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My brother, Aaron Paul Cohen, z'l, painted this for the cover of an album for a Jewish Musical Group called "Shemesh V'Kochavim" (translation : Sun and Stars)

Speech for Shabbat Itanu

Shabbat Shalom!

Thank you Rabbi Morrison, Rabbi Lipson, Cantor Edwards and the choral group for making today's prayer service so meaningful and beautiful. Thank you to Michael Sugarman, the Chair of Kadima, for his continued support and friendship.

Thank you also to all of the people who are here today who have done so much to make Kadima a cherished program at Beth Emeth.

In addition, thank you to Miriam Herlin, our art teacher, who helped teach our Kadima participants to make the beautiful Havdallah sets which are on display in the display cabinets in the main foyer outside the sanctuary. Please take a look after the services what beautiful art work our Kadima participants made.

Furthermore, a special thank you to all of the Reena caregivers for bringing their clients to Kadima on a weekly basis and to the Reena administration for partnering together with Beth Emeth Synagogue to continue providing high quality spiritual and social programming for the Kadima participants.

A Brief History

"It began with the determination of 150 people, who banded together with a common dream and $500 in the bank. The journey from a small house in the neighbourhood, to upstairs quarters in the shopping plaza, to a tent at the future site of the building, ended in April, 1959 when construction began on the first stage of Beth Emeth Synagogue.

Ready for occupancy that September, it consisted of a hall, classrooms and offices. Approximately 300 Hebrew school students, who had been meeting in portables outside the public school across the street, came through our doors. Rabbi Joseph Kelman, our new spiritual leader, conducted the first High Holy Days services."

This was taken from the synagogue's website.

Beth Emeth started as a dream - a remote fledgling idea but it became a reality because of determined dreamers.
Two years later, Rabbi Kelman started Ezra Kadima in 1961 to give people with exceptionalities a Jewish education and a social outlet.

Kadima has been an early part of Beth Emeth's dream-come-true to become an inclusive congregation.

To illustrate Kadima’s significance to its participants and to the shul at large, I will end by telling a true story that happened a number of years ago, at a government supported, scientific research institute in the United States, where a group of senators were being given a tour by the chief scientist of the facility.

After explaining the research taking place at the facility, one of the senators from one of the southern States asked the scientist the following question. "Son, does your research help in the national defense of our great country?"

The scientist thoughtfully contemplated the question and responded with the now famous reply (in the world of not-for-profit management): he replied, "no this research doesn't contribute to national defense but it does make this country a nation worth defending."

If in 1959, Beth Emeth opened its doors and only started Kadima, as we are going to say at the Pesach Seder in three weeks – “Dayeinu”. Kadima would have been reason enough to start the synagogue.

When Rabbi Morrison asked me to speak on Thursday, I grappled with the words to describe the happiness that is experienced and the life skills that are learned at Kadima but I was at a complete loss for the right words because it is simply beyond any words or any price what happens weekly at Kadima.

As the Reena caregivers and the volunteers who come weekly could attest, you have to see it to believe the magic that takes place on Sunday afternoon. In fact, I invite each and every one of you to come to any program Sunday afternoon to experience it yourself.

Simply put, Kadima makes its participants' lives. For many of the participants, their parents have passed on and Kadima is their surrogate family. Every week, they talk about what they learned all week and look forward to Kadima asking when they will return every day in the summer when we break.
We are grateful to Reena for partnering with us to continue providing this program for its clients.

Also, a big “Yishar Koachachem” to the entire Beth Emeth membership for your continued support of Kadima.
In closing, Beth Emeth shared the gift of dreaming with Kadima's growing family.

G-d bless all of you for dreaming the dream and keeping this program alive for Kadima's participants who look upon this program as truly a "dream come true."

Shabbat Shalom