Month: July 2016

Back of the Napkin Cost To Run a Shul

Can We Afford a Shul
What is the budget of a Shul? Let’s say we have 50 member units (families or singles) who want to start a Shul. The members will finance all of the costs. If the 50 members are financing the whole Shul it’s reasonable to pay between $1,000 and $2,000 each. Generally, the smaller the Shul, the higher the cost per member. We’re looking at a budget of between $50,000 and $100,000 a year.

The two major costs will usually be rental space and the Rabbi’s salary. Additional costs include utilities, food costs, program costs and professional fees.

Space Rental
Let’s start with space. With 50 member units, we will need space for between 50 and 100 people on a given Shabbos. The rule of thumb for a Shul is between 15 and 20 square feet per person for the main sanctuary. With 100 people on a given Shabbos, we’re looking at between 1500 and 2000 square feet for the main area.

We need to add about 30-40 percent for bathrooms, food area, storage, coat area, bookshelves, etc.., so we’re looking at 2000 to 2600 square feet. If we want to add a social hall area, we would need to add another 50%, but let’s leave that out for now.

The cost depends on your location and the space itself. Let’s say we can rent space at $15-20 per square foot per year, so were looking at between $30,000 and $50,000 per year for space.

Rabbi and Other Costs
For a a part time Rabbi for a shul this size, you should expect to pay between $20,000 and $80,000. That’s a big range, but a lot depends on your location, the services required and the experience level of the rabbi. Utilities and miscellaneous will cost about $1200 a month.

Summary
On a $75,000 budget you will need 50 member families at $1,500 per family. Rent at $30,000, Rabbi’s salary at $30,000 and miscellaneous at $15,000. You can play with the numbers to see what works for you.

The Weekday Shacharis Minyan – It’s Just a Minyan After All

In the past, I posted about a weekday Shacharis minyan mechila experience and the difference between a minyan and a Tzibbur. After giving it some thought, I think a typical weekday Shacharis minyan can not become a Tzibbur.

The main reason is that there is not enough commitment from the members. Most don’t spend enough time there and it’s difficult to developer deeper relationships give the daven and out nature of the minyan. In addition the financial commitment is minimal, which also diminishes the emotional commitment.

Given that the minyan is not a Tzibbur in the fuller sense of the word, it makes sense that those most involved, the Gabbaim, should make the rules. They’re the ones who are most committed to the success of the minyan and they should have the say in what rules to follow. That’s not to say the Gabbaim shouldn’t be open to suggestions, but unlike the Shabbos Shul, the process is less democratic in such an instance.

I mentioned these thoughts to the Gabbai from the Shacharis minyan and he asked what were the added capacities of a Tzibbur. I mentioned the Chesed aspect to him , but I think there’s more to it. I’ll try to codify it in the future.

Dealing With Inherent Conflicts

I have about 3 minutes for a drasha at the Hashkama minyan this Shabbos, so here are the 441 words I plan on saying.

Korach is the parsha of Machlokes or conflict. The Gemora in Sanhedrin 110a says:
The Torah states: “Moshe rose and went to Dasan and Aviram” – Reish Lakish said: From here we learn that one should not persist in a quarrel. For Rav said: Whoever persists in a quarrel violates a prohibition as it is stated: “He should not be like Korach and his Assembly”.

Hashem created the world with conflict. The most fundamental conflict is between our physical side which includes our desires and ego, taiva and gaiva, and our spiritual side, our soul, composed of our nefesh, ruach, and neshama. Dr. Dovid Lieberman phrases this conflict as “the body wants to do what feels good, the ego wants to do what looks good, and the soul wants to do what is good”.

Torah is the antidote for the man vs himself conflict – as it teaches us how to properly integrate all our actions, emotions and thoughts with our soul.

When Hashem created us as Tzelem Elokim he gave us the ability to create our own spiritual reality and become a creator like He is a Creator. This creates a conflict between ourselves as creators and Hashem as Creator.

We address the man vs God conflict through prayer in which we regularly acknowledge that all our accomplishments are dependent on Hashem.

The third conflict is man vs man. In the Mesillas Yesharim Chapter 11 on Nekiyus, the Ramchal discusses the big four negative character traits of pride, anger, envy and honor – which are all rooted in gaiva. The Ramchal says “a person would be able to overcome his desire for wealth and the other pleasures and still be pressed by the desire for honor, for he cannot endure seeing himself as inferior to his friends”.

The antidote for the man vs man conflict is Gemilas Chasadim. When we give to another person we connect to them and we no longer view our relationship from the ego perspective of superiority and inferiority, which is at the root of the big bad four.

One final helpful piece of advice from Rabbi Itamar Schwartz author of the Bilvavi and the Da Es Atzmecha seforim. He says that we need to change our perspective from a body with a soul – to a soul clothed with a body – which takes mental work, given that we experience the world primarily through our bodies. The nature of spiritual souls is to connect whereas the body and ego cause desire, division and sadness.

We can’t eliminate the world’s inherent conflicts, but we can lessen their divisive effects and work on the connection generating properties of our spiritual soul-oriented world.