? According to the American Government, it is worth 100 pennies, 20 nickels, 10 dimes, 4 quarters, or 2 half dollars. Then why do my friends display this dollar with so much joy? A person cannot even buy a slice of pizza with this dollar! The reason is because to these people this dollar is worth more than a mere 100 cents. It is a gift from a Sage and therefore, it is not something they want to treat lightly.

Yaakov Avinu was traveling with his family, when he realized he left a few jars at the last campsite. He leaves his family and puts his life in danger to get these few jars. Are these jars, which are worth a few cents, really something a person should have risked his life to get? Yaakov was extremely wealthy at this time and would not have become poor by leaving the jars behind! The reason Yaakov went back, though, was because these were not just worthless jars. Yaakov realized everything he received in this world did not come to him through his own hands, but through G-d’s Hands. G-d gave Yaakov everything he had, including these small jars. Therefore, although these jars seemed like they were only worth a few cents, to Yaakov they were an extremely precious gift. They were like getting a dollar from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of blessed memory.

I once heard a story of a woman who was in a toy store with one of her children. The child wanted to buy a small toy which was only a few dollars. This woman’s husband is now a famous Rabbi, but earlier in life was a very successful businessman. They literally have millions of dollars and their budget would not have noticed at all if they spent the few dollars to get the small toy. This righteous woman, though, thought back and forth for a few minutes if the child really needed the toy. I don’t know if the toy was bought in the end, but that does not matter. The moral is this woman learned the lesson from Yaakov Avinu about the value of money. Everything is a gift of G-d, so I have no right to throw it away on something that is useless. Of course, we are allowed to spend money to buy things, but before we spend our money, we should remember it is a gift from G-d. We should think if this is something we need or something we want. (By the way, included in things we need is also something we need to keep ourselves emotionally and psychologically well. There is no problem taking vacations or buying luxuries if this is something that is really necessary.) The lesson of Yaakov is do not throw away your money. Before we buy something, let’s think if we really need it.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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