Awesome month!
A man once had four sons who never stopped fighting with each other. He was always telling them how much better life would be if they worked together, but they took absolutely no notice of him.
One day he decided to show them what he meant. He called the sons together and put a tightly tied bundle of sticks on the floor in front of them. "Can you break that?" he asked the youngest son. The boy put his knee on the bundle, but though he pressed and pulled with his arms he could not bend the wood. The father asked each son to try to break the bundle, but none of them could do it.
Then he untied the string and scattered the sticks. "Now try," he said. The boys broke the sticks easily.
"Do you see what I mean?" asked the father. "If only you stand together no one can hurt you. If you all disagree the whole time and insist on going your separate ways, the first enemy you meet will be able to destroy you."
This story sums up my feelings of this past month of Holidays. Wow! It sure has been a whirlwind of inspiration, celebration and community growth. What was most inspiring was the coming together of hundreds of people over this holiday season, forming a strong united community.
May this unity and togetherness spill over to the rest of the year!
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Yossi Zaklikofsky