November 10, 2013
By bethmordecai
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Dear Hevreh,
After God created Adam in the second chapter of Genesis, the process of creation seemed to be complete. Yet as God looked around at all the beauty that was created, God turned to Adam and realized that creation was not complete: “Lo tov heyot adam l’vado — it is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). And thus God created Adam’s partner, Eve. It’s as if God realized that the only way for humanity to fully enjoy and take advantage of all the potential imbued in creation is when we have partners to work with us because it’s not fun to do things alone.
Today is all about partners. From 1-5 pm today at JFK hospital in Edison, our community will join together with other faith communities in the Metuchen-Edison area to participate in a community Health Fair. By participating in an effort like the health fair with our interfaith partners, we recognize that there is so much to learn and share about how we can use nature’s gifts of medicine to heal us and keep us healthy. So please stop by and join us for this wonderful opportunity of partnership!
Then later today I will be meeting with a wonderful partner of our congregation, Reverend Anne-Marie Jeffery of St. Peter’s Episcopal church on Gordon and Rector streets. We have already partnered together on exciting interfaith opportunities like our Thanksgiving service and Day of Service. Today though we will discuss our shared interest and excitement about how we engage with interfaith couples in our communities to see if there are more creative, authentic, and collaborative ways we can welcome interfaith families into our communities.
Whether it’s our health or our spiritual identities, there is a world of potential for filling our lives with God’s goodness. And as God seems to be imploring us in the Torah, it’s better to discover that potential with partners.
Kol Tuv,
Rabbi Ari Saks
P.S. If you’d like to follow some of what I learn over these two partnering opportunities, please check out my Twitter page today. Also, if you are planning on coming to the health fair let me know so I can look for you there.
Category :
Rabbi's Journal
Tag : genesis health fair interfaith interfaith families MEAICA Metuchen-Edison Area Interfaith Clergy Association partners potential st. peter's
