Once, a man came to visit the Maggid of Mezritch. He was extremely surprised to see how empty the Maggid's house was. There was hardly any furniture; the tables, chairs, and beds were made of simple wooden planks or firewood. The man couldn't contain himself and asked the Maggid why the house was so empty.
The Maggid replied, "And where is your furniture?""
""At my house, of course.".
""Why don't you have one with you?" continued the Maggid.
The man looked at the Maggid in surprise.
""I'm on a business trip right now. Surely, a person doesn't need their furniture when they're in the middle of a trip!""
The Maggid smiled. "I too am on a journey. This world and all its possessions are only temporary.".
Jacob was sending the same message to Esau. He sent messengers to Esau, instructing them to give his brother gifts and tell him, "I lived with Laban and remained there until now. I acquired many possessions—bulls, donkeys, sheep, and servants.""
Rashi tells us that the word "I lived" (garti, (in Hebrew) has a deeper message.
The Hebrew letters of the word garti They are gimel, reish, taf, and yud. We find the same letters in the word tariag. Tarag is the equivalent of the number 613, the 613 Mitzvot of the Torah.
Jacob's message, Rashi explains, was "I lived with Laban for many years, but I was not influenced by him. I observed the mitzvot and lived my life according to the Torah.".
The words garti y tariag They are not connected simply because they have the same letters. There are other Hebrew words that mean "to live.""
Jacob could have used another word. But he chose garti, which comes from the root war - a stranger, a person who knows they are not really at home.
Jacob was saying that everything he had earned while working for Laban—the bulls, donkeys, sheep, and servants—wasn't really important. All the time he lived there, he was like a stranger, because working for these things was the most important thing in his life.
Jacob's real life centered on the neshamá - the soul. All his possessions were things with which he lived in, not for which he lived. He was telling Eisav, "I'm worried about things that are permanent, things that really matter.".
All the time we, the children of Jacob, are in exile, we too are strangers. While we may be successful and prosperous, this is not what we truly live for. Like Jacob, our lives should be centered on our souls. This is what truly matters to a Jew.
Extracted from Please tell me what the Rebbe says.