Over the past two weeks I have been involved with trying to voice out against the synagogues in Toronto that have decided to secede from the organization that they were founded on. Here are the fundamentals of my argument in an article I wrote to the CJN:
I moved to Toronto in 2003, and since 2005 I have been going to Beth David Synagogue most weeks, I have walked to Beth David almost every week for a very long time because I believe in the future of USCJ. More than that, I believe in the future of USCJ in Canada. I got involved in Beth David for the youth program that was just regaining speed, and I found a community. I walked every week to help push youth led programming, in return I got role models and a chance to see the future I believe in. When meetings began last year and Beth David was talking about seceding from USCJ, my youth adviser assured me that the synagogue would listen to its youth and stay in the movement. This happened in my synagogue and I only wish Beth Emeth, Beth Tzedec and Adath Israel would be less arrogant and listen to their youth. Every single board member who voted to leave their parents movement was raised by the principles they are now choosing to leave. All they need to do is stop being arrogant for one moment and listen to their children as I am sure their parents listened to them. Their children will tell them that there are challenges staying in USCJ, but giving up on our founding organization is the coward’s way out.
I am young, but I am nowhere naïve enough to trust in the arrogance that these synagogues that have chosen to leave are preaching. You can’t just leave the movement that has created your beliefs and taught your children, and form a power grab in Canada in order to satisfy the desires and fears of the now. There are also a few things that apparently you can do. You apparently can leave the movement that every synagogue member signed up for with their dues without giving information to the membership before hand. You apparently can hold onto your synagogue’s dues for a year and prevent the youth of the synagogue from seeing their friends over winter break because they are not apart of the movement that they believe in. Apparently synagogues run by oligarchy, where a board is allowed to overstep their boundaries and vote for leaving the principles it was founded on. Apparently it is all about money. Apparently Jewish Ethics no longer teaches these synagogues to listen to their youth when for over a year the futures of these synagogues have been pleading with these synagogues to stay in the movement. If the youth of these arrogant shuls are taught that succession is possible, than what is to stop the youth program, the sisterhood, the junior congregation to secede from the synagogue? I am just trying to say that if secession is a step up, its going to hurt everyone for something not many reasonable people can see. If anyone wants to doubt the promise of USCJ reaching out to its members, than just look at the youth of Beth David synagogue. Just look to the potential that the instigators of the power grab in the leaving shuls are threatening to destroy over ownership of dues.
Dov Smiley
TO help voice your opinion, vote at the CJN poll about Canada leaving USCJ
3 comments:
This is a powerful statement, Dov. I suggest you put it in a letter to the editor of the CJN.
Actually, this was a letter to the editor for the CJN. I'm not sure which side they take on this issue though. I'm getting the impression that they would rather report about a dying USCJ than a band of students trying to rise against an unjust way of doing community politics.
Keep the pressure up on them. Email a reporter. They sometimes put their emails at the end of their articles.
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