Category: Structures

Decision Making and Shul Structures

Shul Structure Guides Decision Process
The baseline services of every Shul includes communal prayer. So, decisions like seating, prayer leaders, prayer speed, prayer time, Torah readers, and Aliyah recipients will always need to be decided. Beyond that, the scope of the activities and the Shul’s financial and authority structure will guide the decision making process. The following is a general overview of typical shul structures and how they govern.

Democratic Shuls
In Democratic shuls, such as Young Israel and OU shuls, the membership assumes the financial responsibility. The Rabbi is paid a salary and is vested with a good deal of authority. There are many activities provided. There is usually a sisterhood that provides additional activities. There are by-laws, procedures, officers, a board of directors, committees and elections. The elections are usually rubber stamps of the election committee’s recommendations. Women are active. Policy decisions are distributed among the Rabbi, the officers, the gabbai, the board or the membership depending on the by-laws or policy. The president has significant responsibility and authority, and longer standing members and significant contributors are sometimes informally vested with more authority than the average member.

Independent Minyans
In independent minyans a small group of members assume the primary financial responsibility. A place to daven is the primary priority but other activities are sometimes provided. A Rabbi is sometimes hired. The financially responsible members have the primary authority. Women are sometimes involved. Shul policies and roles are sometimes formalized.

Shtiebels and Rabbi-centric Shuls
In Shtiebels and other Rabbi-centric Shuls, the founding Rabbi is the top authority. There are often shiurim for the members, but generally not so many activities beyond that. There is a Gabbai who assists in the day to day affairs. When the Shul assumes a degree of financial responsibility, donors will have some say. Women’s involvement is minimal. The priorities for leading the davening, getting Aliyahs and seating can sometimes be tricky because the Rabbi often chooses not to get involved and there is no formal mechanism to resolve conflicts.

Chabad Shuls
In Chabad shuls, the Rabbi is the top authority. There are usually many activities provided. A Gabbai often assists in the day to day affairs. The financial responsibility is assumed by the Rabbi but big donors will also have some say. Women are usually involved. The priorities for leading the davening, getting Aliyahs and seating are set by the Rabbi and carried out by the Gabbai.

Yeshiva Minyanim
In Yeshiva minyanim, the heads of the Yeshiva make the decisions and run the minyan as an extension of the Yeshiva. It would be a stretch to even call it a Shul. There are few outside activities other than davening. People who daven there make voluntary contributions and expect little input. There is very little politics. Women’s involvement is minimal. The heads of the Yeshiva make all the policy decisions.

Although the decision making process is a little stickier in Democratic Shuls, because of the involvement of more people, I think it is the best structure. More say means more involvement, and more involvement means that the members will get more out of their Shul experience. The major issue is that the authority of the Rabbi may be diminished in a democratic structure. However, a good Rabbi will have a strong influence on the important decisions and a well developed membership will look to their Rabbi for guidance. Unfortunately, I think the days of the Democratic Shul are numbered as people are prefering smaller Shuls which are primarily financed and governed by a smaller group of people.

The Puck Stops Here

Our Shul is in Presidential transition mode awaiting the upcoming membership meeting where we’ll vote and then witness the changing of the guard. In the years where we don’t have a vice presidential succession plan, it’s sometimes a difficult task finding the right person to accept the job. I blame Harry Truman and Hockey. Let me explain.

Harry Truman kept a sign on his desk that said ‘The Buck Stops Here’. It’s a play off the phrase ‘Passing the Buck’ which was originally a poker term, but has come to mean – not taking responsibility. By keeping the sign on his desk Truman was acknowledging that the President has to make the decisions and he was accepting the ultimate responsibility for those decisions. It seems that the sign was last sighted on the Presidential Desk during the Carter Administration.

I think some people reject the Shul Presidential position, not because of the amount of work involved, but rather because they don’t want to shoulder the responsibility for all that goes on in the Shul. In fact, that’s a better stance than accepting the position and then passing the buck.

Let’s segue to hockey. Except for a few notable exceptions the goalie is not a glamour position in hockey. After every goal scored, the goalie’s head is lowered because he ultimately is the one who let it go by. Yes, the defenceman should have done his job, but the goalie’s responsibility is ‘The Puck Stops Here’.

It’s the same with the Shul President. Even if your budget is in the black, with a great Rav, and solid people in key roles behind you, there will be some shots on goal that you’ll have to handle. They can’t be anticipated, and there’s sometimes a significant difference between a save and a flub. The truth is most of the flubs are not season enders, but it takes strength and commitment to be in the net night and day for two years.

I tip my hat to both the outgoing and incoming president for accepting the responsibility of the position. The upside is that although it looks like a long season, I don’t know of any president who regretted it after their term of service ended. It’s pretty clear that along with the responsibility comes tremendous satisfaction and merit for the tens of thousands of minutes of davening, learning and chesed that takes place in the Shul each year under your reign. Yasher Koach!

Reposted in honor of the outgoing EH and the incoming YK.

Good Politics and Bad Politics

When I started this site I asked my Rav whether he thought the name “Shul Politics” was too provocative. He said that he liked the word “politics” because it means “the activities associated with the governance of an organization”, and is a healthy and necessary component of a Shul.

