When my parents got married they moved to Tokyo. My Father was tasked with the management of the Tokyo branch of his company. This is how two German Jews, one who grew up in Israel and the other who was raised in London, ended up for a five year stint in the Far East. It was not an easy posting. My parents had to ship Kosher frozen meat from the States twice a year. Getting the accoutrements for Jewish living was challenging. One year, the Matza that had been ordered for Passover was stuck in customs until a few hours before the holiday.
Being an observant Jew in Japan held many challenges but was also the grist for many a story.
One of my Father’s favorite stories happened a few years into their sojourn.
My Father got a frantic call from a young American observant Jewish man who was in Kobe Japan for business. He and his new bride had come to Kobe for a few months to engage in the pearl trade. As they were setting up their home they wanted to take their dishes and little cooking utensils to the Mikva, a ritual pool. This is a Jewish law that certain items coming in contact with food need to be immersed in a ritual pool prior to use. Since the closest Mikva was in Tokyo, this young couple took advantage of the fact that a natural body of water is also used for this purpose, and they had gone down to the pier to immerse their dishes. Shortly after they began dunking the dishes they heard a loud commotion and were shocked to see a horde of police headed their way. The police were shouting and brandishing their weapons and the couple was arrested and taken in to custody. Unfortunately, their Japanese was close to nonexistent and they were frightened and did not know what they had done to deserve arrest. I suppose that the Japanese also allow one phone call because the young man did exactly what I would’ve done under this circumstance, and called my Dad. My Father was fluent in Japanese and was known by the visiting foreign businessmen as a resource in times of need.
So this man, Mr. Green, called my Dad in a panic. My Father told him to put the officer on the line. The policeman explained that there had been a rash of sabotage occurring at the pier. Boats were being targeted by what he called “plate bombs”, bombs that were flat discs and resembled plates. Nefarious characters were taking these plate bombs and planting on the hulls of ships which would then detonate and cause serious damage. When they saw the young couple dunking the dishes, the authorities assumed the worst and thought they had caught the saboteurs.
Now my Father was in a bind. How was he going to explain the very strange and bizarre behavior of his compatriots?
And then he came upon the exact words to convince the police of the innocence of the couple. He explained that they were doing a water purification ritual. When the police heard that they apparently started smiling. In Shintoism there is a concept of water purification rituals and my Dad was literally speaking their language. They understood the concept, had a good laugh and allowed the couple out of their cell.
This was no laughing matter.
A few minutes later and the couple would have been charged with espionage, an offense punishable with death.
Hard to imagine that a few dishes could wreak such havoc?!?

This week’s Torah portion is called VaYishlach. It continues the story of Jacob’s journey. After marrying his wives and amassing a fortune, Jacob decides it is time to return home. But every step of Jacob’s journey is fraught with challenges. He hears that his brother Esau is coming to meet him with a company of soldiers. It looks as though there will be a confrontation which could be fatal for Jacob and his family. In an attempt to mollify his brother, Jacob sends him bast amounts of livestock as a gift. Jacob also prays for his survival also prepares for tactical warfare should it become necessary.
The night before the encounter with Esau was supposed to take place the Torah tells us that Jacob was left alone.
Our Sages ask how could Jacob be alone at this point? He was encamped with his family and they had just crossed a river to continue their trek.
It turns out that Jacob left the family encampment and crossed back over the river to retrieve some small dishes and utensils that he had left behind.
It is quite incomprehensible.
Why would Jacob return for a few dishes whose value is negligible, when that retrieval would leave him vulnerable to attack. Why would he let a few dishes wreak such havoc?
At a time when the whole family’s life is at stake, why would Jacob go back to fetch such inconsequential items at this time?
Our Sages teach us that this story provides a lesson on how we are to interact with our belongings and assets.
This brings us to another point.
We are prohibited from being jealous of another’s possessions. This seems counterintuitive. How can one be prohibited from a feeling?
The lesson in these questions focuses on the reality that all we have is given to us, is what Gd deems for us to have to complete our unique mission.
If we have that understanding, then we aren’t jealous because the assets of another are not what we need for our own personalized journey.
And on the other hand, the items that are gifted to us are precious and important because they are what Gd has deemed instruments we need for our own mission.
So when Jacob realized that he had left behind those small dishes he had to go get them because they were intrinsic to his mission, gifted by Gd.
If we use our assets properly in service of Gd then watching over them will bring no harm.
There is a story told of a great Sage who was hosting a beautiful meal for many guests. The table was set much fine crystal and beautiful china dishes and plates.
A guest accidentally pulled the tablecloth and everything on the table went crashing to the ground. The Rabbit calmly started cleaning up and said to the guest that he shouldn’t worry, nothing had broken. The other guests were shocked at the Rabbi’s denial, all the dishes had fallen to the ground. Yet as they began helping with the cleanup, the guests realized that the Rabbi was indeed correct, not a single item had broken.
The Rabbi explained that all the items had been paid for properly, nothing had been gained by illegitimate means or by causing pain to another and therefore they had attained a status above nature and the dishes did not break.
(Please don’t try this in your own home!)
The mindset we can learn from Jacob is that even the small items we own are gifts from Above and we must strive to use them wisely and value them properly.
A postscript to my Dad’s story of the dishes. When I was newly married, we had neighbors who became good friends. In the course of conversation, I once mentioned that I was born in Japan. While that usually elicits a surprised reaction, my new friend responded that she was “Made in Japan” as her Mom became pregnant while her parents were living in Japan for work. After a few more moments of conversation I came to the shocking realization, who this was.
You guessed it.
Her maiden name was Green, and it was her parents that were the protagonists of my Father’s story.
He hadn’t made it up!
(I will admit that sometimes I wondered)!
Sometimes it’s the little things in life that are the clues to what’s really important!
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!