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This has been an extraordinary season at BAJC
as well, and we need to celebrate that – the quantum
leap we’ve made in the religious school, our
new teen group, the "Seeds" project, and of course
the advances we’ve made on our new home – this
plus the many rich events that have taken place
and the spiritual sharing we’ve had. In this spirit of taking it all in and celebrating, let
me share with you a portion of the benediction I
offered at the Marlboro College commencement
(slightly paraphrasing a few of the bits.)
Let us pause now to breathe, to calm the racing
mind and the excited heart. Let us put aside just
for the moment our projects, our travel, our obsessions,
and let us breathe in the blessing of all that
lives in us and around us in this springtime of life.
Let us breathe in that we might be touched and
inspired by the holy – however we experience it –
and by the magnificence of this time we have
shared together.
And so as you go forth from this place, allow me to paraphrase
the words of the poet – farmer Wendell
Berry:
Everyday do something that won’t compute. Love
the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have
and be poor. Love someone who doesn’t deserve
it. Embrace the flag and hope to live in that free
and compassionate and gentle republic for which
it stands. Ask questions that have no answers.
Thank you Wendell.
Y’varehch’cha Adonai v’yishm’rehcha, a blessing
on the divine spark in us all.
In the years ahead, may you all have kisses from
your beloved, smiles from a child, the aroma of
good food baking in the oven, wise governors and
merciful tax collectors, the companionship of good
friends. May the sun shine on your faces, may you
see rainbows, and may you have an umbrella
when it rains.
Now go forth all of you, and make a difference in
the world. Amen.
B’Shalom, Jim
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