Re: The cost of Jewish communal responsibility

[r l reid <ro...>]

While I am no unsympathetic, having been poor for a good portion of my 
adult life, you have to look at the larger picture.

I make a "sacrifice" to pay my dues at a shul that is struggling financially.
Instead of bringing my best bull to be burnt, I bring a couple weeks salary,
which get burnt in the furnace as fuel oil instead.

If we can attract more memebers, we can lower our dues.

It's a little like folks who complain if we don't quite make a minyan 
on a weekday when THEY need to say kaddish, but never come to morning 
minyan any other time.

Its not like all those Rabbis and Cantors and synagogue presidents are
just getting so very wealthy off us poor lay yidden.

The mortgage has to be paid year round - not just on Yom Kipper. The clergy
and the office staff have to be paid year round - not just on Rosh Hasanah.
The elctric bill has to be paid all week - not just on Shabbat.

And we can't pass the plate on Shabbat.   

If you want the community to be there when you need it,  you have to be 
there when the community needs it.  If you can't afford dues, most shuls
have ways of dealing with that - just don't take vacations to Aruba 
if you're being cut a break on dues.  If that doesn't work for you, then 
it's not that important to you.

I'm not trying to be harsh.  But budget realities are harsh.  And as 
Sam said, if a more of us in our 40's and 50's, at the height of our
earning power, would affiliate, it would be easier on the young families
just starting out and the older folks on limited incomes.  Far too many
people drop out when the last kid is bar mitzvah, and then join again when
their health starts to fail and mortality looks all too real.

In Europe, all Jews paid a tax to support the synagogue whether they 
went or not.  We cvan't do that in America, but what a difference it
would make if every Jew in my town paid $100 a year to support having
a Reform, a Conservative, and a Chabad in town, with all welcome
at any of them.

roger




-- 
r l reid        ro (at) rreid(dot)net


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