Lessons from community service

At the JCC’s May board meeting, the issue of an orthodox minyan came up again. This time it was not the issue of designating land, which has passed on 3 separate occasions, but a request from a group of people seeking to rent space to hold services at the center. (Let me be clear at the outset, I am one of the number that make up this group.)

The group making the request are mostly members of the JCC, and most are also members of BSBI. The group holds prayer services in the JCC area, currently in private residences. These services are open to all who wish to attend, and while the majority of those attending are from BSBI, it is not uncommon to see people at these services who are not. All are welcome at these services, and they are not designated as one of BSBI’s official "places" for religious services.

The group came together after BSBI "resolved" its location issue at a special congregational meeting in January 2006, the outcome of which was that BSBI would remain downtown, and its South Windemere location would be maintained or possibly enlarged. In that context, the official BSBI position on this group’s activities is that they are not an arm of BSBI. In spite of the fact that this group brings orthodox Shabbat observance to an underserved area of the Jewish community, they are viewed quite negatively by the lay leadership of BSBI.

The JCC board were therefore faced with a "prickly" question - how to respond to the request?

Before continuing with this thread of the discussion, let’s pause briefly to define some other questions that may come into play: when someone agrees to serve on a committee, either they volunteer or are selected, whose interests are they supposed to serve - their own interests ahead of the institution’s interests? Or the other way around?

And when faced with a difficult question, how do you untangle the issues in a manner that is logical, consistent and fair?

To their credit, in my opinion, the members of the JCC executive did right by doing the following - they looked at the content of the JCC mission statement, and made a decision that was true to the ideals of the JCC mission. They also considered past occasions when the center has dealt with similar requests. The process is not very different from what occurs in the courts of justice - cases are reviewed in relation to the applicable laws and decisions are made based on prior legal precedents.

At the meeting, the consensus was that the matter did not require a vote, and the decision of the board was to grant the request. Thus, beginning some time in the near future, the group will hold Shabbat services at the center.

The decision is fully in keeping with the JCC mission - that is, to serve the larger Jewish community, to foster Jewish growth, culture and learning. Also, the JCC has previously provided space to groups wishing to hold services and events, including some that took place on Shabbat. Those who have previously been allowed to rent space include one or more of the city’s synagogues and/or churches (when their facilities were under repair), and one or more Jewish youth organizations.

During the JCC board’s discussions of this issue, all but 3 of those present were in favor of the decision. The 3 who expressed opinions to the contrary were all from the lay leadership of BSBI. They included the current President of BSBI, a past president, and a current Board member ( who was recently appointed an "officer" of BSBI’s board).

They presented a number of objections. First, they felt that by agreeing to the request, the JCC would be interfering in the internal affairs of BSBI. They felt that the decision of BSBI to remain downtown should be honored by the JCC, and assistance should therefore not be provided to the group applying for space to hold services. One or more of the “objectors” suggested also that the JCC could be accused of giving undue "advantage" to BSBI relative to the other congregations. Or that the decision could alienate members of the JCC who might then choose to leave the center. One or more of them suggested that the center’s mission statement was in some way not applicable (either to this group or to this question - the details of this line of thought are not quite clear, and I was not at the meeting to hear these positions in person). Or it may have been said that the board was wrong to refer to the mission statement to help decide this issue. One or more of them said that opening the center for such requests on Saturdays was not allowed as the center is closed on Saturdays.

All of these objections were rejected by the other members of the JCC board. In this regard, I believe we can be proud of the JCC leadership for being true to their mission, and dealing with this issue in a fair-minded and positive way.

One need not have a Ph. D. in psychology to understand what is going on here. BSBI has had ample opportunity to serve its members, but its lay leadership chooses not to. This is consistent with BSBI’s long-standing modus operandi - their approach to "business as usual". BSBI’s lay leadership would rather manipulate its membership than serve it. In particular, the BSBI lay leadership, over the years, has refused to meet the needs of its Shabbat observant members, and those who wish to be more observant - whether they live near the JCC or in South Windemere. Let me be clear on this - meeting the needs means just that, meeting the needs. In other words, not partially, but fully. Not begrudgingly, but enthusiastically. Not in some second-class way, but FULLY.

I hold this position with conviction and certainty, as we all should. I don’t care if a "majority" of the listed membership supported BSBI’s half-hearted tolerance of the Minyan House in South Windemere over the years - it is, always has been, and always will be, the duty of BSBI to take care of its core, its active and committed members. Not because they are better people for being observant or wanting to be observant, but because it is BSBI’s mission. And it doesn’t mean a thing to me if BSBI’s mission statement has been reworked to make any of their recent actions legitimate - in a small community with limited numbers and resources, there can be only one viable orthodox congregation in Charleston. And it is BSBI’s leadership’s duty to support its re-emergence without reservation.

Finally, that they choose not to is on their conscience. But let us always make it clear to them: we will not let them come to our shared institutions and try to dissuade us from holding true to our mission to serve and strengthen this Jewish community.