Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 46, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 9, 1992 Page: 2 of 24
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Feature 2
TEXAS JEWISH POST, THURSDA Y, JUL Y 9, 1992-IN OUR 46TH YEAR!
Reaching Th
A Noted Jewish Historian Suggests a Solution tol*
By Natalie Ornish
s it possible that one of
the reasons we are not
making contact with many
of the unaffiliated Jews in
this country is that we are
letting the wrong person
answer the telephone at
leach temple or shul ?
Is it possible that—while gigantic
Jewish organizations are beginning to
wonder how to reach out to the nearly
fifty percent of Jews who are not mem-
bers of any synagogue—many of these
unaffiliated Jews may have made over-
tures toward joining, but were turned
down?
“We don’t turn down anyone; we
have scholarships and special sliding
scales for anyone who wants to join,
and the application is confidential,” the
executive directors, presidents, and trea-
surers of shuls always announce. But
are they aware of the fact that many
potential members call their congrega-
tion and are not lassoed in? Here are a
few examples from Texas, Arizona,
and Illinois;
He was told he had to he a
member. He asked whether
he could send the children
on the membership of a
friend and was told, "No.*
A family of three—single-parent fa-
ther and two children— who lived in
East Dallas, had never affiliated with a
temple. The children were in elemen-
tary public school. I suggested to the
father that he call the temple I belonged
to and inquire about sending the chil-
dren to Sunday school there, because I
had taught there, and also I thought the
program there beautiful and creative
and the children would enjoy it. I knew
he could not afford to pay dues because
he had a chronic illness and was mini-
mally employed. I felt that when he
called, someone would explain to him
about the sliding scale, etc., and ask
him to come in for an appointment to
discuss it in confidence with the execu-
tive director. Here is what happened.
When he called the temple, he told
the person there he had two children
and wanted to know if they could go to
Sunday School there. He was told he
had to be a member. He asked whether
he could send the children on the mem-
bership of a friend, and was told, “No.”
He was bashful about announcing he
could not afford to join, but likely the
Perhaps a new sensitivity
can bedeveloped by persons
on the switchboard at syna-
gogues, so that any call
about children being en-
rolled in Sunday School will
send a signal and excite-
ment...
person at the other end of the line
considered him a schnorrer. This is a
result of unfortunate stereotyping,
whereby many persons automatically
think of blacks or Chicanos as under-
privileged and extend immediate sym-
pathy and generosity, but may feel Jews
are 100% privileged. Perhaps a new
sensitivity can be developed by per-
sons on the switchboard at synagogues,
so that any call about children being
enrolled in Sunday School will send a
signal and excitement like a call to a
Cadillac dealer about the newest model
cars and be followed up with some
hard-sell to get the caller to come in and
meet the sales manager.
What eventually happened in this
case is that the person who suggested
the father contact the temple in the first
place had persevering qualities and
called the temple direct, ordering ap-
plications forms and making applica-
tion on behalf of the family for scholar-
ships for the children. The temple effi-
ciently processed the application. Both
children also have attended Green Fam-
ily Camp, have been b’nai mitzvahed,
and are on their way to becoming pro-
ductive leaders of the Jewish commu-
nity. They did not fall through the
cracks.
Other case histories did not have
such a happy ending. Let’s talk about
Missy, a young woman from Texas
who moved to Arizona with her two
When she called, she ex-
plained to the person on the
phone that she was newly
divorced, the sole supporter
of her two children except
for minimum income from
her ex-husband* The person
on the phone told her that
her child could not enter
Sunday school unless she
was a member.
small children. When her oldest was
six, she decided to enroll her in Sunday
school at a nearby temple. When she
called, she explained to the person on
the phone that she was newly divorced,
the sole supporter of her two children
except for minimum income from her
ex-husband. The person on the phone
told her that her child could not enter
Sunday school unless she was a mem-
ber. When Missy explained she could
not afford to pay for affiliation, the
person suggested she could work it out
by doing library duty or other volunteer
jobs at the Temple. What she did not
know was that Missy was a nursing
mother with an infant, and that she
could not pay a sitter to go to the temple
to work. She could barely pay her house-
hold and car expenses and was most
concerned about her old car even mak-
ing it to the temple and public school.
Missy had a nice friend
who invited her to visit her
church on Sunday. She
picked up Missy and the chil-
dren and endowed her with
warm and loving hospital-
ity. Missy was going fairly
regularly to church.
Missy had a nice friend who invited
her to visit her church on Sunday. She
picked up Missy and the children and
endowed her with warm and loving
hospitality. Missy was going fairly regu-
larly to church. I told this story to a *
rabbi I felt very close to, who called the
rabbi at the temple Missy had appBd
to for affiliation. He documented^
story was true. The excuse given was
that the person who answered the tele-
phone had exercised too much author- \
ity and would have done better to refer'
the inquiry to someone else. The r
did call Missy and apologized and
he would be of service if she
needed him. But the gesture was L
late. The telephone call could not re-
place the person-to-person contact to
someone who truly needed a fri
after a painful divorce, who ha{
relatives in a strange city.
...are we talking about the
challenge to seek out Jet
who are living barren ofd
ganized religion and a ft.
in the true Creator, inorfter
to extend to them a warmth
of fellowship?
When I read that there is a new move-
ment to reach out to the unaffili1
my first question is, “What is me
affiliated?” Does the word “affiliated”
mean that they are on the roster of dues
paying members? Or are we talkin
about the challenge to seek out Jews
who are living barren of organize*]
ligion and a faith in the true Create
order to extend to them a warmth of
fellowship?
In every prominent American city,
its Jewish community refers to the large
number of unaffiliated Jews “hit;
out” in some suburb. This has
going on for half a century, but'the
number has swollen. “Half of all Ameri-
can Jews are not synagogue members,”
recently wrote the eminent Rabbi
Alexander M. Schindler, President of
the Union of American Hebrew CBi-
gregations (UAHC), which represHts
virtually all Reform Judaism in Ncrth
America. This organization is launch-
ing a “revolutionary” program toreach
out to the unaffiliated, to encourage
them to participate in synagogue 1
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Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 46, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 9, 1992, newspaper, July 9, 1992; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth754304/m1/2/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .