Operations Archives - Shul Politics

Cutting the Line to Sell Your Chametz

Here’s the scenario: It’s the week before Pesach. Our Rav is a leading Posek and many people, including the kollel and yeshivah students sell their Chametz through him, and ask a shailoh (question) or two in the process. The line can get quite long. In comes a long time Shul member who catches the corner of the Rav’s eye. The Rav waves him to the front of the line to sell his Chametz.

On one hand the Rav has instituted the policy that dues paying Shul members have priority and the privilege to cut the line. If the Rav waves you to the front, it’s an easier choice, you probably go. If you’re not waved on, should you exercise the privilege of cutting the line? My unscientific observation has been that most people do not cut the line.

Is there anything wrong with cutting the line? Probably not. The Rav is paid by the members of the Shul and he tries to give them priority, which makes sense. And it’s not causing potential embarrassment, like telling someone they’re in your seat. It seems like it should be ok to cut, and after all, the Rav himself instituted the policy.

So why don’t most people cut the line? I think they’re a little embarrassed to execute this privilege. The other people on line probably don’t feel great about it, their time is valuable to them. Perhaps there’s a cultural aversion to line cutting in our cross section of Orthodoxy. Many people use the opportunity to open a sefer, shmooze or just spend some down time. Why risk offending other people when there are other options. It’s a small issue, but it’s the small things that collectively define who we are.

While we’re on the issue of selling Chametz, there is a custom to give the Rabbi a tip at this time. In our middle class neighborhood, it seems that the amounts are in the $20 to $100 range, but ask your friends what the norms are by you.

A Malach on Main Street

I have the privilege of preparing our Shul’s AYnouncements. (Hat tip to past president SR, for coining the term AYnouncements as in Ahavas Yisroel Announcements.) Although the weekly deadline nature of the job creates some pressure, I do consider it a privilege to be able to serve the Tzibbur in this manner.

An added bonus of the job is sharing it with a number of members to pre-read it – looking for omissions and corrections. One of the Rabbi’s sons is a pre-reader and he often will share halachic times that should be included. Last week’s AYnouncements had this inclusion: “Last Time for Kiddush Levanah is all night following Wednesday 12/7.”

(Full disclosure: It was actually missing the final h in Levanah in the AYnouncements, because it was a late addition, which was not resent to the pre-readers, and I forgot the rule: A Hebrew “hei” gets an English “h” at the end of the word.)

Anyway, this month that note was very relevant because we had a lot of overcast days and I did not have a chance to say Kiddush Levanah with the Tzibbur. Thankfully, I remembered the AYnouncements note this morning and it was still the night following Wednesday 12/7 – the last chance to say it. So as I was on the way to Shul, I pulled out my Interlinear Minchah/Maariv and crossed over to the east side of Main Street to see the almost full moon, and to say Kiddush Levanah.

As I finished I saw an older chasidish gentleman walking down a deserted Main Street smoking a cigarette. After he gave me a big Shulem Aleichem, I asked him if he had said Kiddush Levanah yet. He thought for a second and said that he hadn’t and he would say it with me. Since I already said it, I handed him the Interlinear Minchah/Maariv and listened with joy as he said a slow and beautiful Kiddush Levanah. Afterwards he thanked me profusely for being his shaliach for the reminder.

You can provide your own nimshal (moral) to the story, but to me it was as the author Sarah Riegler says “G-d Winked”. Sometimes you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Shuls Out for Summer

In the New Your City and Long Island area, it has become standard fare that the Rabbi goes away for part of the Summer. This is quite understandable as a typical Rabbi is quite busy during the year and he needs the slower country pace to rejuvenate, especially with a hectic Yom Noraim season quickly approaching. Our Rabbi, and I assume most others, leaves his cell number with no calling preconditions, although I would assume the call volume goes down significantly.

Those of us left in the city or suburbs have the same spiritual challenges, perhaps more in the carefree and clothes-free summer environment. On the other hand, a break from school puts many of the chinuch related questions on hold. Personally, I greatly miss not having our Rabbi around. I miss his presence, I miss his Torah and I miss his advice and influence on the Shul.

From a Shul point of view, the first noticeable difference is the lack of a drasha. Some Shuls have a replacement drasha when the Rabbi’s away, but many forego the drasha in the summer months. It’s no secret that some people are pleased without a drasha, but I think the vast majority miss the Rabbi’s divrei Torah. Without the drasha, Shul will end earlier, which is a benefit to some and a detriment to those who enjoy being surrounded by friends amidst the kedusha of the Shul.

Depending on the structure and composition of the Shul, there may be less decorum since the Rabbi’s unspoken or spoken authoritative presence is missing and people are in a more casual mood, which lends itself to talking. Most Shuls are noticably emptier due to people going away and from the fact that some people might daven in other Shuls when their Rabbi is away.

Tisha B’Av provides an interesting interlude in that the Rabbi often comes back, but the fasting and somberness of the day, prevents fully appreciating his presence. In no time, Rosh Chodesh Elul arrives and the Yeshiva connected Rebbeim will migrate back to the city, while others will make their way back in the following weeks. Then comes the Shofar and Selichos prelude to the Yomim Noraim and Succos and all the Shul excitement that brings.

The best thing about Shul being out for Summer is our hearts growing fonder when we return in full force in Elul.

The Complexities of Complaints

In a post regarding the difference between a Minyan and a Tzibbur, I wrote: “A minyan is a place for davening, while a tzibbur is a place for people. … One of the main thing that distinguishes a minyan from a tzibbur are the complaints. … In a Tzibbur the members are the group and therefore they have a right to express their opinion, which are often perceived by the leadership as complaints. ”

The person who usually receives the most complaints is the President. Depending on their job, family and life situations, some Presidents spend more time in the Shul than others. If a President is in the Shul less often he will probably receive less complaints, because there is a whole class of minor complaints that people will make in person, but will not pick up the phone to pursue. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Let’s take a quick look at the complexities of complaints.

