Archive for December, 2009

 

Rabbis: Fundraising is about Inspiration and Conversation, So Be Involved!

Posted on: December 26th, 2009 by Hayim Herring

I only vaguely remember a Chasidic story that influenced my feelings about fundraising (and if you’re aware of the citation, please let me know!).  The gist of it is that a certain rabbi has a relationship with a wealthy donor.  One day, the rabbi sees the donor learning in the study hall (beit ha-midrash). The rabbi is surprised because this individual doesn’t usually visit the study hall. So, the rabbi approaches him and asks why he is studying.  The donor replies that he is trying to become more learned.  But the rabbi responds that there are those whose job it is to sit and study and those whose calling is to give tzedakah, to fulfill communal needs through their philanthropy. And, the rabbi states, this individual’s specialty is philanthropy.

This story makes a profound point (although I would never discourage any individual from learning Jewish texts).  Being philanthropic should never be taken for granted or assumed to be any less a deep spiritual act then Jewish learning, which is accorded high status in Jewish culture. Some will disagree with me on this point, but especially when donors literally have thousands of choices, we had better treat donating to Jewish causes with great appreciation.

Additionally, when I first began working as a congregational rabbi, I had an outstanding Senior Rabbi and mentor, Rabbi Kass Abelson (still my rabbi to this day!) who was actively involved in fundraising.  Among the many things which I learned from him was that the rabbi is in a unique position to help sustain the congregation financially (Also, see Rabbi Kipnes’s comment on my last post for additional reasons for rabbinic involvement). It was usual for him to solicit funds from a congregant along with another synagogue member who had already “given to the cause.”

So I’ve always enjoyed engaging in conversations about dreams for a better Jewish future and positively changing Jewish lives with existing and potential donors. For me, those conversations are about inspiring someone to do more good, listening to their aspirations about the Jewish future, sharing my own vision about Jewish life and creating a partnership around those hopes. I’ve grown in that process and I hope that I’ve helped many generous individuals grow in their connection to the Jewish community and its potential for ongoing great achievement.

Rabbi Hayim Herring

Asking for Money and Not Feeling Any Shame

Posted on: December 14th, 2009 by Hayim Herring

The word for money in modern in day Hebrew is kesef. This word appears in the Bible and Rabbinic Hebrew as well. Interestingly, in those strata of Hebrew, kesef means both silver and shame. I’m guessing that the connection is that silver is a pale color and when we feel shame, blood drains from our faces, giving us a pale appearance.

Perhaps there’s a deeper connection as well, namely some feel shame or embarrassment in soliciting funds from others for congregational needs. Let’s face it—you’re more likely to get someone to volunteer to paint the congregation’s bathrooms than to get someone to volunteer to solicit funds from congregants!

But we know that money is an essential part of congregational life, and we’re acutely reminded of this financial reality during an economic crunch. So what I want to do in the next series of posts is use the network that we’ve created through this blog to:

I’m going to invite some fund development experts to share their ideas as well.

So, let’s kick off the discussion by hearing from those who really do not like soliciting funds and also from those who tolerate or even look forward to the challenge of raising money for the congregation. Thanks!

Rabbi Hayim Herring

New Rituals: You Won’t Believe This One!

Posted on: December 3rd, 2009 by Hayim Herring

Last week I asked you to share new rituals that you had heard about. Thank you for responding! While some of you responded on this blog, others wrote to me through Facebook or Twitter. Aren’t social media wonderful for purposes like these?! In no particular order, here is a summary of your ideas, plus a few of my own:

• Rabbi Mel Glazer: has an entire service on Blessing of the Pets, which he instituted years ago on Parashat Noach; many Synaplex™ synagogues have done so as well.
• Gary Stern: suggests creating an “Ally of the Jewish People” ritual, for someone who hasn’t formally converted to Judaism, but wants to actively participate in the life of the Jewish community.
• Rabbi Daniel Alter: bat mitzvah in the Orthodox community and zeved ha-bat (ritual for naming a new-born Jewish girl). Rabbi Alter notes that within the Orthodox community, many new or recovered rituals have been inspired by Feminism.
• Additionally, there has been a growth of rituals outside of the Orthodox for girls and women, GLBT Jews, and bedtime rituals for children.
•  Lighting a yellow candle for Yom ha-Shoah, invented by the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs: tinyurl.com/ykevgax.
• From Rabbi Mordechai Rackover: at the secular synagogue in Tel Aviv they make Havdallah between Yom ha-Zikaron and Yom ha—Atzma’ut.; Also from Rabbi Rackover: Men going to mikva on the same day their wives do (in observance of the laws of family purity).
• Developing non-Orthodox Chevrah Kadisha groups which are based in synagogues or the community-see Kavod v’Nichum, an organization that has lead this initiative: www.jewish-funerals.org.
• Creating just workplaces in kosher restaurants and providing a certificate attesting to it: www.utzedek.org/tavhayosher.
• Sending e-greeting cards for Jewish holidays, often with decent artwork.
• Holding an ecological Tu b’Shevat Seder.
• Holding a Tikkun Leil Shavuot—something that has taken root outside of the Orthodox community.

And, I also heard a few miscellaneous comments worth noting:
• A number of people recommended www.ritualwell.org, which is an excellent user-generated resource for new lifecycle rituals. (You can also find out about the history of the “orange on the seder plate” ritual there.) Also, a few people said that they search the Reform Movement’s website: www.urj.org.
• Rabbi Kerry Olitzky found that men are not experimenting with rituals in the same way that women are.
• Jonathan Freed wrote: “My father purchased me from our Orthodox synagogue for $1 following my Brit Milah,”—is anyone familiar with this one?

Thank you for your help and I’ll be doing further analysis in article that I’m writing about ritual. So—if you remember additional ones, please don’t hesitate to add to the list.

Rabbi Hayim Herring