(8/7/15),
Somewhere between mile two and three on the beautiful Green Trail of Cheesequake State Park, Reverend Anne-Marie Jeffery of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Perth Amboy and I were talking about the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is analogous to comfort — when life is good to us, we feel happy; when we are worry free, we feel happy; when we can sit back and relax in our favorite easy chair, we feel happy. When things are easy, we feel happy, But when things are hard — when we are engaged in a difficult or challenging task — can we feel happy?
Take for instance a hike in the forest. Not one of those strolls on wide dirt roads, but a (moderately) serious hike, like the Green Trail in Cheesequake. Slopes, obstacles, uneven terrain, questionable trail marking, turn an easy stroll into a decent workout. For some, the more challenging a hike (or exercise) the more stressful it is. It isn’t as easy as sitting in an easy chair at home with a glass of wine. Happy? Miserable is more like it.
But for others, overcoming a challenge is thrilling. Do they feel happy? Perhaps, but it feels like something more than just happiness. They feel joy, because you can’t experience JOY without the pain of a little “OY!”
Reverend Jeffery and I recognized that there is so much our communities can learn from one another, so much more we can grow as individuals and as people of faith. But to do that, we need to be willing to explore each other’s faiths in an open and honest fashion — open listening and honest sharing of the complexities our faith, racial, and individual identities. That’s not as easy as sitting in the comfort of the chairs in the back of our Jewish or Christian only sanctuaries. But the result of experiencing a little “oy” from that learning? Deep and profound joy, as beautiful as finishing a challenging hike with a dear friend.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ari Saks
P.S. Tonight at 8 pm we will celebrate birthdays and anniversaries in August during Celebration Shabbat! Tomorrow at 10 am, we will go deeper into the text of our siddur with Pardon the Interruption! Join us for either (or both) of these wonderful opportunitie toexperience Shabbat together.
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