Recently I heard the Rav advising someone taking a position out of town, to focus on teaching Torah and to not get involved in the politics, which he clearly viewed as negative. My experience is that most people view the word “politics” as negative. So what gives? Is politics good or bad?

Good politics is when a group makes governance decisions properly. In a Shul where the financial responsibility rests upon the membership, some decisions are made by the Rabbi, the officers, and committees, while significant decisions are decided upon by the Board. In some Shuls and in most Chabads, the Rabbi bears the financial burden, so he makes many of the decisions. When the process is understood and decisions are made fairly according to that process, we call that Good Politics.

Bad Politics is when a person or group of people dominate the decision making process in a way that is contrary to how people think decisions should be made. In some places, the decision process may be dominated by a small vocal and powerful minority and that would be an example of Bad Politics. Bad Politics is best avoided, because success in out-decisioning the powerful minority is difficult to come by. The better method is to do what is right and win the support of a significant number of people. A larger group has a better chance of creating a Good Politics environment.

Many shuls have a mixture of Good Politics and Bad Politics. When there is a fair process, the decision making is Good Politics, if the normal process if side-stepped, the decision would fall under Bad Politics. Sometimes those involved in Bad Politics are truly doing it for the sake of the Shul, but by side-stepping the process, Bad Politics results, and damage is done.

Politics is more than a necessary evil, it creates close bonds between members when a Shul is governed by Good Politics. No Shul is perfect and it is inevitable that a Bad Politics event will occur, however if the Shul is governed by Good Politics at its core, the bad events will be corrected and the people will continue to continue and move on in unity.

Why You Need Shul Bylaws

Do You Have Bylaws
You can hear the sound of a collective eye roll when you mention Shul bylaws. They’re usually found only in democratic shuls or independent minyanim. Like legal contracts, they can be boring to the non-lawyers among us, but they’re very important for a Shul’s functioning, especially when critical issues come to the forefront. If you don’t have bylaws, it might be a good idea to create them now.

Primary Purpose
This Bylaws for Dummies article explains, “Bylaws basically establish a contract between members and define their rights, duties, and mutual obligations… The bylaws detail the extent to which the management of the organization’s business is handled by the membership, a subordinate board, or an executive committee.”

The Blue Avocado site has a good bylaws checklist and says (with some shul specific modifications) that
a) You should not put too much in the bylaws so you don’t come to regularly violate them.
b) If trouble erupts — such as internal conflict or attacks from others — the bylaws will become very important. So make sure they are reviewed approximately every three years.
c) Attach (and distribute) any changes made to the bylaws and make sure the president has a current copy. Too often everyone forgets about changes.

Crisis
This Synagogue bylaws article by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY) says, “Most calls for assistance happen when there is a synagogue crisis, which can be either good or bad. Examples of “good” crises are when the synagogue is in a growth spurt and needs to strategize to keep its new members involved or is considering the purchase of a new building with a new mortgage. Bad crises can occur when a congregation is declining and is concerned that it will not have a minyan soon, or there is no more money and they must refinance or sell the building.”

We’ll Help You Get Started
The Orthodox Union (OU) has some Shul Bylaws templates, and you can take a look at them here.

A NY Shul’s Bylaws
There is a Shul in NY, which has bylaws that have worked pretty well the last 25 years so we’ve gotten permission to include them as a public service for those who want to work on their bylaws.

So get to work on your bylaws if you don’t have them, it’s worth the effort.

Congregation Your Name of Your Town, Inc.

By-Laws

Article I — Name

1. This congregation shall be known as Congregation Your Name of Your Town, Inc. – a non-profit religious corporation in the State of Your State, County of Your County, whose offices are located in Your City.

2. This congregation shall not be dissolved as long as ten members who have been in good standing for at least five years are willing to continue it.

3. In the event of dissolution, the disposition of its assets shall either be in accordance with the donor’s request at the time of donation of a specific asset or under the trusteeship of Your Synagogue Umbrella Organization for the benefit of new Orthodox congregations.

4. This congregation shall be a member of the Your Synagogue Umbrella Organization

Article II – Membership, Dues, and Assessments
Continue reading “Why You Need Shul Bylaws”

The Rise of The Growth Culture Shul

The Shul Transformation
You don’t have to be a certified trend spotter to notice that the Shul landscape in the larger Jewish communities has changed over the past 20 years. The major observation is the trend from larger Shuls to smaller Shuls. The smaller Shuls take three forms: Shteibel Shuls which are usually warm, Yeshivish Shuls with their quiet no frills davening and individual Torah learning, and the Growth Culture Shul which I’ll describe in this article.

The Growth Culture Shul
Although all types of Shuls have growth oriented individuals, The Growth Culture Shul consciously works on creating an environment where people have opportunities in the domains of Torah, Davening and Chesed. The tremendous benefit of such a Shul is that entire families absorb this orientation because it provides multiple avenues of Torah growth. It encourages increased connection to both Hashem and our fellow Jews.

