Page 20 - Microsoft Word - Flip Pages Book of Life Aug 30 2016 final v1.docx

Kimberly & David Turner Family
This story begins with a knock on the door at the apartment on East 64th Street. Kim rushes to answer the door with a combination of excitement and a tinge of nervousness. It had been over a week since the middle of the night phone call (4am for Dave in Ireland, only 10pm for Kim in New York) that had resulted in a marriage proposal and acceptance.
Kim undid the bolts and swung the door open. Before Dave could drag his bag into the room the words had flown out of his mouth “Do you want kids?” The answer was automatic “Of course I do. But....” continued Kim, “I want to raise them Jewish and I want to have a Jewish wedding.” Dave didn’t hesitate, “OK.” And that was the beginning.
On January 4, 2003 Matthew was welcomed into the world at almost 5pm (perfect timing for a Sunday bris eight days later.) Moshe Avraham (known to you as Matthew) was as curious and intense then as he is now. Not to be outdone by his brother, William came along on August 13, 2005, also on a Saturday evening to ensure he would have a suitable a party for his bris eight days later. Chaim Shama (William) brings laughter and song to our lives and was then, as he is now, always ready for a game, a joke, a story or a song.
In April of 2007 the Turner family moved to Tewksbury, NJ and within a few months had discovered Or Chadash. Ev was sent as the emissary to “check the place out.” She reported back about a small house in the woods with a kind rabbi and a lovely temple tots program that sounded perfect for the two boys. The Turners joined Or Chadash.
Over the years we have come to see the magic that is Or Chadash, the Hebrew and trope being learned by Matthew as he now prepares for his bar mitzvah, the stories and words William has learned from Mr. Stein and Mrs. Betsy, the Sundaes on Sunday and other Hebrew school traditions. Next year on May 22, 2016 Matthew will stand in front of our community as a bar mitzvah. Three years later William will do the same.
There is something magical about Or Chadash, something that brings a tear to your eye and chokes you up when you try to talk about it, something about Dave holding the Torah during Simchat Torah, or about watching Abou and Ev watch their grandsons when they stand at the Bimah. There is something special about the temple in the woods in Hunterdon County that touches people in a way that is hard to describe. For the Turners, what started as a knock on the door at East 64th Street has come full circle to some form of conclusion on Foothill Road. For this we are grateful to Or Chadash and hope that the legacy of magic that is Or Chadash will touch other families, as it has touched ours, for many years to come.
Pic