"Where is everybody?" - Carl Sandburg
(replying to the question, "What was it the last man on earth said?")

Often, that question is asked in Shomrei Torah. The response is "hineni" by Sue Gordon. She is quietly present and active.

Sue has been involved with Sisterhood since she and her husband Bob joined the Shul over 30 years ago. She is a past president of the Sisterhood and has been a member of the Board. Sue was very involved in the movement for equal rights for women in our Synagogue. She taught Torah for Tots and Hebrew School; part of the curriculum was life cycle events. Since she believes children learn best by example and because she only had a confirmation and never became a Bat Mitzvah, she decided to do so. "It was an amazing experience," Sue declared.

"Shomrei Torah is our home away from home," Sue explains. To celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, they sponsored a Friday night kiddish and bought a silver crown for one of the beautiful Torahs. "We are very comfortable in the Shul and enjoy going to Friday night services."

Sue was born and raised in Passaic. Other than college and 5 years in Italy, she spent her life in New Jersey. Sue and Bob met just before she was going off to Elmira College in New York. The fact that he went to Cornell, a mere 35 miles away, made it easy to continue dating. They dated all through college and got married as soon as they graduated. Then it was off to Bologna, Italy where Bob studied veterinary medicine.

When they returned to the states, Sue taught ESL in Paterson. They moved to Wayne in 1978 and have lived here ever since, raising their three children, Meredith, Geoffrey and Cory.

Currently, Sue is working at Banyan Upper School, which is a high school for children with special needs. Walking and exercising are things she loves doing and wishes she had more time to do both. Reading is a special pleasure and being a part of the Shomrei Torah Book Club brings her enjoyment.

She and Bob's three children and daughter -in -law are the loves of their lives, only second to their adorable grandson Chase. They love the fact that their daughter and grandson are members of the Shul. They valued going to Temple Emanuel with Bob's family ,having four generations in the same Shul. They are hoping that it will be the same for them at Shomrei Torah.

The people who have influenced her most are Bob and the three children. They have shown her what is important and given her strength and encouragement to face life's challenges.

Sue hopes that she has set an example for her children and all the students she has taught and that she has made a difference in their lives.

As a Jewish woman, Shabbat dinners and holiday dinners are important. Sue enjoys the traditions of the holidays and hopes to pass this along to her children. She views herself as a link in a chain of thousands of years. Hearing her grandson ask to go to Shul on Friday night fills her heart with joy.

This year ,she tried to make sure that everyone who bought a Mahzor for the High Holidays was able to use his/her own book. Hopefully, she will be able to do it again next year.

We all appreciate Sue's efforts. In addition to her active life, she enjoys planning and running the summer Sisterhood Pool Party and Progressive Dinners.

Thank you, Sue. We are fortunate to have you as a member of Shomrei Torah.