KIRUV LEARNING MATERIAL [#17241]

December 9, 2021

QUESTION:

What should I learn with someone who is just starting to draw close to Judaism? Should I learn Torah with him, or halachah, or mussar? Or should I discuss with him the purpose of life and why we’re here on the world, etc.?

ANSWER:

It depends on his personality, so there are no ironclad rules for this.
WHY DO TZADDIKIM CARE ABOUT THEIR POSSESSIONS ?
Rashi in Parshas Vayishlach says that Yaakov Avinu went back for the small jugs that he left behind, because the tzaddikim “value their money more than their body”. How can it be that tzaddikim care about their physical and monetary possessions, and why would they care more about this than their own physical lives?
ANSWER
It is because parts of their soul are bound with their money, enabling their money to exist. It is not because they feel a connection to their physical objects. Even more so, a tzaddik purifies his physical existence and therefore even his physical acquisitions are important to him, because they become sanctified like an animal becomes a korbon. And the holiness that comes upon their money and acquisitions is greater than the holiness that comes upon their body.