The cost of Jewish communal responsibility

[Sam Weiss <SamWeiss...>]

At 05:42 PM 9/9/03, Jeremy A Schiffer wrote:
>Organized Judaism, in many places, seems entirely preoccupied
>with extracting large sums of money from people.

While I empathize with your plight, since I earn my livelihood from 
Organized Judaism it behooves me to address this oft-heard complaint in a 
general way, without meaning to cast any aspersions on Mr. Schiffer .

>Now, I'm living in New York, and with my girlfriend, attempting to find a
>place where we can worship this year and hopefully beyond.

If more of the people who eventually decide to partake of Organized Judaism 
in their middle-adult years instead made it a habit to affiliate and 
support their Jewish community on a more consistent basis, the economics of 
affiliation would be vastly different.

>Are working people, the middle class, not considered 'holy' or
>'Jewish' because we're not willing to take on the financial burden
>necessary to join the religious 'mainstream'?

No one is evaluating anyone's holiness in such a situation, but the term 
"freeloader" is very often -- though certainly not always -- appropriate.

>Is it wrong for us to believe that the organized Jewish community should 
>be opening its arms to people wishing to join, rather than first handing 
>people an itemized bill as a precondition to entry?

It is the rare synagogue that does not make accommodations for financial 
hardship situations when those wishing to join present their case 
appropriately.  But it is also the rare synagogue administration 
irresponsible enough to make believe that an institution's budget can be 
balance on good will alone.  If one honestly feels that he cannot afford 
something which he wants and values, there should be no shame attached to 
asking for financial leniency in an honest and forthright way, instead of 
wishing -- as in a fairy tale -- that things could be free, that synagogue 
utilities and salaries and facility maintenance and capital improvements 
and communal charity needs etc. etc. would be magically paid for 
by.....  By whom?  By the local Catholic diocese?

>I have never heard of a Christian church turning away worshippers, even on
>Christmas or Easter

Because responsible community-minded Christians -- even those who only 
attend services on Christmas -- know the value of supporting THEIR church, 
THEIR pastor, THEIR soup kitchen =all year round, and all of their 
life=.  This is a fact of life which many otherwise culturally savvy Jews 
have trouble understanding.  And because of this vast support, Christian 
denominations can pool the resources of their "franchises" and have the 
money to support local churches in economically deprived locations, whereas 
among synagogues it's every congregation on their own.  Which is why...

>... it is standard practice in synagogues to require
>expensive tickets for admission to services

_____________________________________________________________
Cantor Sam Weiss === Jewish Community Center of Paramus, NJ 

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+