There is a fundraising event that many women in our city of Minneapolis look forward to — the Bais Yaakov Annual Package Party. Each person brings a wrapped gift which is auctioned off and the funds are used to support Bais Yaakov. People invest time and money in purchasing attractive wrapping paper and elegant ribbon knowing that the wrapping will make the package more desirable.

Imagine the following unlikely scenario: A woman is impressed by a particular gift’s dazzling wrapping paper and stunning ribbon. She proceeds to bid and wins paying a lot of money for the gift. She brings the gift home and lovingly places it on her window sill. She is so enamored by the wrapping that she never unwraps the gift.

How foolish to think that all there is to the gift is the wrapping. Certainly the purpose of the wrapping is to enhance what is inside not to replace it.

The Package Party can be a metaphor for life. As we know everything in the ruchniyus world has a parallel in the physical world. Perhaps presents are a metaphor for the many gifts that Hashem showers upon us and unwrapping the presents is a metaphor for discovering the inner essence of each gift.

How foolish it would be for us to take the gifts in our life and appreciate them only in a superficial way without unwrapping them to discover their inner essence.

The Hebrew word for “world” is olam which is related to the word “he’elam” meaning hidden. Hashem is at the core of the world He is the life force of the world. But He hides himself. What a treasure we would uncover if we took the time to pierce through the layers of the wrapping to find the Ribono shel Olam inside every gift of our life.

The Maharal explains that the number seven represents the seven directions. North south east west up down — that makes six. Where is the seventh direction? The Maharal tells us that the seventh direction is the center. A box has six sides six directions. However it is the seventh direction the center that is the raison d’être of the box. The box has value only because of what is inside of it. The seventh direction is the pnimiyus that which lends meaning to everything around it.

It is only natural then that Shabbos should be the seventh day of the week since it is the center of Creation the inner core that gives meaning and purpose to all of time.

Our mission is to find the “seventh direction” in every aspect of our life to uncover the pnimiyus to find the Ribono shel Olam in all our gifts.

How do we do this?

If we can value our unique talents and abilities not only because they allow us to feel more successful and accomplished but because they are the tools we can use to connect to Hashem; if we can enjoy having a family not only for the pleasure and fulfillment it brings us but for the opportunity to emulate Hashem’s giving and to transmit His Torah; if we can be grateful for parnassah not only for the ability to live comfortably but for the opportunity to do ratzon Hashem — then we will have tapped into the pnimiyus of our gifts.

A talmid of the Chofetz Chaim Rav Shmuel Greineman related that the Chofetz Chaim’s motto was “maasai l’Melech — my actions are for the King” (Tehillim 45:2). The Chofetz Chaim would very often say these words dedicating all of his actions to the service of Hashem. When we remember to say and internalize the words “maasai l’Melech" — everything I do is for Hashem we too can connect to the ruchniyus potential within each gift and inject meaning and purpose into our life.

There is another important dimension as well to the concept of unwrapping the gifts in our life.

Certainly the greatest gift of all is Torah and mitzvos. However even the gift of Torah and mitzvos needs to be unwrapped. When we keep the mitzvos we must be careful not to perform them only externally. We must do our best to tap into the inner essence of the mitzvos.

What does this mean for us on a practical level?

First and foremost when we do a mitzvah we need to bring Hashem into the picture to think about the fact that it is Hashem Who commanded us to perform the mitzvah. This would seem to be very basic. And yet it is easy to fall into the all-too-common trap of performing a mitzvah by rote as mitzvas anashim melumadah with no thought of Hashem at all.  We must consciously and deliberately find the kedushah and the connection to Hashem in each mitzvah.

Additionally we need to keep in mind that the ultimate goal of a mitzvah is for the mitzvah to transform us. As Rabbi Zev Leff explains each mitzvah is a window that we can peer through to better understand what it is that Hashem wants us to become. Keeping mitzvos internally means seeing the mitzvos as a unified whole as expressions of Hashem’s will for Klal Yisrael to be kadosh and tahor. Each mitzvah is a different way for us to achieve Hashem’s vision for what we should become.

Chazal teach us “When Bnei Yisrael do the will of Hashem they are called sons. When they don’t do the will of Hashem they are called servants.” (Bava Basra 10a)

The above Chazal is very puzzling. Isn’t a servant defined as someone who obeys his master? Why are Klal Yisrael compared to servants when they do not do the will of Hashem?

Rabbi Leff explains that in both the above situations Bnei Yisroel are keeping the mitzvos. However they are not necessarily doing ratzon Hashem the will of Hashem. When we do ratzon Hashem and are tuned into what Hashem wants us to become as a result of the mitzvos then we are like sons who care about pleasing their father and who think about what they can do to make him happy. When we follow the commandments only for the sake of the commandments we are like servants who simply obey their master.

Rabbi Leff tells the story of a yungerman who excitedly told his wife that his rebbi Reb Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz would be their guest at the Friday night Shabbos seudah. He asked her to set the table beautifully with their best dishes and silver and to make sure that everything was neat and in order. His wife exhausted from the entire week lay down for a few minutes after licht bentchen and unfortunately slept until she was awakened by her husband’s knock as he returned home from shul with his esteemed rebbi. With toys strewn all over the floor and the table not yet set the wife hurriedly began to get things in order and set the table. In her haste she forgot to cover the challos.

As the family stood around the table ready to make Kiddush the yungerman saw that the challos were not covered. Perhaps because he thought that the uncovered challos would reflect badly on him or perhaps out of a general feeling of frustration he spoke harshly to his wife.

Reb Shraga Feivel approached his talmid after the seudah and asked him “Do you know why we have the minhag to cover the challos?”

“Certainly” replied the talmid. “It is so the challos won’t be embarrassed that we are making Kiddush over the wine before making the brachah over the challos.”

“Do the challos have feelings?” asked Reb Shraga Feivel. “Are they going to feel hurt? Certainly not. The ultimate goal is that we internalize the lesson of being sensitive to other people’s feelings and not embarrass them. Does it make sense to be makpid about covering the challos while simultaneously embarrassing your wife?”

Merely covering the challos is keeping the mitzvah externally; internalizing the lesson of covering the challos is keeping the mitzvah internally.

Next time we receive a gift and begin removing the layers of gift wrap perhaps we can take a moment to think about also removing the layers of externality in the many gifts of our life. Perhaps we can resolve to do our best to penetrate the externals and tap into the inner meaning and kedushah of Torah and mitzvos — most certainly the greatest gift of all.