"Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man , but sooner or later the man who wins, is the man who thinks he can."
Disasters in life bring about indomitable strength and unity. This was very evident as we all witnessed the devastation and havoc that Harvey brought upon the State of Texas. With all the destruction and pain that so many experienced and the need of help that was so sorely needed, we began to realize more than ever the human intervention by so many to assuage the anguish and helplessness of so many. It makes us realize the G-Dliness that is so much a part of humanity.
How magnificent it is to see the light amidst the darkness as so many volunteers rally to the needs of others. At this time we begin to realize that we can solve some of our pressing issues of the day if we begin to understand the 'we' of relationships, the 'we' of responsibility and the 'we' of our unique Jewish identity.
Permit me to share an amazing story that I related to the participants of a Shiur that I gave this week on the meaning of Elul. It all began when I suggested that Elul stands for
אני לדודי ודודי לי "I am my beloved and my beloved is mine," emphasizing our intense love relationship with G-D. In addition, it also stands for ומשלוח מנות איש לרעהו ומתנות לאביונים "To give gifts to our neighbors and to take care of the poor," emphasizing our relationship and our responsibilities to our fellow man.
Now, let me get back to my story and I am sure you will realize the important lesson we can learn from it, especially, in this awesome month of Elul.
A man had a very strange dream. He saw a house that was giving off a great deal of light. When he walked into the house, he saw all sorts of candles all over. Some of the candles were burning bright, some were dim, some were almost flickering out. He found the keeper of the house and asked,"What is this?"
The keeper replied, "Each candle is a different soul living in the world. The ones burning bright are in the prime of life. The one low on oil and flickering are people who are dying. When the candle goes out the person dies."
The keeper of the candles turned his back for a moment and the man quickly searched for his own candle. He found the candle with his name flickering in the corner. It looked as if it was about to be extinguished. The man panicked, and looked around for some oil to pour into his candle so it would burn brighter. He started to take oil from another candle burning bright. But a hand stopped him.
"This is not how it works here. Your candle does not burn brighter when you take oil from someone else. On the contrary, your candle burns brighter when you give oil to someone else". The man picked up his flickering candle and poured oil into several other candles. When he put it down, the flame started burning brighter. And so the man awoke from his strange dream.
The story speaks for itself. It is a dynamic and important lesson that we need to take to heart, during this month of Elul. It is a time when we hear the shofar cry out to us, עורו משנתכם, "Awake to the G-Dly element in us. Awake to perform our human responsibilities to Hashem and to our fellowman."
In doing so, our candle of life will continue to shine brightly, insuring for ourselves and for our families a
שנת חיים טובים.
שבת שלום ומבורך
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