The 19th of the month of Kislev, which occurs this coming week on Monday, is the date on which Rabbi Shneur Zalman, the founder of Chabad Chassidus, was liberated from prison.
Known among Chasidim as the Festival of Liberation, it always occurs in close proximity to the week when the Torah portion of Vayishlach is read. As "nothing happens by chance," we must conclude that the Festival of Liberation is alluded to in Vayishlach.
The main idea of the 19th of Kislev is spreading the wellsprings of Chassidus outward. The "wellsprings," the innermost part of Torah, must not remain at their source, but must flow "outward" and inundate even the lowest parts of the earth. Furthermore, not only must the waters of Chasidut be carried everywhere, but the wellsprings themselves must be conveyed to every single Jew, no matter where he/she is.
The 19th of Kislev teaches us the necessity of bringing the life-giving waters of Torah, and particularly the inner-part of Torah as expounded in Chassidus, to every Jew.
The name of this week's portion, "Vayishlach," means "And he sent."
A shaliach, an emissary (from the same root as vayishlach), is a person who is dispatched in the sender's stead; moreover, "a person's emissary is just like him." In other words, when an emissary is sent to a certain place to carry out his mission, it is the same as if the sender himself has made the journey.
This concept of "spreading the wellsprings outward" is expressed in the word "vayishlach," the name of our portion. The wellsprings must not stay at their source, but must be sent ever outward to reach as many people as possible.
The concept of Vayishlach exists in every age and in every generation.
G-d "sends" the soul down from the celestial spheres to be enclothed within a corporeal body, to enable the person to serve G-d within the context of the physical world. This shlichut (mission) began with Adam and Chava (Eve), and is continued by their descendants.
The phenomenon of sending emissaries has existed throughout the generations. We find that many Torah giants sent shluchim to carry out various holy missions.
The concept of shlichut was further emphasized by the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Chassidus and his spiritual "descendants," especially Rabbi Shneur Zalman and his successors; they, in turn, entrusted every Jew with the holy mission of "spreading the wellsprings outward."
In fact, the Previous Rebbe declared that shlichut is the unique mitzva (commandment) of our generation. Every Jew must be a shaliach to spread the wellsprings of Torah and Judaism wherever he or she goes.
