Appreciating Synagogue Professionals
March 1999
Congregational presidents have many concerns, including, but not limited to, finances, synagogue upkeep, Jewish education, congregational programming, fundraising and balanced budgets. Yet with all these areas requiring attention, synagogue leaders face an even greater problem -- one that causes a great deal of anxiety. As I learned over the past several months in meetings with congregational leaders all over North America, perhaps their greatest concern is the current shortage of qualified synagogue professionals.
Some congregational leaders expressed concern about their inability to find appropriate rabbis and cantors. Others bemoaned the shortage of educators and youth directors. Many expressed frustration at their inability to find adequately trained executive directors. Most of the synagogue presidents with whom I spoke conveyed a willingness to pay adequate salaries. Further, the working conditions they proposed appeared to be satisfactory. Why, then, they asked, is there such a dramatic shortage of qualified religious leaders and educational personnel for our synagogues?
Following these encounters, I set out to find spiritual leaders, formal and informal Jewish educators, and synagogue executives who had left the field of synagogue service, with the hope of learning why they had done so. While there were many individual reasons, there was also a common thread linking most of the responses. In general, Jewish professionals who left synagogue service expressed the feeling that their work had not made a difference. They expressed frustration at not being taken seriously; at being ignored. Some said they felt they were wasting their careers. How tragic!
And how ironic. After all, congregational leaders had suggested to me that being a synagogue professional should be an attractive career option for the committed Jew, since serving the synagogue may be the best way to make a difference in Jewish life today. Yet it is the belief that one is not making a contribution to Jewish life that is working to discourage those who would otherwise be serving our synagogues.
Clearly, if we are to spark a renaissance enabling Jewish life to thrive, we must create a climate in which Jewish educators, administrators and clergy feel appreciated. When rabbis and cantors offer classes on Jewish heritage and strive to create dynamic religious services in which we do not participate, we trivialize their work. When we permit our youth to ignore the messages of their educators -- formal and informal -- we make it seem as if they are wasting their time. If we want our best young men and women to commit their lives to strengthening the Jewish future, we must commit ourselves to making their work productive in the Jewish present.
It is vital that we let people know that they do make a difference, that they help shape our lives. When the rabbi and cantor uplift our spirits, we must let them know. When a teacher or youth advisor creates a spark in us or in our children, we must find an appropriate way to tell them so. When a synagogue executive extends herself so that our special simha is as beautiful as we hoped it would be, she must hear the words, "Thank you very much".
The noted psychologist Abraham Maslow emphasized that the need for self-actualization -- for becoming everything that one is capable of becoming -- is the healthy person's prime motivation in life. It is important to understand this need if we hope to motivate the best Jews to serve and lead our communities. As synagogue leaders, we must develop an awareness of the contribution we can make to enhancing one's feelings of self-worth. Financial compensation is important because, in our society, it has become an indicator of both self-worth and appreciation. But clearly, financial considerations are not sufficient. Our willingness to take both the message and the model of Jewish leaders seriously is equally important.
If we wish to transform Jewish life, each Jew who cares must reach out to Jewish professionals. In word and in action, we must indicate that those who choose to serve the synagogue are important not only to the congregation but to the community and to each of us as individuals. Only then will the synagogue achieve its full potential, enhancing the lives of each of its members.
Rabbi Epstein is the Executive Vice-President of The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the association of Conservative congregations in North America.
