sk The Way To Go: Use The Past As Guide For Future

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By Itzhak Schweiger

In the days before road maps, a
man set out on a journey from his
town to a fairly distant community.
He had never made the trip before,
and was not sure of the way. He
carefully followed the road signs
and the direction markers so that he
would not get lost.
Well along the way, he came to
a fork in the road. Should he go to
the left or to the right? He looked
for the sign that would tell him
which direction to take. But he could
see no sign. What was he to do?
Should he take the path to the
right? It looked straight, long and
unwinding. But he couldn't see
anything but trees and fields in that
direction. Would there be a fork
soon, or a crossroad?
Perhaps he would find another
sign and then he'd be able to tell if
he had gone the proper way.
Suppose there was no other sign,
and he had chosen the wrong
direction. He could walk until dark
and end up with no place to stay for
the night — and be even farther
from his goal than when he had
started out in the morning.
Yet the same would be true if
he took the left fork. He looked
toward the left. There was a hill in
that direction, and the road seemed

down and looked at it. One arrow
clearly indicated that it was the way
to the town that he was seeking.
But which way did it mean for him
to go? Lying there on the ground it
could not help him now. Or could it?
The sign had three arrows,
making a Y shape. One of the three
names on the arrows was his own
village, the place he had left earlier
in the day. He knew the direction he
had come from. And suddenly he
realized that he knew how to solve
his problem.
He picked the broken signpost
up from the ground and forced the
pointed part of the post into the dirt,
the
way it was meant to stand. Then
to wander up the hill. Was it worth
he pointed the arrow with the name
climbing? Either way was possible.
of his own town in the direction
What should he do? He hadn't
from which he had been traveling,
passed anyone on the road, and it
toward the place he had left so
had been many miles since he had
much earlier in the day. Now, when
seen a house or store. There wasn't
he looked at the sign, each of the
anyone around to ask.
other arrows pointed down one fork
of the road. He had only to read the
As he stood there wondering,
name of the place he wanted and
he noticed the road sign. It had
been broken, or had blown down in would immediately know which
a storm. Lying there in the grass, it direction to take.
And so he learned that his way
seemed to be of no help. He bent

L-6

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 1988

led up the hill, to the left. On he
went, eager to arrive at his
destination before supper.
The Moral
Sometimes, before we can
make the proper choice about going

forward, about what our direction
should be, we must look back and
reflect on where we have come
from, where we've been. If you
forget to remember, you may have a
lot more you'd like to forget.

Fall Holiday Ch

i

Start the New Year right! Rosh
Hashanah is the time to celebrate
the beginning of a new year Here's
a list of necessary items you'll need
to welcome it
• Round challah and challah cover
• Apples and honey and assorted
round shaped fruits,
• Two candles,
• Kiddush cup,
• Wine,
• Machzor -- High Holiday
prayerbook,
• A special first fruit — for the
New Year's Scheheheyanu
• Fresh flowers for the holiday table.