Editor's Note: This little story happened on one of my family's first visits to Bnai Israel. We weren't frum yet at the point, so, there you have it...

My sister was in Virginia Beach, visiting with my parents and I, and we wanted to show her Bnai Israel, so my father, mother, sister and myself went to Norfolk Shabbos morning. My father and my sister wanted to see the sanctuary of Beth El, the conservative synagogue across the street, so partway through the service, they went over there. My mother and I stayed at Bnai.

The service at Bnai was not unusual - warm, honest davening, with a meaningful sermon in between.

Meanwhile, my father and my sister were checking out Beth El. The sanctuary itself is a beautiful sight, so they hung around for a while to see what happened there. At some point, for no reason, my sister wanted to go back to Bnai. She didn't know exactly why, but she wanted to get back there. So, they came back and rejoined us.

Right as the re-entered the sanctuary of B'nai, Rabbi Bornstein, z"l was taking the podium. Rabbi Bornstein was the Rabbi Emeritus of Bnai Israel. He served nearly 50 years as Rabbi and was beloved by the entire Jewish community, regardless of affiliation. The reason he was about to speak was that he had just completed the entire Babylonian Talmud. He was about to make a siyum.

For those of you who don't have perspective on this, this should help: There's a class called Daf Yomi. Every day, groups around the world learn one page of the Babylonian Talmud. Our group spends on hour doing this every morning. It takes seven and a half years to finish - and Daf Yomi moves fast.

Rabbi Bornstein was studying the Talmud independantly, in depth, and at his own pace.

The fact that my father and my sister came back to Bnai's sanctuary just in time to witness this event made for a meaningful Shabbos experience, and it was just one of many events where we recognized the hand of HaShem in our lives and took the steps we needed to take to observe the Torah.

Rabbi Bornstein was a righteous man. He was a friend to everyone. He was always inviting, but was also able to summon up stern conviction when needed. Our community has never been the same since he was niftar, and his seat still sits empty on the Bima. It's difficult to be an orthodox Rabbi in a city full of conservative and reform Jews. Rabbi Bornstein managed to still be loved by all, while not giving up his beliefs. He completed the Babylonian Talmud that day in memory of his father.  The Bnai Israel community in Norfolk, Virginia, should continue to grow in Rabbi Bornstein's merit.