The Rabbi and Lay Leadership
Growth orientation is a slam dunk for the Rabbi, because his mission statement is encouraging the spiritual growth of his congregants, but he must work with the lay leadership to create the culture of growth. As my Rav has said, a person over time is more influenced by what his neighbor in Shul is doing than by what the Rabbi is advising in his speeches. We more naturally compare ourselves to our peers then to our Rebbeim who we rightly put on a higher pedestal. So a culture of growth is the key to increasing the spiritual aspirations of the membership.

Growing the Culture
It should be clear that a growth culture is not achieved through pronouncement in a drasha or at a Shul membership meeting, but by gradual implementation of the programming and processes that create such a culture. This includes a multitude of Torah learning opportunities, a strong chesed committee, improving dignity, inspiration and concentration in davening, and creating a community and camaraderie among the members while simultaneously balancing Tzinus concerns.

Summary
The Growth Culture Shul takes more effort to create than the Shteibel or Yeshiva minyanim but it yields much greater benefits to the entire membership and their families. It’s built over time by creating an environment where the vast majority of the membership is working on growing in the three domains of Torah, Davening and Chesed.

It’s All About The People

A Shul can do everything right operationally, but if they don’t anticipate and prepare for demographic changes and the changes needs of their members and prospective members, their continuity will be threatened. It’s all about the people.

Unfortunately Shuls in many neighborhoods fail to heed that call. I was in a big Shul recently with a dwindling membership. In the main lobby they had a letter poster describing proper conduct in their Shul. It read, “the Shul is not …” and listed many things that the Shul was not. You might in fact agree with every item in the list, but the attitude was quite a turnoff. It’s no surprise that they are not attracting many young members to their main minyan.

A Shul needs to listen and truly understand the needs of their members and prospective members. That is not to say that you necessarily can build a Shul for All Orthodox Jews, or that you can embrace an anything-goes environment. It does mean that if you have a letter posted like that mentioned above, you might want to step back and take a fresh look at where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you should be heading. It’s all about the people!

Reversing the Slow Death of the Aging Shul

Getting Older Means Getting Smaller
Good shuls last for a long time, and as the Shul ages so does its membership. Unfortunately older members pass away or move as their needs change as their children leave the house. The older membership shrinks as time goes on.

The Empty Seat Syndrome
As a result of the shrinking older membership, Shuls that previously had hundreds of participants on a Shabbos can find their sanctuaries half empty. This creates some disillusionment among the members as they look around and long for their Shul’s former glory. It also creates financial strain since costs invariably rise as membership-based revenue increases, but it’s a lot harder to downsize the budget as membership-based revenue declines.

Just Add Younger Members
The obvious solution is to fill the empty seats with younger members. However, the young members have different plans. They’ve gone on to start their own shuls. They do this because they want to be with people their own age and they want some control of how things are run. Even if the older membership would cede control to the younger members, which is easier said than done, the younger members are usually not so excited about steering an older battleship.

Multi-Shul Solution
Another solution, which is sometimes more successful, is breaking the Shul up into smaller minyanim. Different minyanim at different times in different parts of the Shul. The first problem with this solution is that the shul transforms from a community to a place to daven. The second problem is that few Shuls are willing to subdivide their glorious main sanctuary to accommodate downsizing, so the excess capacity and it’s accompanying costs remain.

Dare to Be Great
The ultimate solution is for the Rabbi and/or lay leadership to transform the Shul into a place for serious davening, inspiration, spiritual growth, intellectual challenge and strong communal support for all members. A place that attracts all ages with the amazing breadth and depth it has to offer.

Are We All Settling for Less?
The potential of Shuls is tremendous and perhaps we’re all just settling for a place to daven, a Daf Yomi shiur and a Shabbos drasha. A Shul can be so much more. In the future we hope to examine the characteristics of an incredible Shul and what are the practical small steps to move towards that goal.

Are Shuls Democratic?

A reader recently wrote in inquiring about the norms in regards to Shul elections, and if I had any data/research.

I first told him to take a look at some Shul bylaws:

Here is the most relevant paragraph:

1. Each year, after Pesach but before Shavuos, an election meeting shall be held. At least four weeks prior to the election meeting, the President shall appoint a nominating committee of five members and designate a chairman. The nominating committee shall prepare a slate of officers and directors for recommendation to the membership at the election meeting. The committee shall mail the recommended slate to the membership at least two weeks prior to the election meeting. Additional nominations may be made at the election meeting.

It’s also important to understand the different types of Shuls and where the authority lies in each on of them.

Even in what I called Democratic Shuls in that post, there are still centers of power. In general, these centers are involved in the Shul for the long term, and are usually insuring the ongoing financial viability of the Shul. This was covered in a post called the Kitchen Cabinet.

As for data/research, in our neighborhood there are about 35 Shuls that operate on Shabbos.

Of these 35 Shuls, I would estimate that only about 5 even have a president and an elected board. In the other 30, a Rabbi and a Gabbai (or small group of people) watch over the finances and goings on.

In the Shuls which do have elections, they use a process like that described in the bylaws above, but in reality the Kitchen Cabinet probably has much more influence in selecting the slate.

As a whole, Shuls are not so democratic and are driven by the most involved members.