"How goodly, Jacob, are thy tents, Israel, thy abodes. Thy house I enter constantly, through thine abundant mercy. Still worship at thy holy fane, in reverence of thee. O Lord! I love thy dwelling place, whereon thy glory rests."

These words from Mah Tovu are linked with one of my most vivid memories of B'nai Moshe. I recall Cantor Klein reciting the prayer as we broke ground on this building -- the newest home to B'nai Moshe -- and a second home to me.

So, it should be no surprise to you that when I was approached a few months ago about sharing my memories of B'nai Moshe, I quickly agreed. I have grown up here and am glad to have the chance to share some of my wonderful memories.

Others might describe their early memories of B'nai Moshe by saying that they felt nervous and wondered if they'd be accepted. I have none of these memories because I starting coming to B'nai Moshe in 1968 when I was five years old. Before I go any further, I must give credit to my brothers Joel and Michael who shared some of their memories with me. Many of the snipets I'm about to share, you might remember yourself. But, I also know that about half of our members have joined the shul since we moved to West Bloomfield. So, I'm going to put some things into the context of today's B'nai Moshe -- as you will see -- some things are very different and some are quite the same.

On Shabbat mornings I attended Story Hour in the library of the Oak Park Building and heard stories about K'tonton. My constant companions were Susie Klein and Katie Lazarus -- who you might know as Katie Price. Story Hour is now Tot Shabbat and now my daughter, Abby, plays with Katie's daughter Alexa on Shabbat mornings.

I remember kiddush in the foyer with a special refreshment table just for the kids -- complete with Town Club pop in dixie cups. There weren't any little picnic tables for us then. But, I have to say that the kiddush now is much better than it was when I was a kid.

At that time, Mr. Ralph was not the pied piper and candy man that the children flocked to every Shabbat. I remember looking for Hershel Roth after services so I could say good Shabbis and give him a kiss. And, I remember an older gentleman who used to give us Charms' candies -- I don't know his name -- we always called him Mr. Charms.

As we got older, we attended Junior Congregation led by Mark Eichner, who was a wonderful teacher. That is where we learned to daven and the tunes to sing. I also have clear memories of electing officers for Junior Congregation. And, a very elaborate system of taking attendance using paperclips and stickers so that we would not have to write on Shabbat -- although for the life of me I can't figure out what any officers did or why we took attendance. Junior Congregation was often held in the chapel, which I always thought was special because it was built using parts taken from the B'nai Moshe on Dexter. Part of the same Aron Kodesh I remember from Junior Congregation is now displayed in the foyer of this building. Like the LIFE program kids, we used to go into the main sanctuary for the end of services. The Oak Park building was much bigger - and more impersonal than this one. But, I especially remember the beautiful judaica displayed in the foyer and visiting the museum that was Mrs. Lehrman's pride and joy.

My brothers and I share many wonderful memories of the USY program. We used to hang out in the youth lounge that was under the bimah in the old building. In the fall you could hear the choir rehearsing through the vents in the ceiling. We went on hay rides at Roy's Ranch, which I thought was really far away. But, it turns out that we were only driving to 15 mile and Haggerty. I also remember many fantastic winter weekends at Camp Tamarack. These terrific memories are due in large part to the outstanding youth advisors. I can't look back on my USY days without mentioning some of the leaders like Sy Kaplan, Sharon and Paul Levine, Hartley Harris and Danny Kaplan.

High holiday memories include sitting on the social hall stage during Kol Nidre. Sneaking through the kitchen into the back of the social hall to hear my brother Michael sing in the junior choir because at the time kids were not allowed in the sanctuary during high holiday services. We didn't have the beautiful havdalah service with the children after Neilah -- but, we did go outside to the hill behind the building in Oak Park to hear the shofar blown to end Yom Kippor. I also have many fond memories of kiddush in the sukkah which was built in the shul's courtyard, parading around on Smichat Torah, Mother's Day brunches sponsored by the Men's Club - I'm sure Boris Tobes was selling raffle tickets even back then -- and Megillah readings with Mr. Ralph waving an enormous wooden gregger. However, I do not have a single memory of going into a Moon Walk at a purim carnival.

In 1976, when I was 13, girls didn't have bat mitzvahs on Saturday mornings. Now, for most girls this might not be an issue. But, I thought it would be silly to have my bat mitzvah on Friday night when my twin brother would be having his bar mitzvah on Saturday morning. So, instead we worked it out with Rabbi Lehrman that we could have our B'nai Mitzvah - together -- on a Sunday morning, which happened to be Rosh Chodesh.

Among my happiest memories is my marriage to Arthur in the Oak Park building. I recall waiting in the social hall to enter the sanctuary -- not with a wedding planner -- but with the caterer, Mr. Sperber. I can hear Cantor Klein singing as I walked down the aisle and I recall Doreen Raskin playing the piano -- which was her last performance at a B'nai Moshe wedding before moving to Florida. Of course, anyone who was married in the Oak Park building has to remember hiking up the aisle of what had to be the steepest incline in any synagogue in North America.

I also remember our time at the JCC when services were much more intimate. I especially recall the year our high holiday services were led by my brother Michael as guest rabbi. I find it hard to describe the joy and happiness of the magical dedication weekend in 1992. It was a time filled with excitement and pure energy.

While I can recall very joyous memories of B'nai Moshe, our lives were also saddened a few years ago when Arthur's parents, Norm and Shirley Siegal, died unexpectedly. Yet, we were greatly comforted by the support we received from our extended B'nai Moshe family.

We were fortunate to celebrate Abby's simchat bat here and have enjoyed watching her grow and learn and play at B'nai Moshe - And, I'm sure I won't ever forget seeing her hug Ben Taub on the bimah during services last week.

The other night, I remarked to a friend that there are very few public places where you can feel comfortable letting your child run freely -- like we did when we were kids -- without being worried about their safety -- but B'nai Moshe is one of those places.