With all of its youth and vitality, our synagogue is meeting a special Jewish need on the northwest side of Atlanta.  Each of us as members of Congregation Ner Tamid has the satisfaction of knowing we are meeting this need.  We are a congregation rapidly on the rise.  Our best days lie ahead of us.  Our immanent move into new quarters, including the merger of our sanctuary and religious school sites, is symbolic of our confidence in ourselves and our mission to serve the community in which we reside.  You have granted Marilyn and me the privilege of being a part of your very special family.  For this we are grateful.  We salute the dedicated men and women, each of you, who have given so selflessly to make us who we are.  Some of you are officers and board members, other lead and teach in our dynamic religious school, others chair committees, attend services, respond to the needs of the community, and provide comfort to the sick and the mourner.  It has always been a pleasure to share my rabbinic responsibilities with you and to observe you create a solid foundation that will serve us well for years to come.

What the above summary of our time with you means is that we share a common set of values.  This commonality or shared purpose enables us to come together periodically as a community sharing our hopes and dreams, celebrating our achievements and supporting each other as part of a caring community when times are bad.  My assumption is that all of us believe in the work of the Jewish people, in Jewish education, in Jewish prayer and worship, in social action, in G-d, in the socializing aspects of the synagogue, in tsadakah, in the State of Israel and in many other things we share in common.  We may interpret each of these things differently but our commonality far outweighs our differences.  Marilyn and I think of you as our extended family and we hope this is how you think of your fellow members and of us.  "Behold, how good and how pleasant are your dwelling places, O Israel."