Our world has become so transactional sometimes that it makes me sad.
Once upon a time, you knew your bank teller’s name and they knew yours. It didn’t take you five different prompts to get a customer service person on the phone. Today, efficiency and price take priority, and personal connection is treated as an inconvenience.
Jewish philosopher Martin Buber called these I–It relationships — useful, but stripped of humanity. Religion, he taught, should be different. In a community of faith, we’re meant to live in I–Thou relationships — seeing, hearing, each other.
As a rabbi, I feel like I am constantly fighting this trend. It’s rare that I have a relationship with a member of our community that I view as transactional.
I hope you’ll consider coming along with me for a journey into the I-Thou. Get to know the wonderful people in our community.
Etz Chaim is not Verizon Customer Service. It’s only through being with people and connecting that we will come to see the divine in each other.
