Memories

When Avi was around two years old he became fascinated with the aron kodesh. He would walk up the stairs to the aron on shabbat and yom tovs when the aron was opened.

On Yom Kippur his nanny brought him to shul at neilah and he was with me.
All of a sudden I saw him standing in front of the open aron. I was confused as what to do. He was just standing quietly looking at the torahs in the open aron. One member asked me to remove him from the top landing of the steps leading to the aron. Should I get him and he might cry and create a disturbance?

As I was about to go get Avi, Rabbi Weinreb who was the rabbi for the holidays turned from the lecturn walked up to Avi, took his hand, and the both of them together looked at the torahs in the aron. After about five minutes Avi let go and came back to be with me. 

After neilah and maariv a number of people came to me to say that the scene of Rabbi Weinrib and Avi looking at the torahs increased their kavanah for neilah. 
I have a tear in my eye as I think of that moment and of the many happy things that occurred in my life at the old LSS, including the making of wonderful friends, the bris of my three sons and, yes, even my marriage. At the same time, I look with excitement to our new beginnings and the carrying on of our forward vision of modern Orthodoxy with our women's service and beginners minyan, just to name two, which we will be taking from our old LSS to our new LSS.