“Who can tell me what the lesson of the Holocaust is?" Asked Rabbi Finkel of a group of American businessman. He called on one guy, who didn’t know what to say, he mumbled something like, “We will never, ever forget…" And the rabbi completely dismissed him. Another guy offered another answer, he said - “We will never again be a victim or bystander."
The rabbi said, “You guys just don’t get it. Okay, gentlemen, let me tell you the essence of the human spirit.
“As you know, during the Holocaust, the people were transported in the worst possible, inhumane way by railcar. “After hours and hours in this inhumane corral with no light, no bathroom, cold, they arrived at the camps. The doors were swung wide open, and they were blinded by the light. Men were separated from women, mothers from daughters, fathers from sons. They went off to the bunkers to sleep.
“As they went into the area to sleep, only one person was given a blanket for every six. The person who received the blanket, when he went to bed, had to decide, ‘Am I going to push the blanket to the five other people who did not get one, or am I going to pull it toward myself to stay warm?’”
And Rabbi Finkel said, “It was during this defining moment that we learned the power of the human spirit, because we pushed the blanket to five others.”
And with that, he stood up and said, “Take your blanket. i.e. your riches, and take it back to America and push it to five other people.”
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