As we enter Rosh Chodesh Tamuz, the start of a new month, we’re reminded that renewal often begins in darkness. The moon is hidden before it reappears — just as clarity often follows confusion. Rabbi Avi Killip of Hadar Institute offers a powerful teaching about leading through uncertainty, and how mitzvot, learning, and community can light the way, even when the road ahead is unclear.

Today, at the end of June in 2025, it feels like we are too often in the dark. The sense of uncertainty and the fear of what may be lurking around the next corner, can be overwhelming. For those working on global challenges it feels like we are leading in the dark. But we are not the first generation to feel this way.

In Sotah 21a, the Talmud tells a parable about a person who is lost in the dark, frozen in fear.

The man is walking in the dark of night and thick darkness. He is afraid of the thorns, the pits, the thistles, wild beasts, and bandits, and doesn’t know on which road he is walking.

If a torch of light comes his way, he is safe from the thorns, the pits, and the thistles, but still afraid of the wild animals and bandits, and still doesn’t know on which road he is walking.  

When the sun rises at dawn, he is safe from the wild animals and the bandits, but still doesn’t know on which road he is walking.

Only when he reaches a crossroads, he is safe from all of them.

The person in this story is not only lost but paralyzed with fear. And this fear has layers. They are afraid to take a single step lest they step on a thorn or fall into a pit; they are afraid of wild animals and bandits that may lurk farther out and can’t be seen; and they are fundamentally disoriented, unsure where they are or which direction to turn.

Does this picture sound familiar? This is how we can feel too. There is so much to be afraid of, so much unknown that cannot be seen. Layer upon layer of dangers and darkness. The Talmud tells us that a torch could help with the first problem: a candle or flashlight can keep you from falling into a ditch. A small amount of light can allow you to take each next single step forward.

The sun coming up at dawn can protect from animals or bandits. Sunlight is a game changer! Once daylight comes, you can see not only the pit directly in front of you, but also the dangers lurking farther afield that might have caught you by surprise in the night. But if you are lost, even sunlight won’t orient you. Ultimately, only reaching a crossroads, only finding a landmark or street sign will help you find your way home.

The Talmud brings this story to explain a verse from Proverbs:

"כי נר מצוה ותורה אור"

“For mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah is light” (Prov. 6:23).

The parable of the person walking at night is meant to help us understand the relationship between commandments (mitzvot) and the wisdom uncovered through deep learning and reflection (Torah):

But isn’t it taught: Rabbi Menahem bar Yosei explained: “For the mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah is light” (Prov. 6:23). Scripture understands mitzvah as a lamp and Torah as sunlight. Scripture understands mitzvah as a lamp, to say to you: Just as the lamp only protects for a moment, so too the mitzvah only protects for a moment. The Torah as light, to say to you:  Just as sunlight protects forever, so too Torah protects forever.

Finding our way out of this darkness is a multiple step process. First is mitzvah, the day-to-day actions you each take offer that candle, that flashlight to yourself and to others. Each task brings a little more light, protecting against the most imminent danger.

But that isn’t enough. Which is why you take time for gatherings like Focal Point. This is the Torah, the sunlight. Taking time to reflect and to learn together, even when the world can feel so clouded and dark, is what will ultimately lead to sunlight and understanding. This is what helps us see the more distant dangers and keep each other safe. This is the work of Focal Point, and the work of OLAM and its network more broadly.

All this hard daily work, and all the conferences and learning put together don’t actually eliminate the dangers. The pits and thistles, the wild animals and bandits will always exist in the world. Our job is to keep each other safe. Leading does not mean eliminating any danger, leading means providing the candle, and bringing the sunlight.

And even this isn’t really enough. We may be safe, and still lost. As the Talmud passage teaches, some orientation will come only when we reach a crossroads, and we may not be there today.

So my blessing for each of you is that your actions continue to provide light and safety, that you continue to make time for reflection and learning together, and that we each make it safely through the woods until we can meet again at the crossroads.