Cha-Ching (Money and Synagogues)
In response to Professor Cohen's question, I don't think that paying membership dues to an organization alone makes you feel like a full member. For example, I've been on the French Club's list serve for three and a half years now, but I've never attended a meeting. So when somebody asks, I can't really say that I'm a part of le cercle francais. If not participating in the meetings and rituals specific to the French club makes me feel like I may be a member in name, but can't identify with the club on a deeper level, then it would be all the harder to identify with a religious group when you don't follow any of their (stricter, more integral) rules and practices. I think, if anything, the concept of having to pay dues to belong to a specific temple makes some Jews feel like even more of an outsider. Then, even if you do want to attend shul and follow some laws, you're made to feel like a moocher for not paying thousands of dollars a year. Or you might skip around from synagogue to synagogue in your area. It's like the saying in the diaspora that the Jews were a people without a home; you become a Jew without a shul. Membership dues create a space for shallow connections to a Jewish identity and an obstacle to stronger connections with one.
posted by Kimberly Bastin @ 3:47 PM
1 Comments:
I understand what you are saying about people who attend shuls without paying dues and feeling like moochers. However, I believe that without paying something to a shul, you lack the feeling of "ownership" and commitment and that perhaps some payment to a shul would force people to become more involved in the shul's activities. Since the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, the most common method of raising funds in the Jewish community has been through taxation. This is by no means unique to the Jewish people. Dues in a shul may be viewed as a collective responsibilty. One may view dues as a form of Jewish citizenship tax assessed every year. A congregation needs the financial support of its member to maintain its programs. Dues are the way a congregation distributes the cost of its programs among its membership.
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