Less complaints are good because there will be less situations which can become major disagreements. In addition, each complaint is a challenge for the President, since he has to dignify each complaint and respond with respect to the complaining member – which sometimes can be challenging. Thirdly, many issues can’t be rectified because there are usually a number of factors why a given Shul Operation is administered in a certain way.

The first benefit of more complaints is that when people feel their voice is heard, they feel more connected to the Shul. Increased Shul connection benefits both the individual and the Shul. From a spiritual perspective, complaints give the administration the opportunity to increase their peace, love and understanding capabilities, and it’s a lot more difficult to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself when you’re being challenged on some issue. And lastly, if people don’t feel that they can express their complaints, resentments build.

If you didn’t like this post, please feel free to send your complaints my way.

Monday Morning Gabbai

Most of the questions seem innocent enough: “Why did we stop there in the Torah leining?”, “Why did Sam get Maftir, does he have a Yahrzeit?”, but the art of being a Monday Morning Gabbai (MMG) can start to cross red lines. Of course the second guessing doesn’t wait to Monday or even Sunday. It usually starts right after davening and sometimes it’s done in real time, even with our Twitter and Facebook feeds turned off for Shabbos.

On one hand it’s good for the members to pay attention to the service, and any halachic related question is certainly worth asking. On Parshas Zachor, we have an extra reading after Mussaf for women who couldn’t make it for the Shacharis leining. There was a slight switch in the leining and inquiries as to what happened led to some halachic insights by the Rav.

However some inquiries regarding the Baalei Tefillah and who gets kibbudim, call into question the judgement of the Gabbai. Accountability is normally a healthy thing, but when we’re talking about volunteers, and specifically a job like the Gabbai, which is one of the most difficult in the Shul, we have to be careful, sensitive and appreciative to the person who accepts this role week in and week out. He has to regularly make judgment calls on the spot, and it’s impossible to be perfect, so we need to cut him a little more slack.

We were playing MMG this Shabbos and trying to figure out why a certain protocol was not followed. I’m good friends with the Gabbai and I asked him politely, after davening, what went into the decision. He related the details, which is what we figured, and he even said I could post about it on Shul Politics.

Good Gabbais are hard to come by, so treat yours with the appreciation and respect he deserves.

Confessions of a Shul Covid Politician

Most people cringe at the thought of politics and politicians, but if you wikipedia the word, you will find that politics is the process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The Covid crisis has tested the capabilities of Shul Politicians the world over. So I just wanted to share some challenges we are currently facing. Our particular Shul is a membership organization, with active Officers, a Board of Directors, and a Rabbi who leads and guides us.

Shul politicians want the approval of their members. At the core, that’s our raison d’etre – making our members happy. With regard to Covid, we need to develop constantly changing policies and procedures in response to the changing environment. The process involves trying to arrive at a consensus after discussing the issues with the members, officers, board and Rabbi. In the case of Covid, it’s often hard to reach a complete consensus, but with much input and discussion, it’s possible to develop policies that are safe, in the spirit of the law, and provide members with the services they need and expect.

After the policies are formulated and communicated, Shul Politicians are looking for the cooperation of the members. Cooperation sometimes morphs into compliance, and people sometimes need to be told to cover their nose, keep 6 feet distanced, and to attend a non preferred minyan location. It’s natural for people to focus on their own interests, and the Shul Politician must remember that it’s their job to nudge people into cooperation and compliance when necessary.

The payoff of these efforts for the Shul Politician is that every minyan, especially on Shabbos, is a mini-victory. In our Shul, our members are cooperative and appreciative, and that sweetens the efforts even more. May Hashem give us the continued strength to deal with this situation and bring us quickly to the days of yore, when seating, talking and funding were our primary concerns.

Great Rabbis Understand the Purpose of Shuls

Rabbis around the world are making amazing efforts to keep their shuls safe and functioning. Making multiple minyan. Streamlining the davening. Adhering to covid-safety guidelines. Stressing the importance of davening as a Tzibbur.

That’s because great Rabbis understand the purpose of Shuls. The Ramban explains the purpose in his Torah Commentary at the end of Parsha Bo:

“When one does a simple mitzvah like mezuzah and thinks about its importance, he has already acknowledged G-d’s creation of the world, G-d’s knowledge and supervision of the world’s affairs, the truth of prophecy and all the foundations of Torah. In addition he has acknowledged G-d’s kindness towards those that perform His will, for He took us from bondage to freedom in great honor in the merit of our forefathers.

That is why Chazal say, be careful in performing a minor commandment as a major one, for all of them are major and beloved since through them a person is constantly acknowledging his G-d. For the objective of all the commandments is that we should believe in G-d and acknowledge to Him that He created us.

In fact this is the purpose of creation itself, for we have no other explanation of creation. And G-d has no desire, except that man should know and acknowledge the G-d that created him. And the purpose of raising our voices in prayer and the purpose of Shuls and the merit of communal prayer is that people should have a place where they can gather and acknowledge that G-d created them and caused them to be and they can publicize this and declare before Him, “We are your creations”.

A powerful statement. When we gather and daven in Shul we’re directly fulfilling the purpose of creation. Certainly puts things in a clarifying perspective. Thanks to all the Rabbis for all their efforts on our behalf.

Who Can Make the Sun Shine? – The Candy Man Can!

No, we’re not taking about Willy Wonka, where the song originated, or Sammy Davis Jr., who made it popular (don’t you just love the power of wikipedia), we’re taking about the man in Shul who makes the kids smile with a piece of candy or three on Shabbos.

Could there be possibly be politics with the candy man? Of course! Now remember our definition of politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. And in the case of distributing candy to children there are actually some real issues.

A story will illustrate. When our Shul moved into a new building the members were putting in their requests for seats. The candy man wanted to sit near the Aron, but the Baalei Tefillah felt that having the kids come up front during davening was disturbing. The candy man agree to change his policy and only distribute candy after davening. Soon thereafter somebody further back in the Shul distributed small portions during davening. The candy man did not mind and was happy with his after-davening slot.

Besides the distribution issue, some parents are not crazy about their kids eating too much candy on Shabbos because it makes some kids wired. However it’s hard to put controls on the candy man if the Shul is ok with the distribution.

All in all the candy man is a good thing. It sweetens the Shul going process for the younger kids who remember the experience for a lifetime.

Shuls, Shavuos and Spiritual Reality

I was learning with a newcomer to Torah Judaism recently and I used the term “spiritual reality”. He said that was an oxymoron because reality is tangible and spirituality is not, and the two terms should not really be used together. He had a good point, because by definition (according to the Ramchal in Derech Hashem), spirituality is not measurable. However the Torah teaches that there exists a G-d, who created a spiritual reality which is the cause of all physical reality that we experience.

The Ramchal says that we could deduce the existence of Hashem and spiritual reality (although not its details), through observation of the physical world and logic. However, he bases his discussion in Derech Hashem on what we know from our Masorah (cross generational teachings). Shavuos is the day on which we collectively experienced the existence of Hashem and received many of the foundations of our Torah and Masorah. The Torah describes spiritual reality and prescribes how we are to live and relate to that reality.

I had a conversation with a fellow Shul member recently which highlights the difference between physical and spiritual reality. We were discussing how we might close gaps in the services the Shul provides and make existing services more effective and efficient. These are aspects of physical reality that any organization would address. In the course of our conversation we agreed on two principles of spiritual reality: minimizing machlokes (distance-creating disagreements) and having extreme sensitivity to the feelings of people currently involved in Shul operations. Although abiding to these principles might sometimes result in less effectiveness and efficiency, they were spiritual Torah priorities and therefore they took precedence.

As we prepare to receive the Torah on Shavuos, it’s great to be reminded how fortunate we are to be connected to, and governed by, the spiritual reality of the Torah.

Taming The Wild Shul Kiddush Scene

The Scene
You’ve seen the movie. Shul ends and it’s time for Kiddush. In the time it takes to say “Walmart Black Friday Shoppers”, the hot food is either all gone or desecrated into a non-appetizing state. Ok, perhaps that’s an exaggeration, but hungry Shul-going Jews can sometimes go a little over the line. The key, like in many Shul matters, is to set boundaries that can be observed.

Wait For the Rabbi To Make Kiddush
The first boundary to consider is waiting for the Rabbi to make Kiddush for everyone. Nobody takes any food, without exception, until the Rabbi makes Kiddush. Yes, people will correctly point out that you should make a mezonos immediately after Kiddush, but that halachic problem can be addressed with well position plates of cookies and crackers around the room. For guests and members who forget, politely point out that this is a rule without exception.

The Seven Minute Rule
To make it easier for people to wait, our Shul created the seven minute rule. At the end of the davening, or at the end of announcements, the president or Gabbai reminds the congregation that nobody should take any food until the Rav makes Kiddush in about seven minutes. That’s the approximate time it takes for all the men and women to get from the sanctuary to the social hall. In your shul, it may be the six, eight or nine minute rule. It doesn’t have to be to-the-second in actuality, but knowing that they’ll be eating soon, helps people remain within the don’t-take-yet boundary.

Making It Last
Even with the Rabbi making Kiddush and the seven minute rule, when the waiting ribbon is cut, it can still get ugly. Multiple tables and smart food placement can help with the sometimes inevitable jostling that results from a many people, single destination configuration. To make the hot/best food last, having members serve can help. Smaller plates or small cholent bowls is another idea. Gentle reminders to take less can also have a positive effect over time.

The Shul Kiddush is a great event which people thoroughly enjoy. I’ve laid out some ideas to make it a little more civil, but sometimes people will cross the best behavior line. It’s important to give the benefit of the doubt when that happens and remember that there are cultural norms involved. People are generally good, but sometimes they’re also hungry!

A Shul Dinner Primer

A Shul Dinner is a wonderful event. The members get together for a wonderful evening together; the Shul is celebrated and strengthened; the service of the honorees is recognized. However it takes a lot of work, and if not for its primary fundraising role, it would probably not be undertaken.

As we’ve discussed previously in the “Back of the Napkin Cost to Run a Shul”, even a small 50 member family Shul in a rented space and a part-time Rabbi, can easily cost $75,000 a year or about $1,500 per family. You can’t charge $1,500 per family for membership in a small Shul, so you charge a few hundred for membership, a few hundred for Yomim Noraim seats, hope to raise a few hundred per family at a dinner, and sweat to make up the rest of the budget. The dinner is the key event around which fundraising can take place. Let’s look at four major processes: getting an honoree, picking a venue, encouraging member participation, making the event run smoothly.

Getting members to agree to be honored is not simple. For a small shul of 100 or less active members, getting one couple (or individual) to be honored is fine. In our Shul’s earlier years we would honor 2 couples, but as the years passed we ran short of willing participants, so we usually honor 1 couple now. If we would have had the foresight, we would have honored 1 couple from the beginning.
Some primary reasons people refuse to be honored are:
1) they don’t want to make the financial commitment it implies
2) they don’t want to bother their friends and families
3) they don’t want of feel they deserve the honor
If you set reasonable fundraising goals, you can often overcome objections 1) and 2) by insisting that a big donation or invite list is not expected. Objection 3) sometimes requires the Rabbi to pay a special visit to teach the members about the merit received for accepting the honor for the benefit of the Shul.

After the honorees, comes the venue. Find a few dates that work for the honorees and that don’t present any obvious community conflicts. Call the local halls first, because the less travelling required the better, and it’s always good to do business in your local community where possible. In Queens and Long Island, you can expect to spend between $40 and $60 per person for the caterer and the hall. If you’re a good negotiator, and are willing to tone down the menu, you might bring it home between $30 and $40 per person. Make sure it’s respectable, since you’re asking you members to shell out a few hundred per person, and it’s a let down if they’re served a tired piece of chicken, with some overcooked greasy vegetables.

Next is to decide the participation levels for your journal. Set the dinner attendance cost within the reach of most members, and set the other levels from there. Get a local printer to print your invitations. When putting together your invite list, remember people generally don’t attend or contribute to other Shul’s dinners, so save yourself some postage and printing cost and invite those likely to contribute. Don’t skip the journal, as it’s a nice touch for the honorees, and it helps you to raise more money with the different journal page rates.

After the invitations go out, comes the ad deadline game. It’s no secret that Jews run a little late when it comes to deadlines, so a liberal amount of Shul announcements and email reminders are usually necessary. Calling members who have not responded is a very wise idea, since people are more likely to respond to a call then to other forms of solicitation. In our Shul we encourage all new members to come, sometimes by reducing their contribution to just cover the catering costs.

Lastly comes the event itself. The goal is to make it respectable for the honorees, enjoyable for the members, build connection to the Shul, all within a reasonable elapsed time. Reasonable timings are 60 minutes for the shmorg or hors d’oeuvres, 60 minutes for the main meal and program, 20 minutes for desert. Throw in a mincha and/or a maariv and some transition time, and your talking 3 hours total. Although in a certain sense, the speeches are the most important part of the dinner, people today seem to have trouble sitting through them. Generally the dinner chairman, the Rabbi, the president, an introduction for the honorees, and the honorees themselves should speak. Inform all parties of the target time for their speech.

You can see there’s a lot of steps, so you need a competent dinner committee, consisting of a dinner chair, a journal chair, and a few other people helping with the planning and execution. It’s helpful if you can get some the same people from year to year, because there’s a lot of knowledge that is gained each time a dinner is run. It’s a great event and with some proper planning it can be even better!

The Darkness Reveals the Light

It was a typical Friday morning. I stopped by Wassermans supermarket at about 8:30 am to pick up a few things for Shabbos. I didn’t paying enough attention to the Con Ed truck and the police cars parked at a nearby Shul.

I went home at about 9:30 and my son-in-law and grandson knocked on the door and proceeded to tell me about the fire coming out of the manhole right near our Shul. Our Shul also houses the Gan that my grandson attends. My son-in-law explained that a fire travelled from a manhole near the Con Ed truck to our Shul. All the children from the Gan were evacuated in a safe and orderly fashion as the Shul lost all power.

At about 10:15 I got a call requesting that an email go out to our members explaining the situation. We we’re not going to get power back until at least Shabbos. Some building committee members and the Rabbi laid out a plan of action. Here is the email:
—————————————————————-
There is currently a power outage in the Shul due to an Underground Fire. Con Edison is not sure exactly when power will be restored.

– The Gan classes have been dismissed.
– The 12:25 Early Mincha today is cancelled.
– We hope to have emergency lighting in the Men’s section for Mincha/Maariv tonight.
– There will be no Youth Groups tomorrow.
– We are planning on having Shacharis tomorrow, possibly with only natural light.
– We will be sending an update later (I”YH) regarding the scheduled Melava Malka and the MS Learning.

Please say a Kapitel Tehillim (121, 130) for the continued protection of the Shul and its inhabitants.
—————————————————————-

A few trips were made to Home Depot by our call-to-duty members. Shabbos Services under battery operated lights was a nice experience. The Rav’s Friday night Dvar halacha was appropriately about the permissibility to move the battery operated lights and to have a non-jew remove the batteries after services.

Shacharis and Mussaf under natural lights went well and we were even able to have the Hashkama minyan in the basement Social Hall with the assist of some battery operated lights. When we got back for Mincha the lights were restored and we had Shalosh Seudos in the Social Hall and the full Moatzae Shabbos schedule took place in the Shul.

There were many things to be thankful for as a result of this incident:
1) We were able to have Full Shabbos Services without any electricity for most of Shabbos.
2) We have a number of members, and our Rabbi, who are ready and willing to do whatever is necessary to insure the proper functioning of the Shul.
3) The Shul was built with much natural light which was of great avail for Shabbos day services.
4) Con Edison works quite hard in our five boroughs to restore power in emergency situations.

It’s easy to take electricity and the functioning of Shul Service for granted. Sometimes Hashem throws a curve ball so we can appreciate everything that goes into making davening happen day in and day out.

Member Participation – Coerce, Encourage or Accept

Maariv is finished on Moatzei Shabbos and the familiar call goes out – “we need people to help clean up Shalosh Seudos”. It’s the same refrain and it’s often the same group of people who clean up. The same participation scenario is replayed for the Shalosh Seudos setup and for many other Shabbos and weekday volunteer functions needed for the successful running of the Shul.

There are at least three approaches to take in regard to member participation:
(1) You can coerce participation with statements like “if people don’t help we’re not going to have Shalosh Seudos any more”.
(2) You can encourage participation with statements like “if you eat Shalosh Seudos, it’s only right that you sometimes pitch in”.
(3) You can accept the fact that some people consider paying dues enough of a participatory effort, and are not inclined to help out.

I’m more in the acceptance camp (3) although I think there is no harm in encouragement. I’m happy to be in a Shul with a healthy occupancy rate and without the attendance of the other members it would be a much less fulfilling experience for me. In need be, we will pay for services that member participation would’ve provided for free.

Some people think that participation, beyond dues, is the price all members must pay and they get very frustrated when members don’t pinch it. Although I’ve never seen it, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Shul where participation is explicitly or implicitly expected from all members.

The size of the shul may determine which policy is adapted, although I’ll never forget the small out of town Shul I visited, where the Rabbi davened, leined, was gabbai, set up and cleaned up Shalosh Seudos. And he did it all with a smile and with no regrets.

For those who are participating, take pleasure in the fact that you have the opportunity and ability to do communal chesed. And for those sitting on the benches, it may be you’re right, but please consider pitching in on occasion, it will make everybody a little happier.

Setting Up Your Shul for Shavuos

The Jewish All Nighter
In college, we would occasionally pull an all-nighter. We’d study all night long with ample caffeine, and go right into the test without sleeping. I’m not sure whether there was any real science behind the practice, but I think it sometimes resulted in a decent grade.

The Shul equivalent is the first night of Shavuos. We follow the custom of staying up and learning all night, with the hope that our Shacharis and Mussaf the next morning are acceptable and pass the test before Hashem. In fact many of my friends over the years have stopped the practice because the benefit of the learning did not outweigh the wiped-out davening and day long drowsiness that comes in its wake. If you are running a Shavuos program here are some thoughts based on my experience over the years.

Learning is the Center Piece
The center piece of the program of course is the learning, so make sure there’s space with tables set up for chavrusas and for people learning alone. Make sure the Shul is opened to accommodate the earliest arrivals, which in Queens is around 11:30 PM.

Some Shuls have shiurim throughout the night. Even if you don’t have continuous shiurim, a lead off shuir at the start of the night (11:30 or so) might make sense, because there are a number of people who will stay up a little later and the lead off shiur is a good accommodation for them. With the growing popularity of Daf Yomi, we’ve added a Daf shiur to the program. On most years there is also a program for women and girls learning in a private home during the night.

A more active program with which we’ve found success, is a Shiur preceded by preparation. The teacher gives a brief introduction before the learning begins and hands out relevant source sheets for the chavrusas to learn. After the learning the teacher gives a shiur reviewing the important points. A good ratio is at least twice as much chavrusa learning as shiur time, for example, 1 hour of learning and 30 minutes of shiur time.

Don’t Forget the Kids
For early teen and pre-teen boys, one of our members gives a shiur throughout the night. He happens to be a master teacher, so he keeps the boys involved, entertained and under control. It’s too much for most younger boys to be involved in learning all night, which is fine as long as they don’t run around or disturb others.

We Need Food and Caffeine
The food break is a key component of the program. Make sure you have a water urn, plenty of coffee, sugar and non-dairy creamer for those who will be fleishig for most of the evening. Although I’ve heard some shuls go high end with Sushi and beyond, we normally put out fruit, cake, candy, salty snacks and beverages. The food area needs to be cleaned up periodically and replenished with snacks. Make sure there is a final cleanup before davening so a mess is not left for those who come to Shul at the regular time.

Getting Ready for a Tough Davening
The evening ends, when the day begins with a sunrise (vasiykin) minyan. It makes sense to give a little time for people to freshen up before Shacharis and to be ready in Shul to hear and be yotzei the morning berachos from someone who slept during the night. The big stay awake test for many comes when Akadamus and the haftorah are recited.

Although we call Pesach a night of contrasts, Shavuos also follows that pattern. There’s a tremendous energy with all the learning, while at the same time, there’s a tremendous amount of effort made just trying to remain awake.

Ten Ideas For Purim

Here are Ten Ideas for Purim

1) Spend more on Matanos Levyonim than on Shaloch Manos

2) Give Shaloch Manos to at least one person to whom it will have a friendship impact

3) It’s a day of joy, so don’t get lost in the details

4) If you haven’t hired someone for the task, then help clean up the Shul after the Megillah leining

5) Let your children enjoy their noise toys, but be considerate of your neighbors

6) Consider that some people get a little sick from the smell of the cap guns

7) Try to appreciate the costumes and poems of others

8) If you drink, drink responsibly, be under control

9) Be positive in your joy, focus on increasing your connection to others

10) Improve the quality of your seudah by focusing on Jewish unity and re-acceptance of the Torah

Hishtadlus and Hashgacha

It’s not the first time I was in this pinch. It was Thursday morning and I still didn’t have a speaker for Pirkei Avos on Shabbos. I had already asked about 10 people, some of them twice. Of the 18 weeks of Pirkei Avos, this usually happens once, and often around this time. People go away and the pool of potential speakers from the Yeshiva Kollel dries up because of Bein HaZmanim.

I started moving on the backup plan. I asked a friend, RCW, who davens in front of me at weekday Shacharis, if he would speak again this season if I couldn’t find someone. He tentatively agreed, pending his wife’s approval, but not before he asked two other people at the minyan if they could do it. On such short notice they were both hesitant.

Mid morning I got a text from RCW that he got clearance from his wife. A few minutes after that I got a text from RCEW, who often helps me get speakers, saying that he got somebody from the Kollel to give the shiur. Who did he happen to ask? The same person that RCW asked in the morning. He had come up with something to say after Shacharis.

We were all doing our hishtadlus to get a speaker. The hashkacha was that RCW went out of his way and asked this person, and then RCEW happened to ask the same person so he was primed to say yes. It’s comforting to see how Hashem is actively involved in our lives after Tisha B’Av!

Tzedakah Collectors and the Unintended Tyranny of Policy

Shul policies are absolutely necessary to resolve conflicts between different interests. In the case of Tzedakah collectors coming around during davening, the conflict is between people praying, who would prefer to not be disturbed, and the collectors, who want to go around the shul asking for donations.

There are basically three policies regarding collections:
a) Collectors can go around any time, but should use common sense to avoid disrupting the daveners
b) Collectors are asked to only go around during certain times
c) Collectors may not go around, but may go to the Rav or the Gabbai

In addition, collectors sometimes request to make a short public appeal
There are basically three policies regarding this:
x) Public appeals can be made after davening
y) Public appeals are made only with the permission of the Rav or Gabbai
z) No public appeals with a few exceptions

In my Shabbos and sometime weekday minyan, they’ve adopted policies b) and y).
The current weekday minyan that I daven at has adopted policues a) and z).

Recently during the weekday minyan a gentleman came in to request to make a public appeal. He was told no by one gabbai, but waited for the second gabbai to finish davening to ask him. He was told again that he could not make the appeal but could go around the shul collecting like everybody else. He was not happy with that and left without even going around the Shul. He didn’t talk loud, but in the small space we daven in, most people were aware of what happened.

As it turns out, the shul sometimes does makes exceptions for appeals, but in this case they stood by the policy. It’s a hard call to make, both in terms of setting policy and enforcing it. There is a need to keep decorum and there’s a need to make exceptions. When and where is in the hands of the Rav or the Gabbai and when they stand firm on policy, the collectors come face to face with the Unintended Tyranny of Policy.

Originally Published 12/27/2012

Building a Strong Sisterhood

In Torah Observant Shuls the roles of men and women are different in terms of participation in davening. Specifically the men and women sections are separate and women don’t lead the davening, read from the Torah or take other active roles in the service. Most women come to Shul on Rosh Hoshana, Yom Kippur, Purim, many come on Shabbos and Yom Tov, and very few come to the weekday services. In most Torah Observant Shuls, men are more active in learning activities and in the financial and day to day operations of the Shul. (Note: there is a wide variance in what form this takes depending on the community and the Shul.)

In light of these differences, a Sisterhood, Women’s Auxiliary or Women’s League is often created to address their specific needs and to give them opportunities to plan and run activities important to them. One of the first issues that arises is how the Sisterhood activities are financed. The alternatives are allocating a portion of the Shul budget or running fundraising activities specifically for the Sisterhood. The benefits of fundraising is that it provides autonomy, while the downside is that profitable fundraisers must be identified and implemented.

Another area of interest is what type of activities will the Sisterhood focus on. Much of that depends on what the Shul is already providing. Activities might include shiurim for women, women’s only social events and children’s events. In Shuls where the Sisterhood has formidable fundraising abilities, activities might also include improving areas of the Shul with special concern to women.

One last area is the degree of autonomy. My experience is that a high degree autonomy is preferred with coordination and support from the Shul Administration being provided when needed. If there is a separate significant budget, it is important to define the fiduciary responsibilities and financial procedures of the administration of the Sisterhood.

The Customer Segments of Your Shul

I’m co-teaching a class on Software and Startups for high schoolers which includes a few sessions on the Business Model Canvas. The Business Model Canvas identifies 9 building blocks which define how an organization operates.

One of those building blocks are Customer Segments, which defines the different groups of people that your Shul serves. On the first cut we would say that includes men, women and children who have different needs. A closer look might reveal that you men’s group might be divided into men who are teenagers, single adults, young marrieds, have larger families, have grown children, and retirees.

Different segments often need different services, such as minyanim, shiurim, group activities, social services, etc… As a Shul you have to determine when it merits to address specific needs of a segment and whether you have the manpower and financial resources to address them.

In our Shul we recently added a weekly shiur and Shacharis targeted for men in their 20s and early 30s. In this case, the Key Resources powering the project were the Rabbi and some of the young men. Maggidei shiur were recruited, the members of the segment were encouraged, and the shiur/minyan has gotten off to a great start.

It’s important to continual review whether your Customer Segment’s needs are being addressed and any steps that can be taken to provide better services when necessary.

Kashrus, Cost and Convenience in Your Shul’s Kitchen

Judaism affords us many opportunities to throw a small party and the trick is to do it without it costing a small fortune. So when you need a little more space for your Simcha, the first place to turn is towards the Shul secretary responsible for booking the Social Hall. You make the call, and the space is available, so the next step is to understand your Shul’s rules regarding bringing in food and using the kitchen.

As we’ve seen in every discussion here, there is always a tension between two or more issues. In this case there is the cost and convenience of bringing in your own food versus the need to insure that a reasonable level of Kashrus is maintained in the kitchen. Let me share the guidelines we’ve established on this issue as a starting point.

1. The sinks and counters in our kitchen are considered Fleishig.

2. You can only use the sinks and counters if you are bringing in food from an approved vendor under the hashgacha of an approved agency like the Vaad of Queens or the OU.

3. You can only bring in home made food if it is a private affair such as a vort, Sheva Berachos or a Shalom Zachor.

4. If home made food is brought in then ONLY the refrigerator can be used. No sink, counters or anything else.

5. No home made hot food can be kept in the kitchen.

These five rules enable us to keep the Kashrus standards of the Shul kitchen at a high level, while still allowing for the use of home food for private events in the Shul.

10 Reasons Your Shul Should Participate in a Baseball League

1) It creates a camaraderie among the kids

2) It gives people another avenue to be involved in the Shul

3) It creates friendships among the coaches

4) Baseball is a healthy outlet for our kids

5) It teaches good sportsmanship

6) It’s a great afternoon activity for kids with Yeshiva in the afternoon

7) It’s relatively inexpensive

8) It teaches that although winning is nice, it’s not everything

9) For many of the kids, it will be their only opportunity to play hardball in their life

10) After the initial crazy signup period, it’s relatively easy to administer

Running a Successful Shul Dinner

As we’ve discussed previously, even a small 50 member family Shul in a rented space and a part-time Rabbi, can easily cost $75,000 a year or about $1,500 per family. You can’t charge $1,500 per family for membership in a small Shul, so you charge a few hundred for membership, a few hundred for Yomim Noraim seats, hope to raise a few hundred per family at a dinner, and sweat to make up the rest of the budget. The dinner is the key event around which fundraising can take place. Let’s look at four major processes: getting an honoree, picking a venue, encouraging member participation, making the event run smoothly.

Next is to decide the participation levels for your journal. Set the dinner attendance cost within the reach of most members, and set the other levels from there. Get a local printer to print your invitations. When putting together your invite list, remember people generally don’t attend or contribute to other Shul’s dinners, so save yourself some postage and printing cost and invite those likely to contribute. Don’t skip on the journal, as it’s a nice touch for the honorees, and it helps you to raise more money with the different journal page rates.

You can see there’s a lot of steps, so you need a competent dinner committee, consisting of a dinner chair, a journal chair, and a few other people helping with the planning and execution. It’s helpful if you can get the same people from year to year, because there’s a lot of knowledge that is gained each time a dinner is run. We had our dinner this week and it was a smashing success, due in no small part to our amazing dinner committee.

If you have any questions or thoughts you can leave a comment or email me at shulpolitics@gmail.com.

Making Rules To Prevent Digital Shuls

As cell phones have become commonplace, it has become accepted common courtesy to turn your ringer off or to vibrate during davening. Most Shuls strongly discourage talking on the cell during davening. Although some Shuls already have a no-digital-usage policy, many shuls have not yet established policies when it comes to less evasive digital usage.

With regard to reading and writing texts and emails, many Shuls allow it. The neighbor disturbance level is low enough, and many shuls are hesitant to prohibit behaviors which are not clear violations of the halacha. In the Shuls in my neighborhood, the texters are still a small minority, but in the event that a majority of people are texting in Shul on a regular basis, I think many Shuls will conclude that it is an inappropriate behavior and discourage it. Which makes you wonder why it’s not considered inappropriate now.

The next frontier is davening from IPads or other tablet computers. Since the IPad has a bigger screen which your neighbor can see, the potential for distraction is greater. As long as siddur and gemora viewing are the primary activities, most Shuls will probably not set a prohibitive policy. If people use the tablets for other things, I think minynan members will protest about the distraction and Shuls will discourage tablet usage, and perhaps cell phone usage as well.

We’re still early on the personal digital adoption life cycle and as the usage and frequency of usage evolves, it will be interesting to see how Shul policies change. It might make sense to get ahead of the curve and discuss and implement an appropriate digital policy for your Shul, since it’s harder to change behaviors when they’ve become entrenched.

Yom Tovim in Shul – Of Guests and Gabbaim

Yom Tovim are wonderful times for Shuls. In Eretz Yisroel, 3 of the 7 days were major davening days, while in Chutz L’Aretz 5 of the 8 days were major davening days this year.

The major issue is accommodating the many guests. Of course the always present seating issue arises. Most people will gladly give up there makom kavua for a given tefilla, and giving it up for a week presents an increased opportunity to display selflessness. In my observations, people are usually up to the challenge, and it can be made even easier if the host families strongly and sincerely express their thanks for the accommodation.

Watching the Gabbai try to accommodate kibbudim for all the guests is a sight to behold. Most people are happy when their father, brother, son and in-law variations get an aliyah or other honor, and it’s the Gabbai’s job to make as many people as happy as possible. In addition the Gabbai has to get many Baalei Tefillah, trying to match Shul member preferences with personal styles.

The Krias HaTorah line up has to be selected, and due to the shorter leining length, more younger members want to try their hand at kriah. Usually it works out, but when somebody is not so prepared, or a little nervous, it can be awkward for both the leiner and the listeners.

The last accommodation is for Shiurim. Sons and sons-in-laws learning in Yeshiva are home for the holiday and it’s a great opportunity for them to prepare and deliver a shiur to the Shul. It’s also an opportunity for members to hear different styles of shiurim and for fathers and father-in-laws to shep a little nachas.

Shuls are front and center during the Yom Tovim and it’s an added delight when our extended families can enhance the learning and davening.

Collecting Outstanding Balances From Members

It costs money to run a Shul. On a the back of a napkin, we previously estimated a cost of $75,000 per year for a 50 member family Shul. The costs include rental space, Rabbi’s salary, utilities, food costs, program costs and professional fees.

The vast majority of the necessary funds come from the membership through donations, dues, holiday seats and other fees. It’s inevitable that you’ll run into situations were Shul members are not current or behind more than 120 days in their obligations. The question is how to deal with these situations.

The first idea is to have a written policy, usually in the bylaws, regarding what constitutes a member in good standing, and what rights are reserved for members of good standing.

Secondly, you should send out bills on a regular basis, be it monthly. bi-monthly or quarterly. Generally, people pay their balances more readily, if and when they receive a bill.

The third and most difficult issue is setting and enforcing a policy for collecting balances.
Here are three possible policiies:
1) Enforce a strict policy of removing the member’s rights as specified in the bylaws. This will probably result in better collections, but it’s at the cost of alienating and possibly losing members who have outstanding balances.
2) Enforce a very lenient policy, with little or no removing of member rights. This will result in worse collections, but less people will be offended.
3) Enforce a selective policy, with great leniency in the case of true hardships, and some from of enforcement in other situations.

I’ve always personally advocated a very lenient policy, based on the assumption that Shul members are by and large honest, an assessment that the Shul can afford such a policy, and that nobody wants to be the collection enforcers. Another thing to keep in mind is the increase in Shul choices, for members in mid-size to larger neighborhoods, with many being low or no-cost options.

None of the choices are ideal, so it’s up to the board and/or the kitchen cabinet to set a sensible policy.

Thermometers and The Problem of Objective Standards

A Policy Enforced By Thermometer
In a previous post about The Politics of the Open Shul Window, I recommended setting a policy based on using thermometers and creating a committee or a person to enforce a temperature based policy. A recent incident caused me to re-evaluate that suggestion.

A New Clock Arrives
My weekday Shul is in a small room that fits about 35 people and it can get quite warm when the window is closed, which it often is. It’s basically a grin and bear it situation. Recently, one of the Mispallim donated a big new atomic clock (it’s a Neitz (sunrise) minyan), with a digital thermometer visible to all. After davening, I looked at the thermometer and it was 78 degrees. I went to the Gabbai and mentioned that 78 degrees is warm by objective standards, and I asked if perhaps it can be remedied.

Returning to the Scene
I was away for a few days, and when I came back it was cooler in the room, because the window had been open, but the thermometer was changed to Celsius. When I noted the Celsius change to the Gabbai, he just smiled. He also mentioned that a local Rav had a thermometer to monitor the temperature, but subsequently removed it.

The Problem of Objective Standards
On the surface objective standards seem fine, because they’re measurable and fair. The problem comes because the objective standard makes everybody a potential enforcer of the policy and that’s usually unworkable. With an objective standard, any person can insist that one degree above the agreed upon temperature requires the window to be open. There usually needs to be some discretion in policy enforcement and the objective standard eliminates that.

What’s the solution? Assign someone to be responsible for the temperature and opening of the windows, but don’t state an objective standard that can be called to enforcement by any member.

Setting a Shul Poster Policy

To run successful events, shiurim, fundraisers, camps and getaways, publicity is needed. So it’s no surprise that many people would like to plaster a poster or two on the walls or windows of your Shul. Although some Shuls have a hefker bulletin board or door where anything can be posted, a thought out policy is also valuable.

What to Post Policy
a) Shiurim
b) Child and Social Events
c) Fundraisers
d) Business Ventures
e) Public Notices
Some shuls give a precedence to items in which members are involved.

How to Post Policy
a) Hefker Board
b) Ask the Rav
c) Ask the Gabbai
d) Ask the Posting administrator
e) Put it up and the Shul will decide what to take down

Where to Post Policy
a) Hefker Board
b) Locked Bulletin Board
c) Wall Space
d) Outfacing Windows

Our shul posts Shiurim (internal and external), Child and Social Events (internal), Fundraisers and Public Notices (on the Rav’s direction). We have a posting administrator. Our prime posting spot, on the outfacing windows, is reserved for Shiurim and Shul Events. The second outfacing window is for significant external and ongoing events. We have a locked bulletin board for Shul events and community information. We don’t allow posting on wall space, but women’s shiurim are sometimes posted on the entrance to the women’s section.

As in many things, moderation makes sense. Too restrictive – people don’t know what’s going on. Too lenient – the Shul starts to look like a plastered poster depot.

Why Is There So Much Shul Politics?

Shul Politics Makes Us Smile
When I tell people that we’re starting a Website call shulpolitics.com they invariably smile. Why is that? Because there’s a lot of shul politics going on.

The Roles of a Shul
If you Wikipedia the word shul, you’re taken to the page for Synagogues which includes the following:

A synagogue from the Greek for “assembly” is a Jewish house of prayer.

Israelis use the Hebrew term bet knesset (assembly house). Jews of Ashkenazi descent have traditionally used the Yiddish term “shul” (from the German Schule, school) in everyday speech….Some Reform Jews use temple. The Greek word synagogue is a good all-around term, to cover the preceding possibilities.

Synagogues have a large hall for prayer, and can also have smaller rooms for study and sometimes a social hall and offices. Some have a separate room for Torah study, called the beit midrash (Sfard) or beis midrash (Ashkenaz) which means “House of Study”.

Synagogues often take on a broader role in modern Jewish communities and may include additional facilities such as a catering hall, kosher kitchen, religious school, library, day care center and a smaller chapel for daily services.

We’re going to use the word shul here because it’s short, part of our title and the term with which I’m most comfortable. An interesting side bar is that “Shul Politics” beats “Synagogue Politics” by a margin of 3,330 to 1,580 in results found when searching with the quotes around the words in Google.

All shuls are used for prayer, but depending on the type of shul (which we’ll discuss next week) they differ in their Torah study and communal and auxiliary functions and in some situations the shul functions as the center of Jewish community in the midst of the larger geographic community.

Why Politics?
Let’s Wikipedia the word, politics:

A process by which groups of people make collective decisions.

Depending on the structure, shuls often operate in a collective decision making mode in which case their primary process is one of politics, groups of people making collective decisions. Political processes bring conflicting viewpoints to the table and resolving the tensions in these conflicts is not always easy.

Authority Distribution
Shuls are primarily for the benefit of their members, but different degrees of authority are distributed among the Rabbi, president, treasurer, other officers, board members, gabbai and general membership. The financial structure will also be a determinant on how authority is distributed. Although a general member is often lower in the authority ranking, the membership often has a strong collective voice and their participation and attendance or lack thereof ultimately determines the success of the shul.

When you factor the range of activities, the authority distribution, the financial contributions, the needs of the general memberships and the different points of view, you get a lot of shul politics.

Purpose of this Site
Our goal is to better understand shul politics and hopefully improve the shul experience. We’ll look at the issues, the tensions and possible paths to resolution. We won’t be talking about the politics of any specific shul, just the general issues.

Initially we’ll be publishing a post once a week.

Please join us by reading, commenting, subscribing and sending in your guest posts to shulpolitics@gmail.com.