Coconuts and Synagogue Councils

Groan

The old joke has it that a Jew stranded on a desert island needs to build two synagogues: one to attend and a second in which he wouldn’t be seen dead. The conceit is that the proverbial Robinson Crusowitz uses his freedom of action to establish a shul purely to suit his needs and emphatically not those of other Jews. And those other Jews don’t even need to be present for Robinson to concoct for himself a feeling of exclusiveness and superiority. It seems to me that Mr Crusowitz’s shul, if it existed, wouldn't be worthy of the name 'beit knesset' (house of meeting).

Reality

Those of us who aren’t resident on desert islands generally prefer our shuls to be run with a more generous attitude than that of our washed-up brother. Happily, local Honorary Officers of US communities invariably prioritise communal 'needs' - not their own - and go from there. The essentials of community life are outlined in US regulatory and guidance documents, and are refined by local circumstances and the instincts of HOs themselves. Robinson Crusowitz may put his own personal sushi kiddush above strategy, solvency, line management and even Shabbat morning services, but our Honorary Officers certainly don't.

Synagogue Councils

Synagogue Councils have fewer regulatory responsibilities.[1] There is variety across the US, but members of Synagogue Councils often have personal responsibility for communal ‘wants’ rather than ‘needs’. These might focus on ‘events’, ‘youth’ or shul security, for instance.

Tali Ross[2] of the US Community Development team is starting a new project looking at the role of Synagogue Councils. Please note that there are no foregone conclusions and there is no intention to constrain the freedom of action of Synagogue Councils, or of imposing new duties on their members. The work of investigating what Synagogue Councils do, and might (optionally!) do in the future, is scheduled to take into 2024.

In the meantime, Tali and I have briefly discussed how far a ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ dichotomy exists in communities. And where this division does exist, its effects. If HOs have primary responsibility for the 'needs', are Synagogue Council members marooned, so to speak, restricted by convention to 'wants'? Are they implicitly discouraged form looking with fresh eyes at needs that perhaps the HOs are too busy to deal with? And is the distinction governed by rules or conventions that could be profitably reviewed?

Ship ahoy!

We’re not answering these questions now. But if Tali and I had to start a community on a desert island (or in a London suburb) today, we might develop some of the off-the-cuff portfolio ideas below (not that portfolios are the only way for Synagogue Councils to function!).

Jewish growth

‘Education’ is an end in itself. But US communities educate at least in part to spark Jewish growth (spiritual, knowledge and observance) in individuals and households. The word ‘education’ can trammel us within traditional models of delivery (e.g. ‘speaker-to-listeners’) when a variety of approaches would be more effective at fulfilling a ‘Jewish growth’ brief for a range of audiences. Measurement of ‘Jewish growth’ might be more challenging than measuring the mere delivery of talks and classes, but the effort could be worth it, given that Jewish growth is fundamental to the sense of direction and momentum of the whole community.

Quality of experience

Food is important, vital even, to community life. Robinson Crusowitz's sushi kiddush aside for a minute though, communities might benefit from a holistic (if potentially expensive) view taken of all the sensory elements of the shul space. Unique, high-quality experiences are valued in our society, so even though they are not inherently of Jewish value unless we make them so, we might consider high quality to be a constant aim. Many shuls lacked decent audio-visual equipment until Covid. But microphones, speakers and so on, would surely have been useful even before the pandemic. Older children might appreciate alternatives to the grape juice of infancy. Fluorescent bulbs are cheap, but they can convey a frosty institutional atmosphere. With imagination, we can maintain or even enhance people’s shared happenings, ideally at minimal cost.

Connections

Potentially linking a number of common responsibilities from kiddushim to social events, welcoming committees to seniors’ provision, it may be wise for Synagogue Councils to take responsibility – and to report on - the forming of connections between Jews. All the above, particularly the social events into which we put so much effort, are arguably just means to the end of ‘connections’. And in order to get the best out of events of any sort, the more substantial aim of forming and deepening of connections must be acknowledged as the chief aim and measure of success.

Rescued

Whichever direction the Synagogue Councils exploratory work takes us, we are hopeful that US communities will be better equipped to avoid the fate of either of the two shuls on the proverbial desert island, when we have concluded our work. We are excited about hearing from you and being part of helping all Synagogue Councils thrive.

[1] See the US Byelaws (2018) for these [2] Tali joined the Community Development Team in July and has made an immediate impact, taking on a substantial Community Partner role, responsibility for implementation of Dorot and other substantial work.