A few weeks ago there was an advertisement in the Yated for a family that wanted to sell the rights to name their upcoming baby. They were going to use the money to cover some debts that had piled up.
Now, the next stage is an advertisement in Hamodia (Hebrew) offering the sale of being the sandek at a bris.
I would suggest it might be the same people - selling the name, and now the sandekaus, but this is being sold by an organization as a fundraiser. They probably have a bunch of couples registered with them, they probably pay the couples a percentage and the bulk of the money goes to the organization. Plus, they would more likely have advertised again in the Yated. Unless maybe they did not get any good offers from that ad and decided to try it through Hamodia this time, and through the organization..
The organization is the "Committee For Purity of the Camp", and they say that their work consists mostly of improving tzniyus in Eretz Yisrael - separate roads to the Kotel, mehadrin bus lines, getting rid of immodest pictures in advertisements in bus stops, etc. Someone who would buy the sandekaus, they say, is not only being part of a great mitzva, but is also giving tzedaka to an important cause.
The cost of buying the sandekaus, specifically for a bris coming this Tuesday, is $35,000 and it includes being the sandek and holding the baby when the brachos are recited. The payment, by the way, can be divided into 70 payments - so no worries if you don't have the $35k ready and available by this Tuesday.
(source: Mynet)
One could look at this as an investment. It is well known that being a sandek at a bris is considered to be a segulah for wealth..
This too would have made a great eBay item. Maybe the haredi papers should be looked at as being frum alternatives to eBay...
I am starting to think of what other things can be sold and used as income generators... I am getting all sorts of crazy ideas in my head, but don't want to commit them to writing just yet. Feel free to add your own suggestions!
Separate ROADS to the Kotel? Reality need not intervene?
ReplyDeleteBTW, isn't the Committee for the Purity of the Camp the Sikrikim???
Shave my head in honor of my upcoming wedding....
ReplyDeleteMy late grandfather promised someone close to be sandek at my uncle brit which was to be on Yom Kippur, when along came a rich man, who offered a vast sum of money,(which would have helped him immensely financially), in order for him to be sandak on Yom Kippur. My grandather refused because he had already promised the mitzva to someone else.
ReplyDeleteMy late grandfather promised someone close to be sandek at my uncle brit which was to be on Yom Kippur, when along came a rich man, who offered a vast sum of money,(which would have helped him immensely financially), in order for him to be sandak on Yom Kippur. My grandather refused because he had already promised the mitzva to someone else.
ReplyDeleteSegulah Insurance
ReplyDeleteAkiva - I am pretty sure there is a connection
ReplyDeleteWhy don't they sell the right to be the Ashkenazi chief rabbi. Oh right, they already do.
ReplyDeletecheck is in the mail
ReplyDeleteDovid from Modiin
Rafi,
ReplyDeleteThis is not the first time that you have referenced the "selling naming rights" story, despite myself and others correctly pointing out that the ad you described was the exact reverse - someone offering money to have a baby named for them/significant relative.
While you can argue whether there is a conceptual difference (I certainly think there is one), it behooves us all to try to keep to honest representation in what you report, even on blogs. This kind of thing is exactly how defamatory urban legends are formed, and I hope that we agree on the need to prevent those from spreading.
As to selling Sandek rights - well, I already stated that offering to sell such rights is different from someone offering momey to *buy* such rights.
The Mynet article you referenced quotes the ad as offering also the "L'Hachniso" bracha, which is supposed to be said by the father of the baby. So I'm not really sure what the story is. Besides, an *organization* is dispensing with kibudim that pertain to a specific baby with specific parents?
I would really like to see the original ad to judge for myself, as in the previous case.
Shlomo - I didnt see the original ad and was surprised they didnt include it.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the original selling of the name, I know your reading of the ad was different but I still disagree. Also, some of the other articles on the ad said they spoke to the couple and they were selling the right to choose the name. for a baby they were about to have. I dont mind if you hold out on your opinion, but I still think it is as I wrote.. :-)