Beshert

By Marc Vidito

Bone of my bone

Flesh of my flesh

The one in whom

I find my own completion

Adam had awakened as if from a dream.

His newborn eyes upon first sight, squinted at the rays of sun bathing the verdant canopy overhead.

His face tingled at the first touch of a light breeze and chirps of birds, rustling leaves, and a babbling brook brought the first song to his newly formed ears.

The scent of heaven wafted into his nostrils and the sweet scent of heather washed his olfactory senses.

His toes and fingers twitched as he had the first awestruck sense of self.

Where nothing had been, now, in this moment, he was.

Slowly, like a puppet come to life and wondering that there are no strings, Adam moved his body, keenly aware of every sensation, every muscle.

And as sudden as was the sense of self, was the overwhelming sense that he was alone.

The juxtaposition of the onslaught of the senses and the complete solitude, communion with the Father, and the absence of camaraderie. Here in this heaven, there was an absence. A void.

In the cool of the day, the voice of God walked through the garden. Adam sat under a fig tree trying to make sense of it all.

“Shalom my son,” the Father breathed peace into his thoughts.

“My father- you are Good,” Adam replied.

“Do you find peace in the garden?” The Father probed.

“The garden is peace,” Adam replied. “What more could I need?”

“Good my son.  And do you find joy in my creatures?”

“What more magnificent creations can I find than those that live, breathe, frolic and play?”

A rabbit hopped past, thumping its hind feet on an hollow root.

“My son, are you complete? What is your shalom?”

Adam struggled. While everything created was all he could imagine wanting and needing, an absence, a lack he could not put into words gnawed at him. Happy as he was, Adam was not complete. He was not whole.

“My Father, all you have given is good. But where is the other?”

“Other?” the Father questioned, knowing.

“My Father, I look into the water and see one like me staring back. But no one is there.

I step across a field in the sunlight and my spirit follows, mimicking my every move, yet the hand I cannot hold. I utter a word, and where are the ears to hear it? Where is the mind to weigh it?

“My Father, I am here alone, and yet I long for one I have never seen.”

Suddenly, shadow covered his eyes. Longing gave way to sleep. He dreamt of the sun hovering low over the waters. The sun divided and became two orbs in a twilight sky. First side by side, then mirrored in the sky.  The second orb became the moon and they divided care for the sky. The sun to shine its light at day and the moon giving a quiet light by night. They shared in watching over the earth, one a perfect mate and helpmeet for the other. When one set, the other rose to give light. When one wearied, the other bolstered and offered rest. Sun and moon, one taken from the other. Each mirrored by the other at dusk and twilight.

A healing salve warmed his side, and Adam awoke for the second time.

Again, light through mottled green. The soft caress of a light breeze. The laughing brook. And, what was that? A voice, but not his. Not the Father’s. Music. He started, glancing toward the voice. What…? Creation! What in all creation!?  Skin, but not his and yet so alike. Eyes that opened in wonder and caught all the light and depth of the galaxy. Lips, poised to sing out intelligible speech but soft and beautiful. This beautiful face, so bright, so full of hope and wonder framed, like his, but with dark corn silk, that bounced in tight curls and tickled soft but strong shoulders.

Adam could not take it all in.

Both Ish and Isha sat up. She.

She raised her hand to touch is rough bearded cheek. He, in kind touched her pink lips.

Slowly both hands reached for each other. Fingertip to fingertip, palm to palm, they touched.

She noticed how his fingertips slightly bent over her own.

“Isha,” Adam stammered. “Flesh of my flesh. Bone of my bone. Ani L’Dodi v’dodi li.”

The voice of God walked into the garden in the cool of the day. Twilight was beginning. Three stars appeared overhead. To the west, an orange and pink blanket lay the sun to sleep while, in the east, the moon, full and golden yawned to life.

“My son, what is your shalom?” The Father asked with a smile.

Adam stood, mouth agape, eyes wide with wonder, for a moment, unable to speak.  Then he whispered out, dry mouthed, “Eli! My Father, this one… she is my completion!”

Then, to the daughter, the Father said, “My daughter, Shalom be with you. Welcome to your world.”

Though twilight, the warmth of His smile seemed to illuminate and warm all around and through them.

“Breathe in. Breathe out. This is yours. Walk hand in hand, side by side. Enjoy everything together. Share all. His fruit is your sustenance. Her wisdom is your strength. Withhold nothing from each other. Help each other along and lift each other’s steps.”

To the daughter, the Father said, “You are isha, because you were taken from Ish. My daughter, what is your shalom?”

“Father, you breathed life into me. You filled me with joy.  In You I find peace. And yet my completion is with the one who looks on me with love and understanding.”

The Father smiled.

“This world, this paradise and all that is in it I have given to you.  Tend it together.  Share it and it’s fruit with one another.  To each other, more than any other creature, you are beshert- meant for one another.  Enjoy this gift of life.  But cherish the gift of togetherness.  Be fruitful and multiply and bless your world together.”

Ish and Isha, Adam and Eve held each other close and creation was complete.

Afterward:

When we greet each other in Hebrew we say, “Ma Shlomcha”, literally, “what is your shalom?”  This greeting is an existential question.  You see, shalom his more than a greeting.  It is more than a simple “hello” or “goodbye”.  It is Moore than “peace”.  The word shalom literally means “completeness” or “wholeness”.  When we greet each other with “Shalom, Ma Shlomcha”, we are literally asking “what makes you complete?”  In the above story, while man (ish; Adam) is given all that the earth, creation, and the Father have to give, the Father, God, created male and female to only be complete when they are in communion with each other.  Now, God brings this completeness in relationships of various forms.  Not all are married.  But, the design of completion is the construct of human interaction, as exemplified by the relationship between husband and wife.  What blessing is found when we find each other; when the helpmeet rises to match us.

Whether you are in a marriage relationship or not, find your helpmeet in the relationships that God put into your life.  Guard yourself against connections that counterfeit God’s design.  And in these relationships, reflect for the world the togetherness that God desires between Himself and us.