Holy Commerce On the final day of his life, as an introduction to the blessing to his beloved people, Moses describes G-d coming to Sinai to give the Torah to the Jewish people: The Lord came from Sinai and shone forth from Seir to them; He appeared from Mount Paran and came with some of the holy myriads; from His right hand was a fiery Law for them. (33:2) But why does Moses mention that G-d came from Seir and Paran? Quoting the Midrash, Rashi explains: And shone forth from Seir to them. Because God first offered the children of Esau [who dwelled in Seir] that they accept the Torah, but they did not want to accept it. From Mount Paran. Because He went there and offered the children of Ishmael [who dwelled in Paran] to accept the Torah, but they [also] did not want [to accept it]. While historically some have understood this Midrash as indicating that once the nations rejected the Torah, the Torah belonged exclusively to the Jewish people, the Rebbe taught that the intention of the Midrash is precisely the opposite. The Midrash reminds us that the message of the Torah and its values are not exclusive to the Jewish people. The Torah's purpose is to influence all of humanity. Indeed, later in the series of blessings, we read of Moses’ blessing to the tribe of Zevulun, who were seafaring merchants. Moses describes how, through the commercial connections they would establish with the nations of the world, they would inspire the nations' curiosity to visit the temple in Jerusalem, and ultimately be influenced by the Jewish people and the Torah. As Rashi explains: They will call people to the mountain: Through Zebulun’s commerce, merchants of the world’s nations will come to his land. Now Zebulun is located at the border, so these merchants will say, “Since we have taken so much trouble to reach here, let us go to Jerusalem and see what the God of this nation is like and what they do.” And they see all Israel worshipping one God and eating one kind of food [i.e., only what is permissible to them, and they will be astonished], because [among] the nations, the deity of one is not like the deity of another, and the food of one is not like the food of another. So they will say, “There is no nation as worthy as this one!” Consequently, they will convert to Judaism there, as our verse says, “there, they will offer up righteous sacrifices”. As we read the final Parsha of the Torah on Simchat Torah, the Torah reminds us of our mission to share the values of the Torah with all of humanity. But how does this influence actually happen? Influencing others does not necessarily mean engaging in philosophical debates or preaching. Like Zevulun, we influence by living our ordinary lives imbued with the values of the Torah. And perhaps, Moses’ blessing alludes to another critical point. In Judaism, there is no dichotomy between the mundane and the holy, between the physical and the spiritual. The purpose of Judaism is to infuse every aspect of creation with holiness and connection to the Divine. So yes, while Zevulun is invested in international commerce, the commerce itself has a spiritual purpose as well: to use the material possessions themselves, as well as our interactions and the connections we forge, to bring ourselves and the rest of the world closer to G-d and the purpose of creation.
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