Thanksgiving, FUSE & Spreading Goodness

4Ever Grateful is the name of the talent show and community gathering that we will celebrate with our FUSE partners.  It will be held the afternoon of November 20th and will feature a group from each community offering a number for the show.   Kudos to our chorus for bringing a Beth Israel presence to this event.   We have also been asked to provide desserts - something at which we excel!

FUSE is the Fellowship of Urban and Suburban Engagement of which BI is a part, a partnership of congregations, community groups, and non-profits in Delaware County. The purpose of FUSE is to deepen relationships, to strive wholeheartedly to understand “the other” in our community and help others understand us, and together, create a shared sense of destiny and purpose. FUSE includes Christian, Jewish, and Muslim groups, as well as people of different races, genders, socio-economic status, and backgrounds.    FUSE leadership, of which I am a part, work to create opportunities to come together for all sorts of events:  those that are purely social in nature; venues for challenging dialogue on how to make our communities better; innovative projects to get us there. We believe that learning more about one another’s culture, customs, values, and beliefs can create shared understanding and build trust. We believe that through engaging with our wider Delco community, we can bring about tikkun olam (world repair) through the healing power of relationship.  Strangers become neighbors and friends, expanding our circle of concern and our hearts.  Anything is possible.

I hope that as the year unfolds more BI members will take advantage of opportunities to meet our Delco neighbors and participate in FUSE events.    For now I encourage you to come to the FUSE gathering on November 20th, to bring a dessert if you feel so moved and to mingle and schmooze. FUSE gatherings move around the county. This one will take place at Ohev from 3-4:30 pm.

One more Thanksgiving note:   As we ready ourselves for our Thanksgiving dinners on November 24th, let's remember to share our bread with the hungry (MAZON, Philabundance, Upper Darby Food Service, BI food drives) and to begin the meal with a blessing of gratitude.  The Motzi - the Jewish blessing that thanks God for bread - is always perfect.  The day is about expressing gratitude which we are invited to do daily through Jewish prayer.  Let's remember to bring our two civilizations (American and Jewish) together on Thanksgiving by offering thanks as Americans and as Jews.   Let’s continue to share the wisdom of Torah and spread acts of lovingkindness as we move into this season.