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Elie
Farkas, Rabbi |
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Elie
Farkas, Rabbi |
From the Rabbi
As many if not all of you already know, as a shul, we try to raise money to meet our budget. One of the areas of fundraising we would like to improve is in donations for Aliyot. High Holiday Aliyah donations have been excellent, but we would like to see them rise a bit the rest of the year too. While it certainly is not a prerequisite to taking an Aliyah, and no one should feel obliged to, and I would feel terrible if anyone ever turned down an aliyah out of fear of making a pledge, I would like to encourage members to make pledges for Aliyot on a more frequent basis. After an Aliyah, the recipient receives a beautiful blessing free of charge. Afterwards, the Oleh has an option to bestow this blessing upon family and friends as well for a small donation or Kiddush. While the donations from these Aliyot on regular Shabbatot may seem insignificant (it's usually around $18 dollars, although it can be more), they really do add up, and really help out the shul.
Anyone who doesn't want to advertise a large donation, or is embarrassed to give a small donation is encouraged to say Matana (gift) or Tzedaka (Charity) when asked how much he wants to pledge. He can then make his desired amount known afterwards to the Gabbai or a member of the board.
If you want to do this, but are concerned that it adds too much time to the davening, please prepare a list of names in advance. This will save time. Also, we will begin joining the men and the women in the prayer for those who are ill. Many Orthodox Shuls do this and there is no reason to think G-d can't cure them in the same prayer.
I hope the pledges for Aliyot will increase, and I hope no one ever feels uncomfortable taking an Aliyah.
Updated: January 23, 2008