Rabbi Peter H. Grumbacher
“Rabbi, would you officiate at my mother’s funeral?” “Rabbi, could I make an appointment to see you. I need to talk with someone!” “Rabbi, my daughter’s 13th birthday is in a few months. We’d like to join so we can have it at your congregation.” Forget about anything religious or spiritual; forget about God; forget about community, since those are all too often irrelevant to a person’s “need” for a rabbi. No, the appeals for the services of a rabbi come with an expectation that whatever the need, whatever the issue, whatever the event, there will be a rabbi—sometimes a specific rabbi—available at your beck and call.
I can only answer this from my perspective because, well, you know, 10 Jews and 11 opinions, rabbis as well as laypersons. Without a commitment to synagogue affiliation, the “employer” of a rabbi, the entity that sustains the rabbi and the rabbi’s family, there is little reason to respond positively to questions and appeals that I mentioned. Oh, I know, most rabbis are “softies;” or nowadays at least in Delaware, most synagogues require one year’s dues for the rabbi to officiate at least at a funeral; or the rabbi has an honorarium that is expected from a non-member as opposed to one who has affiliated, so the issue is not as clear as it might be; and for the sake of transparency I have sometimes been guilty as charged.
Affiliation makes an important statement having little to do with the clergy of the congregation. The statement says, “This is important to me and our family!” In so many instances the synagogue becomes a second family. People will know who among them is in need and will respond. Yes, I know that it’s not like it used to be since even the affiliated have so much on their plates that the (non-religious) services offered by the synagogue aren’t high on their participation list. But the one who is also involved in the nitty-gritty of the congregation beyond dues payment, will usually respond when a need is there.
You will not be on a desert island when you affiliate!
Let’s put it this way as well . . . in the here-and-now there are a myriad ways to have your religious needs fulfilled; rabbis, venues, Torah scrolls, you name it are available for hire. Is this what we really want 21st century Judaism to look like?
As I have previously written—many times in fact—in my more than half-century as a rabbi, “The synagogue is the sanctuary of Israel. It has been to Israel throughout all our wanderings, a visible token of God in our people’s midst,” a sentence found in our siddur.
Our “wanderings” today require a sanctuary perhaps more than ever before, and with the High Holydays quickly approaching, it’s a very good time to think about the importance of a synagogue.
The point? Affiliate!
Why affiliate with a congregation?
Rabbi Michael L. Kramer
There is a Hasidic story about a small shtetl town. Each morning before prayer, the townspeople would gather in the synagogue and share their experiences of shtetl life, their challenges in their daily living.
The rabbi was disturbed by this conversation and reacted by saying, “It hardly seems appropriate to speak about your sources of livelihood, from cows to horses, in this holy place. The congregants agreed and concentrated on their prayers.”
A month later, the rabbi relented and remarked, “I suggest we rescind our decision to cease from discussion about our daily lives. We knew when a person needed a loan to replace his cow that had stopped producing milk, or when another person’s horse grew old and he needed funds to purchase a new one. When we stopped talking before the prayers, we lost touch with each other and were unable to show our care.”
A synagogue serves multiple purposes. It is a Beit Knesset, a gathering place for the Jewish community for both social and welfare opportunities, to support one another, to share concerns, to celebrate and rejoice with others, and to help each other at times of need. Particularly in our day, when there is unease about antisemitism and a focus on the state of Israel, we need the support of a community to fortify our feelings.
A synagogue is a place to learn. It is a Beit Midrash, a house of study for young and old. It provides the opportunity for us to increase our knowledge of Judaism. We can learn from our rabbis and our teachers. We can share our knowledge with each other. Our esteemed rabbis taught that they acquired wisdom from their students.
A synagogue is a place to worship. It is a Beit Tefillah, a house of prayer where we gather as a community. It is in a synagogue that we learn that prayer takes place not only in the sanctuary, but in other places as well. It could be as part of a havurah, in a home, on a nature walk, on the beach. While we think of fixed prayer, there is also meditation, the worship of our heart. These are all part of a synagogue community.
Rabbi Hillel was known for his statement, “Do not separate yourself from the community.” A synagogue brings us together, not only for our personal needs, but also for the needs of the community in which we live. A rabbinic commentary on Hillel’s words points out that “When the community is in a troubled state, even if the individual is not in that same sadness, he should feel their troubles as if he too were troubled. Thus, he can be with them in their sadness.” That is why we all should be part of synagogue life.
L’shana Tova Tikatevu—May you be written in the Book of Life for a good year.
