The eminent chassidic master Rabbi Chaim of Tsanz (1797-1876) related the following: A man was once lost in a forest for several days. Finally, he saw another man approaching him. “Please show me the way out of the forest!” he called out to him. “Brother, I too am lost,” the other man replied. “But I can tell you this: the way I have come from leads nowhere; it has only led me astray. Let us join hands and search for a new way together.”
It is time for us join hands together in the sometimes overgrown forests of confusion. And though we each have unique perspectives and ways of conduct, we ought not walk alone. For like the colors of a rainbow or a symphony of instruments, true beauty will only emanate from cohesive diversity, and clarity will only stem from a consensus of distinct minds and ideas.
Unity within the community means to search for a new way together. Often, it is the best way; other times, it is the only way.
Rabbi Pinchas Allouche is the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Tefillah in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is a sought-after educator, lecturer and author of many essays and writings on Jewish faith, mysticism, and social analysis.
