Each of us sees the synagogue as something different. For me it may be a spiritual center while for you it provides a sense of kinship. To others it may be a reminder of their heritage or a haven from life's tumult. We can see it as some or all of these things and the list is hardly complete.

Regardless, from ancient times it's the place where, as individuals and a people, we come together with our past, our present and our future. When we unite as a congregation, a loving, extended family, we feel God's touch upon us all the more closely; we find peace when there is strife, comfort when we are sad, delight in the warmth of a loving community, and determination to make the world the better place God knows we can.

Clifford M. Kulwin