Rabbi Larry Malinger
Preparing our Journey with Others
As we prepare for the beginning of the New Year, our prayers are directed towards God, in our desire to reconnect with the Divine Presence in our lives. It is my hope that the following will help us along the way.
Philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) once wrote: “One person with a belief is equal to ninety-nine who have only interests.” A teaching from a Chassidic story during the Shoah – One cold night in a concentration camp, the prisoners were marched to a large field where there were two huge pits. The S.S. Commander barked, “Each one of you dogs who values life must jump the pits and land on the other side.” Among the Jews on the field was Rabbi Yisrael Spira, together with a freethinker, with whom he had developed a deep friendship. The freethinker argued that it could not be done. “Let us sit in the pit and wait for the bullets,” he said.
The Rebbe said, “We are jumping.” When they opened their eyes, they were alive on the safe side. The freethinker yelled, “Rebbe, we are here; we are alive. There must be a God in heaven. Tell me, Rebbe, how did you do it?” To which he responded, “I held on to my ancestral coattails. But how did you reach the other side? The freethinker said, “I was holding onto you.”
What we all need as we begin this New Year is an overwhelming faith that can carry us over the pits of life.
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