Jay Freier, our Synagogue’s first President, was born on December 2, 1947 and passed away on March 12, 1991.  He was dearly loved by everyone who knew him.  He took our Synagogue from non-existent to a thriving organization.  He was an inspiration to all of us and played very important role in every aspect of the Synagogue’s success from donating tremendous amounts of time to staring in the famous and very successful “Yentette” shows and parties that the Synagogue used to put on.  Jay was a President of Presidents, for, not only was he the first President of Congregation Etz Chaim, but he also was the first President of the Gay Men’s Chorus and the President of the Miami Chapter of the ACLU.  He touched the lives of so many people.  He was a Special Education Teacher and extremely devoted to his students.  He was available 24 hours a day - 7 days a week for them.  Not only did he give his students his personal phone number but also made himself available to meet them at any time if they needed him.  He was the Chair of the Special Education Department at North Miami Beach Senior High School and won the prestigious Teacher Of The Year Award.  He also worked as a travel agent and took very good care of all his friends when it came to making reservations and trip planning. Unfortunately, Jay died too young from complications of AIDS.  Who knows how many more great things he might have accomplished in his life?  His funeral was attended by more than 1,000 people including dignitaries from the government, charitable organizations and members of the business community.  The funeral procession was so long that traffic was stopped on the Palmetto Expressway in order to accommodate the huge parade of cars.  Jay was a “צַדִּיק - Tzaddik,” a truly wonderful and righteous man.