Parsha Thoughts: Vayetzei 5776

Rabbi Silber shares a beautiful message from the Slonimer Rebbe (Nesivos Shalom). As a recognition of Gods faith and support in Yaakov’s mission to flee from Esav and embark on a very long and arduous life mission, Yaakov vows to elevate his earnings to God in the form of maaser, a tithe. The language is, “from all that you have given me…” and not simply from all earnings or material possessions. Our patriarch Yaakov is identifying for us a nuance in tithing that really sets the frame for our own life journey. The perspective of the Jew is that everything we have, whether it be earnings or talents or otherwise, ought to be elevated to the level of tithing and committed wholly to the service of the Ribono Shel Olam. This is true about money, but it is also true about everything else that we are fortunate enough to benefit from in this world.