Rabbi Hayim Halberstam of Tzanz (1793–1876) related this parable:
A man was lost in a forest for several days. He tried and tried but could not find a way out. He saw another man coming toward him through the trees. He rejoiced, saying, “Certainly now I am saved!” When he came up to the man he said, “Brother, tell me, which is the right path? I have been lost here for several days.” The man responded, “Brother, I too do not know the proper path. I too have been lost here for many days. But I can tell you this: do not try the ways I have tried—these paths will lead you nowhere. Now, come and we will search for a new way out together.”
Rabbi Hayim then told his students, “The ways we have traveled up until now—let’s not travel them anymore. This path is the way of those who are lost. Come and we will search for a new way together.”
Here we are at the start of a new year. Up until now we have gone our own ways, trying this path and then that one. As these Days of Awe approach, we find ourselves lost in the forest. Last year we vowed to love more, to be more patient, to communicate better, to be more honest, and here we are again with our many transgressions—some new and some old. Let us not travel those old ways again. Together, let us search for a new way out—a way toward goodness, toward light, toward life.
— Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback