Category: Projects

Sefirah Counter – A Triumph of Low Tech

It wasn’t meant to become a fixture. In fact, when our Sefirah counter first hit the top of the Chazzan’s shtender, it was intended as a message to the administration: “Please get an electronic Shul Board ASAP”. The issue was that mispallim couldn’t always hear the Rabbi’s counting of the Omer, so we needed a way to inform them of the current count. A well meaning member devised a solution consiting of a lucite stand and 49 plain white pages numbered from 1 to 49 in a 400pt Arial font.

It seemed a little silly at first. So low tech! It actually requires that the numbers be manually changed every day! So we looked for a high tech display board. But this one was too hard to read. And this one was too visually loud. And we couldn’t find the one which was just right. So the next year, and for many years after, we pulled out the lucite stand and the folder of numbers and we survived with our low tech solution.

Not only did we survive, but the solution has actually thrived. It works quite well and we’re quite fond of it. A few falls has cracked the lucite base, but nobody is calling for a new one. It fits the character of the solution. We’ve even considered auctioning off the right to change the number. Another proposal was to have the numbers decorated by our play group.

But at the end of the day we’re purist, and we’ll continue with our simple and perfect low-tech solution to a common problem.

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.

Checklist for Planning a Shul Shabbos Lunch

1) Create a committee or get a few commitments from members to help, especially with set up and clean up.

2) Determine how important it is to keep costs down.

3) Determine how important it is to make the menu fantastic.

4) Estimate expected attendance.

5) Discuss your plans with the appropriate Shul officers.

6) Call caterers that can meet your needs and discuss pricing for varying options.

7) Select caterer and menu and agree on a price.

8) Get the menu and the price in writing from the caterer.

9) Advertise lunch to members. Multiple forms of nudging/communication will be necessary.

10) Make it as easy as possible for members to say they are attending.

11) Have the committee members encourage other members to attend.

12) Use software or keep a spreadsheet of attending members.

13) Create a table layout and seating plan if necessary.

14) Make sure the food is delivered on Friday.

15) Check that everything agreed upon was delivered.

16) Set up the warmers.

17) Prepare the tables before the lunch on Shabbos morning.

18) Plan out the timing of when the courses will be served and any speeches will be given.

19) Keep the timing reasonable.

20) Clean up the room properly after the meal.

21) Give the treasurer the amounts to be billed for the attendees.

Efforts Are Necessary – But There Are No Guarantees

Although there’s certainly a correlation between efforts made on behalf of a Shul event and the results, there are no guarantees that an event will be successful. Your efforts are important nonetheless.

A very recent example comes to mind. In coordinating the ticket ordering for the Siyum HaShas event at Met Life stadium many calls were made and emails sent to the Agudah Siyum headquarters to find out about the seating options. The goal was to clarify what were the benefits of the seats at the varying price levels.

Even after gathering the information, it had to presented to Shul members to try and guide them towards a decision that would make sense for them based on the research and analysis. It seems simple enough, but people have their own understandings of situations and they’ll sometimes ignore information that you think is relevant.

At the end of the day, you can only do so much and people need to make their own decisions. If they make a wrong decision, it’s important, albeit sometimes difficult, to refrain from saying “I told you so”. The goal is to help others be right, and if they end up on the wrong side of the decision, your job is to console and not criticize.

Even if your information and analysis is solid, there are always factors beyond your control which may effect the success of the event. And sometimes events beyond your control, can put a cherry on top of your efforts. In the case of the Siyum, the cherry was added was that people, at every price range, were by and large very happy with their seats. Part of that was due to the “beyond our control” seating upgrades that we received when the Agudah had to upgrade some seats due to changes in the women’s seating configuration. Even those who spent more for their seats, and who didn’t receive upgrades, were very happy because the expected benefits of those seats clearly materialized.

An added bonus was the rain situation. Before the event started it was raining and many of the blocks of seats purchased were covered, and the people under those coverings were very happy. Once the event started, the rain stopped completed and all 90,000 people greatly appreciated the lack of rain. G-d was surely smiling and saying hello to all of us.

Here’s the summary.
– If you assume responsibility for an event, make the maximum efforts for its success
– Even with maximum efforts, success is not guaranteed
– It’s important to remember that G-d truly holds the keys and is ultimate the source of all success
– It’s nice when things work out well, but community projects are about doing your best to help, regardless of the results.

Setting Reasonable Expectactions in Communal Projects

August 1 is the Siyum HaShas and I coordinated the purchasing process for my Shul and another local Shul. In total, close to 400 tickets were purchased through these efforts.

Here are some lessons learned:

These types of projects are usually more work than anticipated.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do them, just that you should be aware of a potential time underestimation. (A good friend warned me about this at the start of the project).

I think most people do appreciate these efforts on their behalf, but only a few will actually express their appreciation.
That’s ok, your motivation to do these projects should be to help the community. If you’re looking for expressed appreciation, you’ll probably be disappointed.

Some people will give you a hard time.
If possible, try to deal with the complaint with a smile. With some, it might be necessary to be a little more assertive and remind them that your doing this as a favor for them.

Working with people from another Shul adds complications.
With your own Shul, you’ve probably built relationships and an emotional bank account over time, so there’s little friction in most cases. With another Shul, there’s usually less understanding and appreciation, and there might more issues if problems arise.

You will make mistakes.
If you make reasonable efforts to correct mistakes, the person affected will often appreciate that. Even if they don’t, you’ve done all you can.

Bigger communal organizations have a wide cast of people.
Most of the people you will deal with in larger communal organizations will be very cordial and helpful. Show your appreciation and minimize your focus on people who aren’t as cordial.