Is it Just a Building or a Center of Jewish Life?

Have you ever gone into your synagogue in the middle of the day on a weekday?

It seems that most of the synagogue meetings I am asked to attend that are during the day are often at a local breakfast spot or at someone’s home that is convenient to the train stop. I haven’t been at my synagogue during typical business hours for some time. Recently, I attended a funeral of an older woman with whom I had served on a committee. Martha always reminded me of growing up in Boston with her Boston accent and New England sensibility about what is right.

I was amazed at the activity at synagogue on this Friday at noontime. There is a very vibrant early childhood program. And with Martha’s funeral and Shabbat preparations, there was a hubbub of activity on this day.

The sights and sounds of happy children outside of the sanctuary symbolized a great success for Martha, and others involved in the synagogue’s leadership. What a wonderful celebration of her life, with the backdrop of the next generation celebrating Shabbat and enjoying life.

So this past Tuesday evening, I attended a meeting at synagogue. Six cars were in the parking lot of those in attendance. We were meeting in what had been the gift shop and was now the coffee gathering place-the smallest meeting space in the synagogue. The only voices we heard were our own. I started to wonder what our synagogue might do to make the evenings as much of a center for Jewish activity and learning as what I had experienced a few days before.

Rabbi Hayim Herring, a consultant to synagogues, wrote a comment on ejewishphilanthropy.com that got me thinking about building use. Are synagogues better off owning their space? If they do own it, how can they maximize the use of their building to make it a true center of Jewish life and learning?

I have heard from the leadership of many synagogues that one of the biggest challenges they have is their facility. Demographics have changed. Maintaining the current membership level is a struggle. The sanctuary suited them well until about 5 years ago. Now those attending Shabbat evening services sit in the 3 rows in the front, and the room is pretty empty. Social halls that, years ago were where everyone had their B’nai Mitzvah and even wedding celebrations are seldom used. Let alone during a weekday.

Of course not every synagogue community can have or wants to have an early childhood program to use the space during the day. I have written before about renting out space during the day to schools. One synagogue I visited has a relationship with a neighboring university that rents out their Education center for their Lifelong Education program targeting retirees.

Is there other programming that the synagogue can sponsor to serve this population?

Rabbi Herring asks the question whether synagogues need to own their space, suggesting that the proceeds from the sale of the building could significantly alter our approach to dues. I am not sure about this.

We need to think about programming that will engage congregants.  Wherever it is.

Having such programming at a central address like the synagogue is not a bad thing. If it is not at the synagogue, it will have to be at another facility in the community or at someone’s home. And someone will have to make such arrangements.

What do you think about the use of the space at your synagogue?