Shluchim
The Rebbe my father told someone at yechidus: Ever since G-d told our father Avraham, “Go from your land etc.” and it is then written “Avram kept travelling southward,” we have the beginning of the mystery of birurim. By decree of Divine Providence man goes about his travels to the place where the “sparks” that he must purify await their redemption.
Tzadikim, who have vision, see where their birurim await them and go there deliberately. As for ordinary folk, The Cause of all causes and the Prime Mover brings about various reasons and circumstances that bring these people to that place where lies their obligation to perform the avoda of birurim. – Hayom Yom, Cheshvan 1
For me, “a Jew” is a core answer. As a Chabad Chasid “a Shliach” is the answer. The word Shliach means, messenger. In Chabad, the term is used to define someone who has joined the Rebbe’s army to move to communities and engage in Jewish outreach. Or to use our mission statement “to provide opportunities for Jewish education and experience to all regardless of background, affiliation or spiritual inclination”.
But, in fact each human being is a Shliach. We are all messengers of G-d empowered with a job on this earth. As mentioned in the above quoted passage (from Hayom Yom, a book written by the Rebbe in 1943-44 with a daily thought), that job is to find the sparks of G-dliness that are found in the world around us and to elevate them. This is the ultimate in living a life of purpose because it encompasses all of our activities each and every day, including our profession, gender, family position and even our identity as a Jew.
