Dear
Readers,
These columns began on my area of America Online, called: Judaism
Today: Where Do I Fit? People anonymously
sent me E-Mail, and I began to choose one for a public response
in my Jewish E-Mail of the Week column. The column has become
quite popular and is now syndicated internationally in many
Jewish papers and websites. I hope you find they help you
as you think about the Ethics, Spirituality and Peoplehood
components of the Jewish way of Life. I welcome your
comments... see the end of the column.
Gil
PS
Teachers and others, feel free to copy my columns and forward
them or use them as you see fit. Please see the friendly
copyright notice at the end. |
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PAYING
TO PRAY
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Dear
Gil:
If
a person doesn't have big bucks, no
temple really wants them. Dues can be
heavy for families and seniors on
fixed incomes...so no temple
affiliation for them.
Reform
Temples are notorious for high dues. I
realize that temples require $$$ to
exist but churches collect at Sunday
services...synagogues can do the same
with no hardship. Churches get turnout
and temples do not do as well. My
Christian friends have no problem at
all attending Sunday services. I have
not attended a temple service since I
moved to Florida. I never had this
problem back home up north.
T
Dear
T:
With
the High Holidays around the corner, I
have chosen your email for this week's
column because I know many others feel
as you do. Paying high dues for
synagogue membership is a common
complaint. This complaint becomes even
more bitter around the High Holidays
when most synagogues require tickets
to attend services.
The
complaint often sounds like this:
"Imagine the audacity! I must pay
to pray!"
Right
from the get go, I want to say that
the issue you raise is not unique to
the Reform Movement. Requiring
synagogue dues has nothing to do with
movements, it has to do with the need
to pay the bills.
Further,
no one has to pay to pray. Judaism
does not require you to pray in a
synagogue. You can pray anytime you
want for FREE! However, if you want to
take advantage of the special
facilities, equipment and trained
staff of a synagogue, that costs
money. Someone's got to pay the bills.
That money comes from members.
This
is no different than exercise. You can
exercise for free. But if you want to
use a health club, their equipment and
staff, that costs money. That money
also comes from members.
Unlike
a for profit health club however, most
synagogues will work with a congregant
to adjust and lower dues to allow them
to participate. I know there are dues
horror stories...I have written about
them. But, in your case (especially
living in Florida were there are many
shuls,) I would say that you should do
a bit more shul hunting. I am positive
you can find a synagogue or rabbi who
will accommodate your fixed income.
The
notion of revealing your income to the
synagogue may be distasteful, but I
don't know of another way to ascertain
a person's fair share or whether a
person truly deserves a break on dues.
You
mention that churches do things
differently. Someone I know who is
active with the Roman Catholic Church
once said to me that he admires how
synagogues charge dues based on
ability to pay. He said, relying as
the church does, on voluntary
offerings of an amount you are
"moved" to give, constantly
leaves the church struggling to make
ends meet.
A
church and a synagogue both have fixed
expenses that don't change whether
people are coming or not. So dues make
even more sense to me than depending
on offerings. Related to this, people
have complained to me that they hardly
ever use the synagogue, so paying the
high dues is not only irritating, it's
not a very good deal.
My
response is two fold. First, a member
has the option to attend often if they
wish. Second, most synagogue members
expect that the synagogue and staff be
"on call 24/7." If there is
a sudden family emergency...the rabbi
had better be there. If a child is
entering nursery school or having a
bar or bat mitzvah, the synagogue is
just supposed to be available. The
same is true if a wedding or funeral
occur. Not only, is the expectation
that synagogue be there, but it should
be up and running well -- with no
leaky roof, good AC and heating. Many
also expect nice carpeting and
furnishings to boot.
We
expect the Fire Department to be at
our beck and call with trained staff
and good fire trucks even if we never
take advantage of the services. Few of
us object to paying taxes for fire
protection and most of us thank
goodness never call the Fire
Department.
The
synagogue is there for our emergencies
too, and our High Holidays, but even
more, for our day to day needs. Paying
dues to keep it healthy is OK by me.
And paying more to help subsidize
those who have less is also OK with
me...provided that everyone is honest
about what they can afford.
I'll
end with an early Shana Tovah wish to
you...in a shul that is sensitive to
your soul and your limited income.
Gil
As
I mentioned, I wrote a column earlier
on this subject: Here is the link: Response
1/29: Synagogue Dues: A Horror Story
A FRIENDLY COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© Copyright Gil Mann
These columns can be found at www.beingjewish.org. Not
only do I give you permissions to copy these Jewish Email
columns...I HOPE YOU WILL and that you share them with others!
All I ask is that you never charge anyone for them and that you
also include this little copyright notice. Thank You!
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