חָסִיד אֶחָד אוֹ תַּלְמִיד אֶחָד כַּאֲשֶׁר נוֹתֵן לִבּוֹ דַּעְתּוֹ וְנַפְשׁוֹ עַל הַתּוֹרָה וְחִזּוּקָהּ, פּוֹעֵל יְשׁוּעוֹת בְּעִיר גְּדוֹלָה בְּכָל עִנְיָנֵי הָעִיר, וְהוּא בְּדֶרֶךְ מִלְמַעְלָה מִדֶּרֶךְ הַטֶּבַע בִּזְכוּת אֲבוֹת הָעוֹלָם.

A single chassid or student, who devotes his entire heart, mind and soul to study Torah and bolster its observance, can bring succor to a large city, with all its concerns. [His endeavors succeed] in a manner that transcends the limitations of nature, in the merit of the fathers of the world [i.e., our Rebbeim].1

Living in This World

When a certain resident emissary first went out on shlichus some fifty years ago, a local Jew was surprised to see a chassid on the streets of his town. “This is not such a clean city,” he exclaimed. “What is a person like you doing here?”

“The Rebbe wants to tidy it up,” the young shaliach replied. “I am the Rebbe’s broom.”

That response calls to mind an old Yiddish adage: “When G‑d wishes, even a broom can shoot.” When someone sees himself as no more than a broom and, without shirking responsibility, does not rely on his own unaided power, he opens himself up to a greater force. He becomes aware that something much larger than himself is working through him. This is what shluchim have in mind when they attribute their successes to the Rebbe. In doing so, they often borrow the halachic term, ko’ach hameshaleiach2 — literally, “the power of the sender.” In accordance with this principle, transactions executed by an agent are legally binding only because he is empowered by the principal who dispatched him.