Volunteers: The Pillars of our Community
Some of you may know that I grew up in a Modern Orthodox synagogue in San Antonio, TX. The Rabbi at the synagogue was very young—this was his first congregation—but very dynamic and a great orator. He was well-liked, and attracted many young families to the congregation. But eventually his children grew older and needed to attend a Jewish day school, so he moved back to New York, away from this outpost of Judaism in San Antonio.
A new rabbi was hired, who was not nearly as popular, and the membership of the Orthodox shul dwindled. While the reform and conservative congregations followed the migration of the Jewish population and built new sanctuaries in the suburbs, the Orthodox congregation didn’t have the money to move from its downtown location. In fact, frequently there was not even enough money to meet its immediate needs. Whether it was a leaky roof, making the payroll, or celebrating holidays, resources were not available. But many members of the Jewish community felt that it was important to maintain an Orthodox congregation, so even though they were members of other congregations, they pitched in to help; they volunteered to make repairs to the aging building, help out in the office, teach Religious School, organize a Purim or Chanukah celebration, make a Kiddush lunch each Shabbat, and support the daily minyans.
Then one day a minor miracle happened. A long time member passed away and left the synagogue a nice sum of money. It was enough to patch up and paint the building, install new air conditioning, replace the roof, and even hire a part-time receptionist. So what do you think happened to this Orthodox congregation?
It nearly folded. It almost closed its doors. Once the monetary crisis ended, all of the many volunteers who maintained the synagogue felt that they were not needed anymore. As critical as finances were to repair the crumbling walls, it really was the volunteers who were the pillars of the congregation.
And so it is at Beth David. Think about many of the wonderful experiences you have at Beth David, and you can be sure that they depend upon volunteers. On the High Holidays and Shabbat, volunteers are instrumental in assigning the honors and ushers as well as leading parts of the service. Through the efforts of volunteers, we were able to institute a daily Minyan. Learning opportunities for adults are organized by volunteers, and volunteer parents provide significant support in Religious School, Hebrew High and for our youth groups. Social action projects are organized and implemented by volunteers. Programs and holiday celebrations would not happen without the many volunteers who do so much to make our congregation a welcome community for people of all ages. In addition, synagogue governance and operational assistance is provided by many of our volunteers with special skills. In fact, the list of areas of volunteerism at Beth David is phenomenal, as you can see on the back of our Volunteer Appreciation Program. Rabbi Pressman, Rabbi Ohriner, and I truly appreciate the dedication and hard work of all Beth David’s volunteers. If you have volunteered for Beth David in the last 2 years, please accept a thank-you gift that we have placed in the social hall as a small token of our appreciation.
My childhood story has a good ending. When the University of Texas opened a medical school and an undergraduate branch in San Antonio, the Jewish community grew, and many of the newcomers wanted to affiliate with an Orthodox congregation. The congregation even was able to finance a brand new building out in the suburbs. So today San Antonio has 3 congregations: one each for Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox. But the lesson I learned was that while dues and donations are important to maintain the building and to hire outstanding clergy and staff, the soul of the congregation depends upon its volunteers, the true pillars of the community.