Today was my day to serve as an usher at our temple.
Holding a seat on the religious affairs committee comes with this responsibility.
While I could probably come up with a list of a dozen other ways to spend a Saturday morning, I feel it's important to live up this commitment.
So without hesitation, after dropping Susan at the shop  and picking up some apples at the market, I made my way over to the synagogue.
Obviously, this is a place where I am very comfortable. 
My family has been members there since 1962.
There are very few people who come on a Saturday that I do not know and even less that do not know me.
My "shift" would normally run from 9 until late morning.
Most ushers kind of call it quits after about 11.
Having cleared my entire morning, I decided to stick around until services ended today. 
Of course this week just happens to be the second longest Torah portion of the year so the morning was dragging on a bit longer than usual.
As I sat in the lobby,late into my morning,I noticed 2 gentlemen approaching the building. Neither one looked as if they belonged in this setting. The older of the 2, someone who appeared to be about my age, was dressed in jeans and an un-tucked flannel over a t-shirt. 
The younger man was wearing jeans and a sweater. Neither was decked out n what anyone would consider as "go to meetin'" garb.
The pair made their way up the steps, proceeded past the security guard on duty in the foyer and pulled open the doors to the lobby.  
The elder of the 2 seemed to be looking for some one or something as I approached.
I greeted them and ask if I could help them. 
The elder said he was looking for a plaque in honor of his father.
It wasn't immediately clear to me if he was looking to purchase a new plaque or was searching for one that already existed.
That became clear to me as he quickly made his way past me , headed to the wall behind me and said to the younger man"here it is....this is your Grandfather's".
 I joined them and read the name .
I had no idea who this person was.
That plaque has been in that same spot as long as I can remember and to be honest,in all of my 56 years of being in that building , I never took much notice of it.
It seems his dad,Boris F., was one of the founding members of the congregation. He served as the finance chairman when this fledgling community decided to raise funds to build a synagogue.
He said he has a picture from 60 years ago with his dad and the rest of the building committee proudly displaying the $250,000 check that represented the funds they had raised to break ground and construct the Jewish Community Center of Paramus.
He was so excited to share this with his son.
Moving down the wall to the area where there are plaques dedicated to many other founding members, his eyes filled with tears as he mentally matched the names on the wall to faces he remembered from so many years ago.
I shared with him that this year's annual dinner dance honoree was the building itself,celebrating the 60th anniversary of the groundbreaking.
He offered to send me the picture and of course I told him that we would be thrilled to have it.
We shared and compared memories for a few minutes.
I asked him to stay for kiddush (Google it!) , but he declined.
His son asked if he could take a picture of the plaque. 
I explained that it was the Sabbath and that we do not permit that on Shabbat.
He understood and wanted to be respectful.
We spent a few more moments reminiscing and then it was time for them to leave. 
The Dad wanted to take one more look at the plaque.
It was then that I chose to commit my soul to eternal damnation. I told the younger man "quick, while no one is looking, take your picture".
He smiled and thanked me,snapped the shot with his dad and the plaque and said a final farewell. 
As they headed side by side towards the door, he put his arm on his dad's back. 
If ever there was one, this had been a Kodak moment.
I am sure that when my day of reckoning comes, I will have no problem justifying my decision to the Big Guy up above! 
And if he has a problem with it......too bad!
Shabbat Shalom!