Jul 3, 2014
Charging to daven
What do you think about a shul charging, per-minyan, for people to come daven?
Personally, I try to give a shekel to the shul pushka whenever I daven in a shul I am not a member of (really I do this also in shuls I am a member of, to be honest) , during the weekdays of course, because I recognize that it costs money to operate the shul - lights, air conditioning, maintenance, etc.
However, I am not sure about charging money, rather than walking around with a pushka.
A shul in Jerusalem is having a difficult time paying the bills. It seem its monthly operating expenses have reached nearly 7000nis per month (I do not know if that is a lot or not so much, relative to other shuls), including rent, arnona, water, electricity, cleaning, etc. Donations, mostly from people who donate for aliyot, only bring in about 2500nis per month. I am assuming they first took the step of selling aliyot rather than just giving them away and hoping for donations.
The shul decided to start charging an entry fee - 1nis per minyan, a monthly weekday pass for 50nis, a monthly pass including Shabbos for 100nis. I assume any option beyond that is really just taking out actual membership.
The shul announced exemptions from payment, and they include children until bar mitzva, soldiers, yeshiva gedola boshurim, and the handicapped. These people are welcome to pray for free.
The announcement also says there is no enforcement, i.e. no money collector at the door, but is an actual fee and not paying it would mean one will have stolen from the shul.
source: Bechadrei
It is a big problem, where people flock to a shul to daven, for a variety of reasons - convenient location, convenient times, the right speed, etc. but arent members and dont donate. Most shuls just deal with it, and increase their fundraising efforts, with pushkas, hanging up copies of bills to urge mispallelim to donate, etc.
I am not sure charging an entrance fee will help the situation. Either people will ignore it (look at the problems Egged and other bus companies have with people paying when they arent made to at the door - no reason to assume this will be any different), or people will leave the shul and daven somewhere else.
As the story goes:
Rick wanted to get into the Shul on Rosh Hashanah, but without a ticket they don't let you in.
Rick pleads, 'Look, I just want to give a message to Morris in there.'
The man at the door says, 'Sorry sir, you've got to have a ticket.'
Rick replies, 'Just let me in for one minute, then I'll be right out.'
'Alright,' says the man at the door, 'but I better not catch you praying!'
Personally, I try to give a shekel to the shul pushka whenever I daven in a shul I am not a member of (really I do this also in shuls I am a member of, to be honest) , during the weekdays of course, because I recognize that it costs money to operate the shul - lights, air conditioning, maintenance, etc.
However, I am not sure about charging money, rather than walking around with a pushka.
A shul in Jerusalem is having a difficult time paying the bills. It seem its monthly operating expenses have reached nearly 7000nis per month (I do not know if that is a lot or not so much, relative to other shuls), including rent, arnona, water, electricity, cleaning, etc. Donations, mostly from people who donate for aliyot, only bring in about 2500nis per month. I am assuming they first took the step of selling aliyot rather than just giving them away and hoping for donations.
The shul decided to start charging an entry fee - 1nis per minyan, a monthly weekday pass for 50nis, a monthly pass including Shabbos for 100nis. I assume any option beyond that is really just taking out actual membership.
The shul announced exemptions from payment, and they include children until bar mitzva, soldiers, yeshiva gedola boshurim, and the handicapped. These people are welcome to pray for free.
The announcement also says there is no enforcement, i.e. no money collector at the door, but is an actual fee and not paying it would mean one will have stolen from the shul.
source: Bechadrei
It is a big problem, where people flock to a shul to daven, for a variety of reasons - convenient location, convenient times, the right speed, etc. but arent members and dont donate. Most shuls just deal with it, and increase their fundraising efforts, with pushkas, hanging up copies of bills to urge mispallelim to donate, etc.
I am not sure charging an entrance fee will help the situation. Either people will ignore it (look at the problems Egged and other bus companies have with people paying when they arent made to at the door - no reason to assume this will be any different), or people will leave the shul and daven somewhere else.
As the story goes:
Rick wanted to get into the Shul on Rosh Hashanah, but without a ticket they don't let you in.
Rick pleads, 'Look, I just want to give a message to Morris in there.'
The man at the door says, 'Sorry sir, you've got to have a ticket.'
Rick replies, 'Just let me in for one minute, then I'll be right out.'
'Alright,' says the man at the door, 'but I better not catch you praying!'
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do you need to pay if go in to schnoor?
ReplyDeletegood question! they arent on the exception list, so I assume yes. but then again, if the shul is in such dire need, maybe they should be banning them altogether, in order to keep the money in the shul...
ReplyDeleteThe halacha is, I believe, that a community can force its members to pay for communal needs, including a shul. Today, of course, that is a no go, but I don't see why this is wrong. You are using something that cost money, so you should pay your share, and if the shul management wants to make that a requirement instead of merely a moral obligation, so what?
ReplyDeleteIt's really a big problem that many people take it for granted. My main shul is full mostly of young people who probably got used to having their parents cover all shul donations. They went to yeshiva where no one really expects the students to give (except for the parents perhaps) and actually know that someone else is fundraising. In some cases, like Machon Meir, the students are the fundraisers which has a great educating factor.
ReplyDeleteI would love if there was some national 'give tzedakah' awareness campaign but that might backfire into having non-religious types claim that the government should be not be involved in shul donations. Somehow though, there is a definite need to build local awareness, starting in school, that it is a mitzvah to give.
The gabaim are also required to build awareness so that people know what is going on and feel partners.
do you get your money back if your prayers aren't answered?
ReplyDelete