So, here we are - Last day, time to pack, time to head home. This has been a remarkable event - for me, of course, and more importantly for you. Last night's tribute to Debbie Friedman with a performance by Joshua Nelson and his group absolutely brought the house down! I had never heard Joshua Nelson before and let me tell you, it was an experience - Jewish Gospel! If you're reading this and didn't have a chance to attend the Biennial, find a CD of his - you will be wowed.

This morning the plenum hears from Ingrid Matson, the president of the Islamic Society of North America. This will be a groundbreaking presentation and will help launch Rabbi Yoffie's new dialogue initiative between the Union and the North American Muslim Community. Also to be considered are more resolutions from the Resolutions Committee and Rabbi Yoffie's Shabbat speech.

So, now, a moment of personal privilege. I want to publicly acknowledge and thank the Union staff for the absolutely incredible job they did putting the Biennial together. I remember my first Biennial in Houston in 1983 when I was awed by the Biennial program but really didn't think a lot about what goes into to making the Biennial a success. Having worked closely behind the scenes on the Houston and now the San Diego Biennials, I can tell you that it is an incredibly huge understaking that has so many critical points where things can go wrong. Miraculously, with our incredible staff led by Rabbi Elliott Kleinman and Robin Hirsch, this Biennial went off without a hitch. One veteran Biennial attendee who has been attending Biennials since the 1950's told me that this Biennial if not the best, was one of the best - EVER.

Finally, I want to thank Bob Heller, the outgoing Board Chair, for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to chair this Biennial. It is an experience I will always cherish. I hope you had a fantastic time here, if you didn't attend you were able to have a virtual fantastic experience and now, it's on to Toronto in 2009!!