If you’re like most folks, you belong to a lot of different communities: your workplace, your bike or book club, Raider Nation, or those who walk around Spring Lake. But it’s a safe bet than no other community that you belong to is quite like this one. Because unlike those whose requirement for membership is based on something you do, your affiliation with Shomrei Torah stems from who you are.
That’s a crucial difference. What qualifies you for membership in this community is being Jewish, or being close to someone who is. In exchange for simply being who you are, Shomrei Torah will care for you. We will name you, teach you, marry you, console you, celebrate with you, and, ultimately, bury you. We will provide the space and time where, to borrow from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, you can turn your thoughts “from the world of creation to the creation of the world.” And we will keep alive the long chain of tradition that is a key part of your identity.
This month, every Shomrei Torah household will receive a membership renewal packet. More than simply a financial transaction, renewing your membership is your opportunity to reaffirm that identity, to make a statement about who you are and what you value, and to recommit to your community.
Of course, not every Shomrei Torah member values the same things. Reasons for joining this community are as varied as our members. But there is at least one facet of membership that is common to all of us: whatever your reason to belong, Shomrei Torah belongs to you.
Just as every member of our community is entitled to whatever value they find here, so, too, must each of us take responsibility for creating and, ideally, enhancing that value. Many of us volunteer our time and energy, and in doing so reap sufficient reward to justify that investment. But this community can’t run on good feeling alone. It needs a good deal of actual cash, as well.
We’re not talking a lot of money—nowhere near the 10%, or tithe, expected by other faith traditions. All we ask is 2% of each member household’s income, what is known in the synagogue world as your “fair share pledge.” That’s all it will take to keep our religious school teaching, our lifelong learning programs living, our services serving, and our doors wide open whenever you need us.
When the renewal packet arrives, please take a moment to consider all that you value about Shomrei Torah. When you get to the line that asks you to state your pledge amount for the coming fiscal year, remember that 2% fair share commitment you made when you joined. If all of us pledge our fair share, we will erase the budget deficit we are currently projecting and have all the resources we need to continue to provide the benefits and services you value, and which fulfill our sacred mission.
Thank you for making Shomrei Torah the warm and welcoming community it is.
B’shalom,
Bruce