SPECIAL GUEST WRITER ON IMPORTANT ISSUE (UNEDITED)

OUR NEED TO ADVANCE THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT AND REMAIN A MEMBER OF UNITED SYNAGOGUE

By David Kasdan, FHC Member

Because of upcoming decisions that we must make as a congregation, FHC is at a crossroads concerning our affiliation with the Conservative Movement. Before you know it, and unless we act quickly and decisively, FHC may no longer be a member of the The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ). I urge you to consider carefully the ramifications of becoming an unaffiliated, free-floating institution and whether this is consistent with the goals of FHC.

By way of background, unless FHC remits its annual dues to USCJ by 6/30/05, we may no longer be affiliated with the Conservative Movement. And, the proposed revision of our By-Laws presents a subtle but significant potential sea change concerning our future relationship with the Conservative Movement. Despite the current By-Law directive (Article II) that we "strengthen Conservative Judaism", a proposed By-Law change may undermine our communal ability to strengthen the Conservative Movement. In curious bit of logic, it has been proposed that we retain the By-Law objective of strengthening the Conservative Movement, while at the same time we eliminate the By-Law requirement that we maintain membership with the Conservative Movement and instead require only that we "maintain a relationship with the Conservative Movement". Here, my biggest concern stems from the intellectual and spiritual loss to our community if we sever affiliation with the Conservative Movement. I was raised in a Conservative Synagogue and joined FHC because of its USCJ affiliation. I had the privilege of attending and graduating from the after-school Hebrew High School of the Jewish Theological Seminary. As a result, I experienced first-hand the dynamics of a movement that is confident enough to apply the most rigorous intellectual analysis to ancient texts while exploring the spirituality flowing from the revelationat Mount Sinai and God's covenant with the Jewish people. The Conservative Movement presents context and points of reference for Jewish rites of passage including Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and observance of Jewish Holidays and Shabbat. It blends modernity and antiquity in a balanced and thoughtful way. Our inclusion in the Conservative Movement provides FHC with important resources. I urge you to explore the movement's website: www.uscj.org and in particular the sections entitled Resource Center and Jewish Living. The movement has given us much: for example, the text found in our prayer books and the commentary found in our Bibles. Yet, it is fair to ask whether the movement can offer more. Towards that end, I suggest playing for the congregation the newly produced USCJ CD which describes the programs and activities of the United Synagogue and our local Metropolitan New York region at the upcoming 5/23/05 Congregational Meeting. And, if there is further interest in better understanding the resources that USCJ can bring to FHC, I have confirmed that USCJ'sExecutive Director Bruce Greenfield is available to address the Congregation at our 5/31/05 Congregational Meeting. I also volunteer to become the liaison between FHC and USCJ in an effort to extract the full benefit of membership. After all, the heart of the Conservative Movement is only some forty miles from FHC and I am in NYC every work day.

Simply put, if we need more from USCJ let's go out and get it. But I believe that USCJ is there to provide it. To turn away from all that the movement has to offer should not be the answer. What kind of Synagogue will we then become? What context and background will support our Bar/Bat Mitzvah services and our celebration of holidays and Shabbat?

Finally, a word on the economics. As I understand it, the current cost of USCJ membership is approximately $13,000 annually. To place a "price" on this membership commitment, the "economics" of the By-law change concerning FHC and USCJ are supposedly reflected in a recent dual dues structure proposal that appears to suggest that our membership dues must increase by an average of $155 per member to support our continuing membership in the Conservative Movement. I believe, however, that the per member cost for our membership in the Conservative Movement is over $100 less than the dual dues structure suggests, Assuming a membership of 250, I believe that the cost of membership can be covered via an average payment of $52.00 per member or just one dollar a week! I am not privy to the methodology used to compute the need for a suggested average membership raise of $155 and should my math be inaccurate or subject to correction, I will apologize. I still submit, however, that the only way to strengthen Conservative Judaism is to be a member of the Conservative Movement.

Here, is where I put my money where my mouth is: if the Board authorizes timely payment of the USCJ membership dues for the year 2005-06 prior to the 6/30/05 deadline, I pledge to personally donate $750 to FHC earmarked for USCJ dues and to match the next $750 that is donated and earmarked for payment of USCJ dues.

FHC and our local Jewish community should remain part of a greater community and grow with the resources that that greater community provides. If not now, then when?!

David S. Kasdan