Weekly Dvar Torah: The First Shliach—and the Thousands Who Followed
From Sarah’s Tears to the Kinus Hashluchim
This Shabbos, thousands of the Rebbe’s Shluchim from across the globe gather in Crown Heights for the annual Kinus Hashluchim.
From Alaska to Zanzibar, from Ukraine to India, they come together with one mission: to bring G-dliness into every corner of the world and reach every Jewish soul.
Interestingly, this week’s Parsha, Chayei Sarah, tells us exactly what their mission is all about.
It begins with tears.
Sarah Imeinu passes away, and the Torah tells us: “Avrohom came to eulogize Sarah and to weep for her.”
The Zohar explains that Avrohom represents the Neshama, the soul, while Sarah represents the Guf, the physical body.
When the body dies, the soul cries.
Why?
Because the Neshama needs the body to fulfill its Divine mission!
Hashem didn’t send the soul into this world simply to enjoy spiritual experiences. For that, there are angels in Heaven.
Hashem wants Mitzvos performed in this physical world. Tefillin require the hide of an animal. Shabbos candles need physical wicks and oil. Tzedakah requires actual money placed into another person’s hand.
Without the physical world, the Neshama cannot accomplish its mission.
And that brings us to the second extraordinary story in our Parsha.
Avrohom sends his servant Eliezer to find a wife for Yitzchok.
The Torah describes Eliezer’s journey in remarkable detail. His arrival at the well, his prayers, his encounter with Rivkah, and the entire conversation are recorded. Then, when Eliezer meets Rivkah’s family, the Torah repeats practically the entire story!
Our Sages ask: Why such extraordinary repetition, when so many important laws of the Torah are expressed in just a few words?
Because this wasn’t simply a matchmaking expedition.
Eliezer was the first Shliach, entrusted with a mission that would shape the future of the Jewish people.
The marriage of Yitzchok and Rivkah represents the union of two seemingly opposite worlds: the spiritual and the physical.
Through marriage, two individuals unite and become partners with Hashem in bringing new life into the world.
And this is precisely the purpose of creation, as Chassidus explains: Dirah B’Tachtonim—to transform this physical world into a dwelling place for Hashem.
Eliezer was sent to bring about that union.
And the Rebbe’s Shluchim continue that very mission today.
But what does this look like in real life?
I remember meeting Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm, the indefatigable Shliach to Zhitomir, Ukraine, on Kingston Avenue during the Kinus.
For years, he and his wife built Jewish life through schools, orphanages, soup kitchens, and programs caring for Jews materially and spiritually.
When war erupted in Ukraine, he helped evacuate his orphanage and community to safety in Ashkelon, Israel.
Then war reached Israel, and families had to relocate again, this time to Kfar Chabad.
I asked him, “So where are you now?”
His answer reflected the very essence of Shlichus.
Whether Zhitomir, Ashkelon, or Kfar Chabad, he explained, it makes no difference. Wherever his community goes, his mission goes with them.
A Shliach doesn’t abandon his Neshamos.
And here the two stories of our Parsha become one.
Like Avrohom mourning Sarah, the Shliach feels the pain of a Jewish soul deprived of the opportunity to fulfill its purpose.
Like Eliezer, he travels wherever necessary to unite the spiritual with the physical, transforming another home, another community, another corner of the world into a dwelling place for Hashem.
He provides food for the hungry and Tefillin for the spiritually hungry. He cares for the body and the soul.
This Shabbos, the Hayom Yom of 27 Cheshvan reminds us:
“Love a fellow Jew, and G-d will love you. Do a favor for a fellow Jew, and G-d will do a favor for you.”
Thousands of Shluchim don’t merely teach these words.
They live them.
And through their dedication, the Rebbe’s mission of preparing the entire world for Moshiach becomes a living reality.
Have a Shabbos of Love and Caring, filled with the Spirit of Shlichus!
Gut Shabbos
Rabbi Yosef Katzman
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