Taking stock:
The New West Ashley Minyan, a community orthodox minyan, has been up and running for a year and a half. It’s founding and milestones have been recorded in this Forum. The New WAM can be called a “group”, but it is such an inspiring experience, that I prefer to call it “the experience”. And every newcomer and visitor to our services has agreed with this notion – The New WAM is an experience – warm, welcoming, fresh, spirited, and visibly friendly. It has been an honor to be part of its growth from the very beginning.
As the rebuilding of the JCC draws nearer, the New WAM shines as the most promising growth point for Charleston’s Jewish Community, and it is a grass roots phenomenon.
But the long shadow of Brith Sholom Beth Israel looms over this. This too has been recorded in the Forum since its inception. The present finds us having to address a “Resolution”, proposed by an ad hoc “Planning Committee” of BSBI. The text of that resolution is set out below, for you to review, and I will be blogging further on the issue today. So, as they like to say when Speaking Southern, in the warm and friendly south, y'all come back and see us!
But for now, read the resolution – look carefully at its details, and see what it means. How the issue is decided tonight will have many implications – and will have a telling effect on the future of the New WAM, the future of Orthodox Jewish Charleston, and of the Jewish community at large.
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RESOLUTION:
Be it resolved by Brith Sholom Beth Israel as follows:
In order to encourage the practice of Orthodox Judaism,
And
In recognition of the desire by (sic) a number of BSBI members to keep the Sabbath and pray at the Jewish Community Center,
1) BSBI will assist the Minyan at the JCC as part of BSBI Congregational activities as a BSBI Minyan, with rent support, as approved by the Board in the BSBI Budget, so long as the JCC Minyan is viable to justify assistance and the JCC Minyan supports BSBI services as provided herein.
2) The JCC Minyan reaffirms its support for BSBI and the main sanctuary located at 182 Rutledge Avenue.
3) The JCC Minyan will continue to support and encourage attendance at High Holiday Services, special Honors, daily minyan and special Sabbath Services at the main sanctuary on Rutledge Avenue. The JCC Minyan shall close on days and events when driving is permitted and attend services at the main sanctuary on Rutledge Avenue.
4) The JCC Minyan will conduct its activities as directed by the BSBI Board of Trustees, will not enter into any contracts or other obligations in the name of BSBI, and will participate in BSBI Fundraising efforts with all funds to be handled in accordance with BSBI procedures.
5) All BSBI members reaffirm our commitment to conduct ourselves with respect for each other and to use our best efforts to encourage warm, courteous and respectful relations among all members.
Planning Committee: (names will not be listed).
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Should you wish to post a comment on this, please go to the
EC Forum Free Zone.
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In a Nutshell . . . (updated at 9:36am)
It is quite simple, really. If you don't see it right away, read the resolution again.
The resolution defines a relationship that is obviously not one between equals. The New WAM is subordinate to BSBI, and its Board.
Now, I know full well what the original intent was, and will discuss aspects of that later, but the foremost question is why anyone in the New WAM should ask others to accept a subordinate relationship?
Judaism values the individual, and above all it values each and every individual human life. The value of the individual, and protecting his / her self-respect and honor, these are our core values. In the context of establishing and fostering a vehicle of spiritual and communal growth, especialy Orthodox Jewish growth, why should we be so ready to relinquish our principles in this way?
In a nutshell: The resolution falls dangerously short of a satisfactory reconcilliation, and pushing it through is an unacceptable sacrifice of our principles.
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Should you wish to post a comment on this, please go to the
EC Forum Free Zone.
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If it ain't broke . . . (update at 12:08pm)
I was born in South Africa, and have been in Charleston since 1989. I am a veteran in many ways - we evacuated for Hugo, had post hurricane freezer parties, evacuated again for Fran, and drove overnight to Columbia, SC, as Floyd bore down on us. The fiasco of the Floyd evacuation took out Governor Hodges' chances at a second term in the process, and gave us lots to complain about for quite a while.
I speak a little Southern as well, and there is this wise Southern saying we need to follow right now: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
The New WAM is not broken, at least, not yet. On the contrary, the New WAM has done so well, that people have brought to it all sorts of "gifts", and have done so joyfully.
On the flip side, BSBI is broken. That is to say, its procedures speak of a deep and ingrained state of being "broken". Members can't bring resolutions to the congregation, votes are manipulated, past presidents exercise unmitigated control, the processes are consistenly undemocratic. The board is the tail that wags the congregation.
