With Every Shliach, Together

The Bible relates that King David coronated his son, Solomon, during his own lifetime. King David, however, continued to rule until his own passing. How can two kings rule simultaneously, especially in light of Torah’s teaching: “There is only one leader to a generation, not two”?

According to Torah law, an emissary has the same status as the sender himself, to the extent of actually embodying him. King Solomon stood as the chief emissary of his father, and thus both could be considered kings by Torah at the very same time.

We saw the same by the fifth Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dovber, who, already in his own lifetime, appointed his son, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, to act as his agent in many areas of leadership. So profound was this sender-emissary bond, that Rabbi Sholom Dovber confidently sent his son on missions of self-sacrifice – as his son later did with his own emissaries – for it was not someone else that the Rebbe was sending into battle, but himself.