This is YOUR MISSION in life: You are EXPECTED to become a KING

Every person is expected to become a ‘king’ or ‘leader’ over his surroundings, over his home – that it should not be ruled by outside influences, but rather it should be a dwelling place for God, as God states: “I shall dwell among them,” within each and every Jew. Those who have been given the mission, and, by Divine Providence, are in the position where they have influence beyond their private sphere, into the public domain, to an entire city, they become a leader and ‘king’ of the entire city. And one who can influence an entire country becomes its ‘king’ and leader – he bears responsibility for the entire country. Then there is “the single individual in a generation” – as the Talmud refers to him – or the two in a generation, whom “a pillar of light distinguishes from the rest of the world” and he is able to illuminate the entire earth. But here a basic difficulty arises: By nature, a person presides only over himself and his immediate surroundings. No one is born a leader or ruler. This happens when one matures. But immediately upon becoming a Bar Mitzvah one becomes responsible for his own “little city” – his body, not to follow the will of the Evil Inclination. He must become the ruler of his “city,” by “transforming darkness into light and bitterness into sweetness,” and he thereby becomes ‘king’ over his body. Then later, when he is made ‘ruler’ over his family, the leader of his family, a challenge arises: He must accustom himself to no longer fight for his own personal benefit at the expense of his family – although he’s accustomed to tending to his own needs. He must now understand that he has a more important mission; that the majority’s needs – his family’s needs – come before the individual’s needs – his own needs. So, when there is a conflict between the two, he must put aside his personal wishes for the sake of his family. And Torah explains that ultimately he will realize, that what is best for the larger group is best for him, as well. The same is true when he becomes the leader of a wider circle and takes on communal responsibilities, after having led a relatively small group, and become accustomed to loyally protecting the interests of that specific group. Once he is chosen to be the leader of a larger entity which includes many different groups, he then has a special challenge, – but he is granted the strength to overcome the challenge – not to battle solely for the smaller group against the interests of the larger group, but to understand and then explain to those around him that the larger community’s needs supersede their own. And this continues upward, level after level, even for the king, “above whom God alone stands,” as the Talmud describes him. The responsibility is placed upon him, as king, “to lead them, and tend to their needs,” even though it goes against his previous habit, when he was “insignificant in his own eyes;” and this benefits the entire nation. And since “even the overseer of a well is appointed by Heaven” one who is chosen from On High, is surely granted the abilities to succeed in his role. We see this also with my father-in-law, the Rebbe: Before he became the actual leader of Chabad-Lubavitch, his primary responsibility was over a much narrower group. Later, when he became the leader of Chabad, his work was with matters concerning Chabad as a whole, even though this demanded that he give of his own time, from his personal study for his own benefit. And when difficult times befell the Jewish People, he became, by Divine Providence, the leader of all Jews. He then involved himself with every concern: printing simple Hebrew Alphabet charts, founding Jewish schools – to provide every single Jew with a basic Torah education, even though it meant taking time from his previous role of teaching and spreading Chasidism and Kabbalah, the deepest, most sublime, secrets of the Torah. As mentioned before, “his children must continue his life.” every person has the mission to be a ruler and leader over himself, to not be ruled by “the foreign god within you,” the Evil Inclination. And when one starts a family he must become ‘ruler’ and leader of the home, to make it a dwelling place for God – every Jewish home must be a Holy Temple for God. And those who, by Divine Providence, have influence, a position of responsibility, over many families, many groups, many communities or many cities, they must recognize their primary purpose: To seek the communal good, and ultimately, that will benefit the individual, as well.