Charity

by Suzanne Sadowsky

Jewish teaching tells us that charity is synonymous with justice. Being charitable is not a matter of choice, but rather an obligation. During the course of the year, every one of us is asked to make donations to many worthwhile charitable organizations. The mailing frenzy begins to heat up in August. That's when our mailboxes get filled up with all kinds of catalogues urging us to buy a plethora of goods. Fall clothes and back-to-school items, followed by Christmas and Chanukah catalogues. At the same time our mailboxes are filling up to overflowing with brochures, flyers, letters, and calendars from every kind of worthwhile charitable organization you can think of. Decisions about how to spend our money and how much of it to give away and to whom becomes difficult. Whether out of guilt, obligation, a sense of righteousness, or a desire to see ourselves in an ethical light, we decide that we can indeed give away at least part of our hard-earned dollars to a few just causes before the end of the tax year (if for no other reason than a tax write-off). Once getting over that hurdle and deciding that we can and should give tzedakah, we are faced with the dilemma of how much and to whom?

For some years now I have had a running dialogue with my neighbor, colleague and good friend, Michael Chadwick, about the question of charity when it comes to our Jewish Congregation. We have talked about the nature of feelings of abundance, of penuriousness and specifically why it feels so hard for us to ask for charitable contributions specifically on behalf of our Congregation.

I've thought about this problem at different times and in different ways. Quite a few us have come to this Congregation with lots of baggage about what it means to be a Jew. Some of us recoil with distaste when we think of our childhood memories of the president of the Congregation we grew up in as he stood up in front of the entire community on the holiest day of the year imploring everyone present to make financial pledges. A pledge envelope was conveniently left on the seats to be filled out after the final shofar blowing of the Yom Kippur service. How crass and materialistic to ask for money at such a spiritual time, we thought. And then, of course, there were the interminable building funds —pledge drives that went on longer— for years and years.

Other thoughts that come up for us are about how we didn't think we could or should give more than the minimum donation — the basic membership fee, because we really can't afford to give more than the minimum. Besides, weren't there a lot more well-to-do people in the Congregation who could make large donations? And how much were they giving? Why should we give more than our fair share?

At the Congregation's recent Board retreat we talked about how important this community is to all of us and how personally life-transforming this Congregation has been for many of us. We feel that what we offer as a congregation is truly unique. One of our Board members said that he would probably have returned to his home of origin if not for our Congregation. Another said that the decision to have a child was influences by her being part of this Congregation. We also talked about the fact that What we get from the Congregation is not tangible and that it is not a “fee for service” organization. It is much more than going to High Holiday services or providing an affordably priced Jewish education for children. It is beyond the actual events and activities but instead our Congregation gives us a sense of presence, of being here in community, and as Jews, coming together and for each of us (including our children) to experience our lives with the existential lens of a Jew.

For those who come to our services, celebrations and receive our Newsletter, but have not joined as members, perhaps this is the time that you acknowledged the value of this community in your lives by becoming a full member of this community and paying the annual membership dues. For those of us who have been committed members of the Congregation, perhaps now is the time to stretch a bit and make a decision to pay not just the basic membership dues, but to give somewhat more.

It is time to take ourselves seriously as Jews and to take our wonderful Congregation seriously by each of us giving as generously as we can to support our 10-year-old Jewish Congregation of the San Geronimo Valley — Gan Halev. I could give you many reasons to make a significant extra donation to the Congregation not the least of which is that our operating costs and our school costs have increased significantly. The Congregation has consistently tried to keep its costs low and affordable and we offer generous scholarships, and for the past two years we have been running on a deficit. Beyond that, this Congregation, our beloved chevrah, gives us a community in which we can come together to celebrate Jewish life — to worship, educate, socialize and share and explore our religious and cultural heritage. How much is that worth to you?

—from our August 2002 Newsletter

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