quote: Synagogues often charge hundreds of dollars for tickets to attend services for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, called the High Holy Days because they are among the most sacred in the Jewish calendar.
Is this common, or is it just in high population areas? Do Jews tithe? Is this not enough to cover the High Holy Days? Is tithing different from "membership fees" which are discussed later in the article?
I know that Christians have Easter and Christmas Eve services where the church is suddenly full of people you haven't seen all year, but I don't know how your services differ from Christian ones and don't understand the need for hiring extra clergy.
I'm just wondering if your places of worship do similar things, (if it's common or if you've never heard of it before) and what you think of it (approve or disapprove?)
I hope this isn't offensive, as I don't mean it to be. I just saw this article and not having any first hand experience was curious.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I haven't read the article. I will in a moment.
However, in my experience "tickets" (which are usually virtual) to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services are in lieu of / the same as the yearly membership fee. This is not true necessarily for every synagogue (particularly those which serve many many more congregants on those days than normally), but it is for most.
Most have barely enough seats for those days, and plenty on the average Shabbos. Also, there is a (Jewish Law) requirement that one take care of paying off any outstanding debts from the year by the time Rosh Hashana rolls around. So it's also a good time to ensure that anyone who hasn't finished paying off last year's fees (which are often spread over the year for those who cannot manage the lump sum) does so.
[Addit after reading the article: It is worth noting that the majority of those quoted are Conservative or Reform. The only Orthodox sources cited were NJOP and the Chabad rabbi.]
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
High Holiday tickets. Here's the secret truth.
It's true.
Synagogues charge yearly dues for membership. Mind you, membership is not required for worship, but it is a way to support your local synagogue. As such, it is certainly encouraged. There are some perks to membership, as well. Like you get to be on their mailing list.
The High Holidays are the busiest time at the synagogue. People who may not show up regularly to services will show up then. Extra chairs are trotted out. Some synagogues have two (or three -- or more) parallel services to accommodate all the worshippers. Tickets let the synagogue know how many people are planning to be there. Often your ticket gets you an assigned seat, which guarantees that families will be able to sit together.
If you don't have money for membership, or tickets, you can always find a place in synagogue to worship. You can explain your situation to the synagogue, and they will reserves a space for you, or offer you a discount. Many synagogues set aside "non-ticketed seats". These are not reserved, and are first-come, first served.
The synagogues need money to get by, and this is just a bit of fund raising.
As to tithing, it is a commandment for Jews, but not all Jews follow all the commandments that they ought to. And not all of your charitable giving necessarily goes to the synagogue. Some of it may go to religious schools, or for organizations that help the sick or the poor. There are lots and lots of Jewish charities competing for that 10%.
It sounds very money-grubbing and mercenary at first blush, to charge money to pray, but once you understand the reasons and exceptions, it is actually kind of reasonable.
Posted by ambyr (Member # 7616) on :
In my experience, many smaller synagogues go beyond needing extra chairs into needing to rent out a separate facility for the High Holidays -- perhaps a college auditorium or large local church -- causing a not-insignificant extra expense.
The local paper here has been running ads (I'm not sure who's paying for them) every day for weeks for free high holiday tickets to students and other newcomers to the area who don't yet have a regular synaogogue membership anywhere; I imagine other cities have similar groups with similar programs.
Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
Ours is overbooked. WAY overbooked.
Then again, ours is a packed one, and almost every Anglosaxon in Jerusalem comes to ours.
You pay an annual fee, and get a reserved seat for the High Holidays, but noone will ever send you away at the door. We'll be utterly packed in our synagogue as we always are, but everyone's welcome. Jews or non Jews.
We paid 750 NIS for a family, and we have three seats (if needed we could have even 5 or 6); a single is 375 of 250 for a student or soldier. The price is very high and fees need to be charged, regardless of donations.
You've just got to pay for everything. The scrolls, the prayer-books, the seats, the rent, other stuff too. Personnel do voluntary work, but the money is always needed. We have space for no more than about 300-350 people, and we're sometimes crammed with what's nearing 500.
Posted by Minerva (Member # 2991) on :
We also don't do weekly collections, like many churches do.
Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :