Conservative synagogue and dues

[david1967]

    My family is a member of a Conservative synagogue.  The synagogue wants $2,000 a year in dues.  I wrote the treasurer that we couldn't afford it, and would pay an amount that we could manage.  The synagogue wants me to sumbit confidential documents, i.e tax forms, to a neutral company that will determine what our dues should be.  I said that's b.s;  The synagogue is supposed to be a spiritual place that trusts its membership.  I think this is a policy of all Conservative synagogues, because they do the same thing at my parent's synagogue also. 
    Questions of forum members: Do Orthodox synagogues, including Chabad, do the same thing with their dues?  What are the policies of churches in regards to their members' dues? 
   

[Dr. Dan]

    My family is a member of a Conservative synagogue.  The synagogue wants $2,000 a year in dues.  I wrote the treasurer that we couldn't afford it, and would pay an amount that we could manage.  The synagogue wants me to sumbit confidential documents, i.e tax forms, to a neutral company that will determine what our dues should be.  I said that's b.s;  The synagogue is supposed to be a spiritual place that trusts its membership.  I think this is a policy of all Conservative synagogues, because they do the same thing at my parent's synagogue also. 
    Questions of forum members: Do Orthodox synagogues, including Chabad, do the same thing with their dues?  What are the policies of churches in regards to their members' dues? 
   

quit your conservative temple and join an orthodox synogogue...when you donate to a righteous synogogue, the money goes towards good things...

[muman613]

    My family is a member of a Conservative synagogue.  The synagogue wants $2,000 a year in dues.  I wrote the treasurer that we couldn't afford it, and would pay an amount that we could manage.  The synagogue wants me to sumbit confidential documents, i.e tax forms, to a neutral company that will determine what our dues should be.  I said that's b.s;  The synagogue is supposed to be a spiritual place that trusts its membership.  I think this is a policy of all Conservative synagogues, because they do the same thing at my parent's synagogue also. 
    Questions of forum members: Do Orthodox synagogues, including Chabad, do the same thing with their dues?  What are the policies of churches in regards to their members' dues? 
   

Chabad doesn't have dues... I give them donations at least 4 times a year, both to the national and the local chapters...

[david1967]

I've been thinking about going to Chabad, but my wife doesn't like it that much there.  My wife is from Eastern Europe.  She's Jewish on both sides, but the Jewish documents from both sides of her family were destroyed during W.W 2 and by the Communists.   As a result, I don't think Chabad would give our son a bar mitzvah, without both of them converting. 

[muman613]

I've been thinking about going to Chabad, but my wife doesn't like it that much there.  My wife is from Eastern Europe.  She's Jewish on both sides, but the Jewish documents from both sides of her family were destroyed during W.W 2 and by the Communists.   As a result, I don't think Chabad would give our son a bar mitzvah, without both of them converting. 

Give the Chabad Rabbi a chance... Pick up the phone and call your local Chabad... They are friendly, they are loving, and they will do all they can to help your wife find her documents and whatever is needed to continue your Jewish heritage. I LOVE CHABAD and I know some of the Rabbis well enough that they have given me their cellphone numbers. I consider some of the Chabad Rabbis as friends and some of the newer Rabbis are young enough to be my kids.

Do not fear the Chabad Rabbis. I know nothing but kindness from all of them... And they don't care how observant you are. They love all Jews equally and will do all they can to increase your observance of mitzvot.

[Chaim Ben Pesach]

בס''ד

A Conservative "synagogue" is not a synagogue.

The Conservative movement does not accept the entire Torah - both written and oral - as the word of G-d. These assimilationist traitors support religious intermarriage, murdering unborn babies through abortion, homosexual "couples" and homosexual "clergy", Israeli national suicide etc. In other words, they are self-hating Jews. They are responsible for the spiritual destruction of most of American Jewry.

At least join an Orthodox synagogue. Even if your wife and son have to undergo some sort of conversion process, it is worth it.

[~Hanna~]

Since you asked about church's I will tell you. We are told to give ten percent and are given the example out of the Torah about as to why we should. Some church's do not berate every week about it, but others do. We do not have "dues" as in a membership and getting tickets to attend a service, everyone is welcome, no matter if they are a member or not, wether they pay any tithes or offerings (that is what we call it) or not.

Other church's just tell you to give what G-d lays upon your heart to give.

You said church, so I thought I would speak up, even tho it might not be applicable to you.

But like I said, they don't make us pay membership dues.

[muman613]

Since you asked about church's I will tell you. We are told to give ten percent and are given the example out of the Torah about as to why we should. Some church's do not berate every week about it, but others do. We do not have "dues" as in a membership and getting tickets to attend a service, everyone is welcome, no matter if they are a member or not, wether they pay any tithes or offerings (that is what we call it) or not.

Other church's just tell you to give what G-d lays upon your heart to give.

You said church, so I thought I would speak up, even tho it might not be applicable to you.

But like I said, they don't make us pay membership dues.

The laws of Tithing are one thing, and you realize how much 10% is? If a man makes $100k a year, 10% means $10,000 dollars a year. If a man makes $30K a year, that is still $3,000 dollars a year. The laws of tithing, according to Torah, are only applicable when the Temple is rebuilt. The general law of Tzadekah, or Charity, is that we should give up to 10% and no more.

[~Hanna~]

Well, just so you know, according to many Christian "Pastors" we all should give ten percent of our income, no matter who we are...to them.

Yes, I realize what ten percent is, I have heard hundreds of sermons about this subject.

How do you think these mega church pastors become rich?

Yes, some of us are wise to this ploy. They are not taking care of the widows and orphans, many of them, aren't they supposed to do that? 

They expect us to give more than the 10%, they are always asking for more. It is not usually for charity, but sometimes it is.....it is usually to build a new building or to send someone on a missions trip overseas, always something.

We get asked for money every time we attend a service, which can be 3 times or more per week.

This is not how the early church operated. They met in each other's homes, they shared their earthly possessions, they helped each other out (they got persecuted and had to run and hide).

Now, it is all about giving the Pastor's the money.

This is one reason I am cynical. I try to not let them lay a guilt trip on me for not giving them enough money.

I lose respect for any church leader that has to ask for money every single time.

Do the Rabbi's do this?

I've never heard one ask for money when I have attended a congregation.

Since you asked about church's I will tell you. We are told to give ten percent and are given the example out of the Torah about as to why we should. Some church's do not berate every week about it, but others do. We do not have "dues" as in a membership and getting tickets to attend a service, everyone is welcome, no matter if they are a member or not, wether they pay any tithes or offerings (that is what we call it) or not.

Other church's just tell you to give what G-d lays upon your heart to give.

You said church, so I thought I would speak up, even tho it might not be applicable to you.

But like I said, they don't make us pay membership dues.

The laws of Tithing are one thing, and you realize how much 10% is? If a man makes $100k a year, 10% means $10,000 dollars a year. If a man makes $30K a year, that is still $3,000 dollars a year. The laws of tithing, according to Torah, are only applicable when the Temple is rebuilt. The general law of Tzadekah, or Charity, is that we should give up to 10% and no more.

[Dr. Dan]

Chabad is good.

As far as tithing, I always thought it is minimum 10 percent and no more than 20 percent. Even though 10 percent might seem a lot of money (after taxes), don't you think there is blessing when giving tzedaka to a good cause such as JTF?

Its kind of funny actually. When I told my mom my wife and I, belee neder, discussed giving 10 percent, she said that we were already giving at least 30 percent towards blacks for their welfare cks in our taxes.

[takebackourtemple]

   I don't know of any orthodox synagogue that will kick someone out for not paying dues. The very few that are run by greedy people who may either harass people for money and dedicate most of the service to asking for money or may look down on those who do not give. Let me note that this is a small percentage of the orthodox synagogues. Most synagogues will take strangers in, offer meals and try to encourage Jews in a positive way. Even though the black hat stereotype sometimes applies, I've found that it is not the norm.

Removed what Dr. Dan beat me to.
  

[takebackourtemple]

Looks like Dr Dan beat me to what I was writing as I was writing it. I just want to add that it is very low for a conservative temple to ask members for their tax records if they can't pay the full amount.

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

    My family is a member of a Conservative synagogue.  The synagogue wants $2,000 a year in dues.  I wrote the treasurer that we couldn't afford it, and would pay an amount that we could manage.  The synagogue wants me to sumbit confidential documents, i.e tax forms, to a neutral company that will determine what our dues should be.  I said that's b.s;  The synagogue is supposed to be a spiritual place that trusts its membership.  I think this is a policy of all Conservative synagogues, because they do the same thing at my parent's synagogue also. 
    Questions of forum members: Do Orthodox synagogues, including Chabad, do the same thing with their dues?  What are the policies of churches in regards to their members' dues? 
   

The Orthodox shuls I've experienced only expect what people are able to afford.

