Sarah’s life is not really discussed in this week’s parsha, Chayei Sarah, literally translated as the Life of Sarah. Yet, it’s precisely the life of a tsaddik, whose primary focus on earth is spiritual, that outlives the body in a far greater way than the rest of us. Being such a righteous woman, Sarah’s life continued long after she had passed.
As I spend a weekend in New York, along with thousands of my colleagues, at the annual Shluchim conference, I am reminded about the life of a tsaddik.
I spent an hour today waiting in line at the Rebbe’s Ohel together with a student from Cherry Gulch boarding school in Emmett, Idaho. He turned to me and said, “Rabbi, why are so many people here today visiting the Rebbe’s gravesite?”
“These,” I replied, “Are the Rebbe’s soldiers. The soldiers are continuing the mission. And every once in a while they report back to the general.”
Just as Sarah, our Matriarch, influenced generations beyond her lifetime, the Rebbe continues to influence Jews and non-Jews of all walks of life.
Just as Sarah’s life continues in a very practical sense, the Rebbe’s life continues.
We are all the soldiers in G-d’s army. Let’s report for duty!