Rabbi Lau

B"H, I was fortunate to hear the former chief rabbi of Israel speak tonight. I want to share an amazing mashal with you:

The sun and the wind were having a fight. They didn't know who was the strongest. In order to test their strengths, they decided to see which one could make a little man remove his coat.

The wind went first. It started blowing and blowing. But the harder it blew, the harder the man clung to his coat, realizing that without it he's freeze. The wind kept blowing to the point where the man was rolling like a ball, clutching tightly to his coat. The wind gave up.

Next came the sun. He approached the man slowly, with warmth and compassion. Soon the man felt very warm and started sweating. The man realized that he no longer needed his coat, as the temperature continued to rise, and removed it on his own free will.

The sun won.

The coat is out emuna in HaShem and out connection to Him.

In the past, the wind came with bitterness, harshness, the destruction of the batei migdashing. Yet, benei Yisroel stuck to their Creator, Hakadosh Barchu. They knew that without it they would be lost, they would freeze.

But then came the sun. With warmth, compassion, encouraging us to assimilate. The sun smiles upon us. Will we take off out coat willingly? No one is stopping us from doing mitzvout, no one but ourselves.

B"H, we will NOT abandon our coats, but stick close to our Torah and emuna. B"H, we should be matzliach in increasing our avodat haShem.

Kol tov,
Shabbat Shalom.