[rhayat1]

I've been thinking about going to Chabad, but my wife doesn't like it that much there.  My wife is from Eastern Europe.  She's Jewish on both sides, but the Jewish documents from both sides of her family were destroyed during W.W 2 and by the Communists.   As a result, I don't think Chabad would give our son a bar mitzvah, without both of them converting. 

I was involved with Lubavich/Habad for several years and, as I remember, if a person claims to be Jewish by birth, she is taken at her word.  As for bar mitzva, it shouldn't be considered that big a deal that absolute proof is needed anyway.  When you get to marriage, that's a big deal.

[david1967]

You should check out the Convserative movement's website www.ucsj.org.  Type in "dues" in the search.  You will be amazed.  There are form letters listed there like a collection agency.  After 3 letters, you lose your membership and tickets to Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur.

[Moshe92]

You should check out the Convserative movement's website www.uscj.org.  Type in "dues" in the search.  You will be amazed.  There are form letters listed there like a collection agency.  After 3 letters, you lose your membership and tickets to Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur.

link fixed

[david1967]

Thanks for fixing the link.  I checked out the reform movement site.  It's a similar setup, although put in a nicer language than the Conservative one.  In the search item write "dues" in www.urj.org
 In addition to revoking your membership and not allowing you to pray during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Conservative synagogues might actually sue you for non-payment of dues!  There's actually a story on the Conservative website about a synagogue in North Jersey that sued some of its congregants for non-payment of dues! 

[takebackourtemple]

I just took a look at this page and the only good thing I was able to find is "going to Israel". Of course when they are there, they do things like complain about women being arrested for DWFing (Davening While Female).

[muman613]

Find a Chabad center near you:

http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/jewish/Centers.htm
http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/country/USA/jewish/Chabad-Lubavitch.htm
http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/country/Israel/jewish/Chabad-Lubavitch.htm

[Yaacov Ben Yehuda]

its all about Chabad! aome of the kindest most genuine Jews around...I go almost every erev Shabbat to a friend's home to eat with him and his wife and 7 kids...he's Chabad and he knows that I have a very secular background, but welcomed me with open arms and has been nothing but a friend and supports and helps me with my ongoing quest for the truth and has helped me find many answers and because of this i've started putting on Teffilin, stopped working on Shabbat, etc.

I used to go to conservative congregations with my family as a youngster, and yes also here in Toronto, conservative shuls charge their members big money, and I always found that offensive and wrong.  For example, I hate how they sell seat tickets for the high holiday services like a seat to a sporting event....cmon this is absurd, and not in the spirit of Judaism.

[david1967]

 I think, with the exception of Chabad, all synagogues in the U.S require tickets for Rosh Hashana/Yom Kippur. Most usually have police at the door, not only for security, but to check that everyone there has to ticket to enter.  American Judaism= Pay to Pray.

[Masha]

I've been thinking about going to Chabad, but my wife doesn't like it that much there.  My wife is from Eastern Europe.  She's Jewish on both sides, but the Jewish documents from both sides of her family were destroyed during W.W 2 and by the Communists.   As a result, I don't think Chabad would give our son a bar mitzvah, without both of them converting. 

It's easy to check whether one is Jewish these days. Genetic testing is very reliable.

[Masha]

American Judaism= Pay to Pray.

It has truly become so.

[Spectator]

בס''ד

A Conservative "synagogue" is not a synagogue.

The Conservative movement does not accept the entire Torah - both written and oral - as the word of G-d. These assimilationist traitors support religious intermarriage, murdering unborn babies through abortion, homosexual "couples" and homosexual "clergy", Israeli national suicide etc. In other words, they are self-hating Jews. They are responsible for the spiritual destruction of most of American Jewry.

At least join an Orthodox synagogue. Even if your wife and son have to undergo some sort of conversion process, it is worth it.

Chaim is right again.

"Conservative synagogue" is the religion different from Judaism even though its founders were Jewish.

[Masha]

Since you asked about church's I will tell you. We are told to give ten percent and are given the example out of the Torah about as to why we should.

I think that these rules about tithing belong to different times in history - the times when people didn't have to pay 30-40% in income tax. If your income tax is 30-40%, paying 10% on top of that becomes too much for people with moderate incomes.

In the historic times when people were paying such high dues to churches and synagogues, the religious institutions also played the role of main welfare provider. Now this has become the role of the government. If the government becomes small again and income tax is abolished, it will become reasonable once again to raise one's contributions to a religious institution.