בְּמִנְחָה - וְכֵן בַּשֵּׁנִי וּבַחֲמִישִׁי דְשָׁבוּעַ הַבָּא עָלֵינוּ לְטוֹבָה - קוֹרִין לְיִשְׂרָאֵל מִפָּסוּק וַיֵרָא ה' אֶל אַבְרָם גו'.

1 [In the Torah Reading] at the Afternoon Service, and likewise [at the Morning Service] on Monday and Thursday of the following week, the third aliyah2 begins with the verse,3 “And G‑d appeared to Avram.”4

כְּבוֹד קְדוּשַׁת אַאַמוּ"ר אָמַר לְאֶחָד עַל יְחִידוּת: מֵאָז שֶׁאָמַר הקב"ה לְאַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם, לֶךְ לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ גו' וּכְתִיב וַיִסַּע אַבְרָם הָלוֹךְ וְנָסוֹעַ הַנֶּגְבָּה, הוּתְחַל סוֹד הַבֵּרוּרִים. וְעַל פִּי גְּזֵירַת הַהַשְׁגָּחָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה הָאָדָם הוֹלֵךְ לְמַסָּעָיו בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר הַנִּצּוֹצוֹת הַצְּרִיכִים לְהִתְבָּרֵר עַל יָדוֹ מְחַכִּים לִגְאוּלָתָם. הַצַּדִּיקִים שֶׁהֵם בַּעֲלֵי רְאִיָּה רוֹאִים הֵם בְּאֵיזֶה מָקוֹם הַבֵּרוּרִים שֶׁלָּהֶם מְחַכִּים לָהֶם וְהוֹלְכִים שָׁמָּה בְּעַצְמָם, וְעַמָּא דְבַר, הִנֵּה עִלַּת כָּל הָעִלּוֹת וְסִבַּת כָּל הַסִּבּוֹת מְסַבֵּב כַּמָּה עִלּוֹת וְסִבּוֹת שֶׁיָּבוֹאוּ לַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא אֲשֶׁר שָׁם הוּטְלָה עֲלֵיהֶם הָעֲבוֹדָה בַּעֲבוֹדַת הַבֵּרוּרִים.

My revered father, [the Rebbe Rashab,] once told a chassid at yechidus: “From the time the Holy One, blessed be He, told Avraham, ‘Go forth from your land,’5 and thereafter ‘Avram journeyed on, continuing to travel southward,’6 the mystical mission of beirurim began. [This term signifies the task of sifting materiality, and elevating the Divine sparks that are embedded within all permissible entities and activities, by using them with spiritual purpose.]

“Propelled by the decree of Sublime Providence, a person travels to the place where the sparks that are destined to be elevated by him await their redemption.

“Tzaddikim, being gifted with vision, can perceive where ‘their’ sparks await them, and proceed there of their own accord. For common people, by contrast, the Cause of all causes and the Prime Mover sets in motion a train of events and circumstances that will bring an individual to the particular place where he is duty-bound to fulfill his specific tasks of sifting materiality and elevating its sparks.”7

Probing Beneath the Surface

As the Kabbalah teaches, the palpable shell of every physical entity conceals sparks of G‑dliness. Indeed, without those sparks, that entity could not exist. The task of mankind as a whole, and of the Jewish people in particular, is to locate those sparks and elevate them to their Source — to make use of worldly things in such a manner and with such an intent that enables the G‑dly nature of the world to be revealed.

Every individual has been granted a personal role in this cosmic mission of refining materiality.8 Every morsel of food we eat, every garment we wear, every penny we earn, and every object we acquire or make use of in the service of G‑d, was destined for us personally, so that we can reveal the Divine purpose for which it was created.

Most of us are unaware of where our mission leads. How, then, can we fulfill it? G‑d’s Providence leads us, seemingly for reasons of our own, to the place and time at which our actions can have their effect. Consciously, we think we are going for these-and-these reasons, but the real reason is G‑d’s intent. Tzaddikim, by contrast, perceive their intended mission clearly and align themselves with G‑d’s underlying intent for creation.