By all means, if you feel so moved, work to fix it. For the other side of the saying means that that which is broken should indeed be fixed.
But there is one more piece of wisdom to be drawn from this - "Don't tie what is not broke to that which is." We can do more for ourselves and the greater Jewish community by staying apart from BSBI than we can achieve from within it. Nothing of what makes up the New WAM as we have built it in the last 18 months has come from BSBI. We should not give up our autonomy, our strength, our promise and our pride, for some words on some paper, and some lipservice to unity and peace.
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UPdate at 5:17 pm
Recognition: The original purpose.
The original purpose of seeking recognition from BSBI Congregation was twofold: first, to give the congregation a chance to sign off on the status of the New WAM; second - to achieve equal status to the South Windermere Minyan House under the auspices of BSBI.
The resolution above, which you should have read by now, is the product of this process. It is clearly not what was initially desired by those seeking recognition for WAM, and this in itself speaks to the issues of procedure at BSBI. (To elaborate on the procedural misconduct of the President and Board: The record in fact reflects that a resolution for BSBI to recognize the New WAM was made at a regular BSBI Board meeting - probably in May or June of 2007. To prevent ANY discussion, the motion was immediately tabled, and subsequent requests to then bring the resolution to the congregation were quashed. This is in clear violation of the BSBI constitution and by-laws, and Roberts Rules of Order. Tabling a motion should only occur after discussion has demonstrated a need to study the question further, before rendering a decision. In this case, tabling was used to prevent ANY discussion. Thus, artificially, the parliamentarian could rule that the Board had not "discussed" the motion, so it could not be brought to the congregation. This was based on a motion that was adopted a decade or more ago to prevent "surprise" motions going to the congregation without first going to the Board.)
But, back to the issue at hand: The premise itself, for the New WAM to seek minyan house status, is problematic. One of the friction-points of BSBI has been the very existance of the Minyan House. It is an arrangement that embodies a second class status for those at the Minyan House. Even though they have been, for a good while now, the very core of observant members in BSBI, they have been treated quite shabbily. Are we to seek the same shabby treatment for ourselves as the New WAM?
I prefer not to be a second class member, and would not expect anyone else to be either. Furthermore, if the New WAM were somehow compelled to sign off on this resolution, which would be a grave mistake, I and others like me would be relegated to 3rd and 4th class status by such a decision. I hope it will not turn out so.
On being divisive:
One of the catch phrases I was first affronted with when establishing the "Outback Minyan" was to be told I was being "divisive". The simple matter is, at one time or another, all of BSBI has been divisive. First, there was Brith Sholom, from which broke away Beth Israel. Then they got together, from which broke away the South Windermere Minyan House. Rabbi Radinsky can fill you in on who initially opposed the Minyan House, but then switched to it and became ardent members there. It is all just a matter of selective memory for some.
Right after the dreadful Location Vote, some of those in South Windermere told us not to divide. "The solution should not be to divide." Others, briefly, said, "Yes, let's divide! You get things up and running around the JCC, and after 6 months, we will follow."
Of course, the real dividers were the Board and the Downtowners, and the South Windermere residents who voted with Downtown. All of them divisive, to the core.
Now, there is a notion, even a custom, that to espouse and work for the unity of BSBI is somehow the most noble position one can take. Pity, it turns out. You see, the ONLY thing, the only thing, that divides WAM, that causes anger and dissent at WAM meetings, is the matter of BSBI. This resolution in persuit of recognition is just such a case in point.
Making Peace:
So, how to make peace? What is evident from the wording of the resolution is that the Board of BSBI is not ready for a real reconcilliation, and we must not delude ourselves to think that it is.
It is also not our task to bypass the BSBI Board so the congregation can make its own decision. After all, this is the Board that a resounding majority of the congregation elected. I know. I was there.
So those of us who see BSBI's lay leadership for what it is are not the bearers of the dreaded "divisiveness", and please don't lay that term on us. Your complaint, such as it may be, is with the Board of BSBI AND the Congregation that elected it.
Finally, we can have peace. Let's stop pestering BSBI for "recognition". Let's get out of their faces, and they can stay out of ours. History tells us there will ultimately be a united orthodox congregation, and it will be better and stronger for all of us if we begin to create good precedents and procedures for it now, as we joyfully build it through the special experience that is the New WAM.
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