No matter how many times I’ve done it before, attending the annual Shluchim conference in New York is always special. Sitting at a table with friends and strangers, I realize that I am part of something so much larger than myself.
We all have a mission in life, a purpose or calling for which we were created. In this sense we cannot be more different than one another. Nobody can replace my mission and I cannot serve in their stead.
On the other hand, we all share the same purpose. We all serve collectively toward the same goal of making this world a G-dly place.
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In this week’s parsha, Chayei Sarah, we learn of the first Shlichut, mission, in the Torah. Avraham charged his right-hand man, Eliezer, with a mission to find a suitable wife for his son Yitzchak. Interestingly, the first time the Torah teaches us the importance of serving as an emissary, it is in reference to marriage. Eliezer was careful not to deviate one iota from Avraham’s instructions.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that this mission to help Yitzchak create a family was the first mission in the Torah because procreation is emblematic of Torah and Mitzvot. Creating children brings physical beings into this world. Doing a mitzvah creates spiritual energy, the “children” of the mitzvah.
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As I meet Rabbis from around the globe, on a mission to add Torah and mitzvot in all corners of the world, I am awed at the impact of holiness. I am amazed at the spiritual ripple they are creating.
Thanks to the foresight, leadership and love of the Rebbe, the first mission of the Torah is an ongoing mission, a mission you and I are continuing.
Let’s keep the flame alive, with another mitzvah!