Rev. Ferner said, “Our longing is a natural outcome of wanting to be one with all that.” He hints at the idea of what we all desire. The world religion comes from the Latin, religio, to tie back up into. We want to be connected. We want to feel loved. To be loved. We want to not be isolated. In Psalm 27 which we read every day this month, we find this line:
“For though my father and my mother have forsaken me, God will take me up.” That’s the kind of thing that Emerson was talking about. That is also part of what Ron Wolfson talks about in his book, “Relational Judaism.” 

Yes, we all create programming at synagogue. Services. Religious School. Adult Education. Social Events. Men’s Club. Sisterhood. On and on. Yet consistently what people say they really want is connection. Community. An I-Thou relationship. Martin Buber wrote about I-Thou.  

“I believe that the key to creating society that is nourishing, empowering and healing for everyone lies in how we relate to one another.” — Martin Buber 

In our very divisive world we need to think about these words. How are we nourishing, empowering and healing? How can we learn to be more so? How do we remember that every person is created b’tzelem elohim., in the image of G-d?” How do we do that when the person doesn’t look like us, sound like us or even smell like us? Yes, smell, recently I was told that someone hadn’t taken a shower and that made her uncomfortable. Others are uncomfortable with people who are older, who might have mobility or hearing issues, who have obvious mental health or intellectual disabilities. How do we bring it back to everyone, and I mean everyone is created in the image of the Divine. All means all. It is a challenge and an opportunity.