by President David Weisberg

Temple Emanuel is like an iPhone. When it’s plugged in, it glows. The iPhone is charging — the green light is on, it’s connected. It can be a beacon in a dark night. However, the phone itself isn’t anything but a chunk of plastic and battery power. It is a vessel for us to find those connections. It’s what you can do with the iPhone that makes it so omnipotent and allows us to make all the connections we want to make.

We all use our iPhones for everything from the old-fashioned phone conversations to other features like texting, Facebook, or other social media. It’s not the iPhone itself but rather the features and the content that makes it so enticing. Those apps are what make the iPhone an addictive appendage. It is a way for us to remain more engaged.

The best aspects of Facebook and other social media are that they give us an opportunity to connect and share. We all look for ways to make connections, develop relationships and ultimately make our lives more meaningful. How do we do that? We share pictures, videos, and stories. Why are we drawn to this? Why is this so enticing? We all love to know what’s going on. We all love to hear the latest and greatest. We are curious and we want to make connections.

So if Temple is the iPhone, we the members are the features, content, and apps. Just as Facebook gives us an opportunity to connect with people who we know or may have crossed paths with throughout our lives, we too as congregants can make connections. We can “like” or “share.”

My goal is to find more connections for each of us. The spark. The electric charge. The green light. How can we as congregants get connected? Get charged? What can Temple do to help make your light glow? The members of Temple can become more connected with each other as well as the greater South Hills and Pittsburgh community. Stay tuned as we will be having more opportunities to share and connect. Remember, we’re all Friends.