Membership Fees at the Synagogues?

[Anonymous]

Can someone please explain to me why many Jewish congregations insist on membership fees while Christian churches don't? We are an interfaith family, I wouldn't mind our children growing up in both religions but the whole fees thing really puzzles me. My Jewish DH can't explain it to me, just keeps saying "that's how it's always been."

[Anonymous]

Most Christian Churches tithe and usually expect around 10% of your income to go to the church annually. Of course you don't have to follow that. Same for Judaism. All congregations are non profit that can only stay open at the generosity of their donors. You are certainly welcome to go to services if you don't pay, but some one is paying for that place to run and stay open so it is nice if you contribute.

[Anonymous]

It is related to Jews not supposed to carry money on the Sabbath, thus we can't just give money when we attend like Christians.

[Anonymous]

Well, by Orthodox shuls, members do not carry money on Shabbos. This means they can't pass an offering plate or set up a table for a pledge drive in the lobby. So they have to do funding differently. Also, Christians are trying to be welcoming to all in hopes of converting some of them whereas this is not a priority for an Orthodox shul.

[Anonymous]

How do you expect them to pay staff, electricity, etc?

[Anonymous]

Synagogues are independent organizations without any central body providing financial support. Most choose to affiliate with a movement (Reform, Conservative, etc.) but that actually costs money to do, it's not the same as being part of a parish or diocese. So a synagogue must be 100% self-supporting. As other have mentioned, they cannot collect donations/tithes/gifts during services, so they need another means to bring in that money. All that said, almost all synagogues have systems in place to make it possible for people to join even if they can't pay full dues. You just need to ask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me why many Jewish congregations insist on membership fees while Christian churches don't? We are an interfaith family, I wouldn't mind our children growing up in both religions but the whole fees thing really puzzles me. My Jewish DH can't explain it to me, just keeps saying "that's how it's always been."

As someone who grew up Episcopal but now belongs to a synagogue, I realized that my family's church did have "membership fees", but it was disguised as making an annual pledge and then paying in each week in an envelope that's passed during service.

As mentioned above, Jews are not supposed to carry/spend money on the Sabbath, so they cannot pass the offering plate around during services.

The two systems are fairly equivalent when all is said and done.

[Anonymous]

Also- you can participate in nearly all aspects of synagogue life without being a dues-paying member. The only things you need to join are for high holy day services and religious school. You can check out a Tot Shabbat or any of the holiday events for free (or a nominal fee, if the temple charges one, for the Purim carnival, Hanukkah party, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also- you can participate in nearly all aspects of synagogue life without being a dues-paying member. The only things you need to join are for high holy day services and religious school. You can check out a Tot Shabbat or any of the holiday events for free (or a nominal fee, if the temple charges one, for the Purim carnival, Hanukkah party, etc.).

NP, but I wanted to bring up that even that isn't universal. Our synagogue has ticket-less High Holiday services. And, our religious school only requires membership for reenerollment, so you can go an entire year before deciding to join.

[Anonymous]

Also, as a former board member at a synagogue, I just want to point out that no congregation will deny you membership if you cannot pay. Some congregations do make it difficult and ask for "proof" of your income/expenses but many are getting away from that as it is extremely humiliating for the congregants and causes many to resign their membership rather than ask for relief. At my synagogue, we have done away with this and anyone needing relief just needs to call the executive director and she tells them to pay what they can afford -- no questions asked.

Another trend is that some places are moving away from a "dues model" (i.e. saying that you must pay $3,000/per year (as an example) to be a member) and moving to an annual pledge model (similar to what a pp mentioned). This is definitely the wave of the future as many young families cannot afford the high dues but want to be affiliated with a congregation. Of course, a lot of places are already effectively on that model already because they allow people with financial difficulty to pay what they can afford. But if they give everyone the option to pay less, they may lose revenue (i.e., people who can pay the $3,000 but aren't really engaged in synagogue life may decide to pay less than $3,000 because they have the option). In order to meet the payroll/keep the building running, the synagogues need those people to pay their full share. But if they are fully engaged, they should want to contribute more. It's a circle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also- you can participate in nearly all aspects of synagogue life without being a dues-paying member. The only things you need to join are for high holy day services and religious school. You can check out a Tot Shabbat or any of the holiday events for free (or a nominal fee, if the temple charges one, for the Purim carnival, Hanukkah party, etc.).

You can and should do this if you are legitimately trying out the synagogue and trying to figure out if it is the right place for you. But you really shouldn't do this extensively or for a terribly long time period. As others have said, funds are needed to operate the building, pay staff, and run programs. If you can't pay or can't pay full, most places will work with you - as they should. But if you just want to freeload for years on end, it really isn't right, although you probably could get away with it at a lot of places before someone would realize and/say something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, by Orthodox shuls, members do not carry money on Shabbos. This means they can't pass an offering plate or set up a table for a pledge drive in the lobby. So they have to do funding differently. Also, Christians are trying to be welcoming to all in hopes of converting some of them whereas this is not a priority for an Orthodox shul.

To note, in theory at least, Conservative Jews are also forbidden from carrying money on shabbos. While few C lay people follow the halacha strictly, it would not be possible for a C shul to pass a collection plate. Even for a Reform shul it would awkward, and go against the culture.

In eastern europe at one time, there were auctions in shul for various "honors" (with the money to be paid after shabbos). This was as offensive to American sensibilities as plate passing was to Jewish sensibilities and so was dropped almost everywhere (a remnant of the custom is followed once a year in some Chabad shuls, IIUC). So we were left with annual memberships, plus other fund raising campaigns, similar to other non profits.

As noted elsewhere, almost all shuls will accommodate cases of financial hardship. And most only check membership at high holidays and for religious school, not for weekly services. A few do not even check membership for those things.

[Anonymous]

After Having participated in a budget cycle as a board member, I felt better about the dues. That's what it costs to run the place and keep the lights on, especially if you provide health insurance for the staff. The budget was lean.

I can't imagine it is any different with a church. They may use different words and have different ways to go about it, but in the end, the congregation has to keep the lights on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, as a former board member at a synagogue, I just want to point out that no congregation will deny you membership if you cannot pay. Some congregations do make it difficult and ask for "proof" of your income/expenses but many are getting away from that as it is extremely humiliating for the congregants and causes many to resign their membership rather than ask for relief. At my synagogue, we have done away with this and anyone needing relief just needs to call the executive director and she tells them to pay what they can afford -- no questions asked.

Another trend is that some places are moving away from a "dues model" (i.e. saying that you must pay $3,000/per year (as an example) to be a member) and moving to an annual pledge model (similar to what a pp mentioned). This is definitely the wave of the future as many young families cannot afford the high dues but want to be affiliated with a congregation. Of course, a lot of places are already effectively on that model already because they allow people with financial difficulty to pay what they can afford. But if they give everyone the option to pay less, they may lose revenue (i.e., people who can pay the $3,000 but aren't really engaged in synagogue life may decide to pay less than $3,000 because they have the option). In order to meet the payroll/keep the building running, the synagogues need those people to pay their full share. But if they are fully engaged, they should want to contribute more. It's a circle.

My old shul tried to move away from the dues model and fell to pieces.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also- you can participate in nearly all aspects of synagogue life without being a dues-paying member. The only things you need to join are for high holy day services and religious school. You can check out a Tot Shabbat or any of the holiday events for free (or a nominal fee, if the temple charges one, for the Purim carnival, Hanukkah party, etc.).

At my synogogue, even High Holiday seats are provided to those with low-incomes. They are scattered thoughout the congregation, so nobody knows who they are.