Next motzoai Shabbos the US will finally go from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time. Obviously some of our clocks will need to be changed next week to show the correct time. But there's another issue coming up as well. There are going to need to be some scheduling/shopping/preparing changes also made. With the change to Standard Time, Shabbos is going to be starting very early--4:30 in the afternoon. Plan ahead! Leaving everything to do on Friday could result in some very frazzled balabustas.
Sitting down now, before the clock change, and rearranging your household schedule just might save you from "fear inspiring" moments after the clock changes. No, even if you put the oven on its highest heat setting, you are not going to be able to roast a chicken in 34 minutes. No, if a soup takes 3 hours to cook, it won't be ready in time for Shabbos if you first put it up at 2:00. No, if your shopping takes you about 2-4 hours to conclude, you are not going to have plenty of time to shop if you first go out at 1:00 pm.
Leisurely Fridays are soon to become a thing of the past. How well or how poorly you do in coping with those short Fridays could well depend on how much thought you give now to how you do things.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Err, What Season is It?
I was thrilled to be out shopping yesterday, and yes, coming from me that is an amazing statement given my feelings about shopping in general. Why was I thrilled? Because finally I saw some indication that Autumn had finally arrived in New York. Everywhere you look in SI you are going to see trees, lots of trees, and finally those trees are beginning to look like they should, decked in shades of gold and burgundy and caramel. Finally the wind has brought a shower of leaves down to the lawn. And finally those summer blooming plants are taking a hint and winding down. There's something disconcerting about knowing that you've been back in school for two months, that the holidays are long past and that your petunias are still pouting prettily.
Figuring out what to wear may finally get easier. When you leave early in the morning and don't return until late at night, how to get dressed lately has been an issue. Truly strange to have a heavy jacket on the seat next to you while you need to turn on the air conditioning in the car. Shivering and sweating because you are suddenly not dressed right for the weather, both on the same day, is not fun.
The weather forecasters are saying that they believe New York will get a much milder winter than last year. So, autumn will first arrive in November, and winter will arrive when? And it's not just us. Denver, Colorado is expecting 77 degree weather tomorrow. That's Denver where snowfall at the end of October is common.
It's bad enough when balabustas sometimes rearrange the furniture in their homes. Family members stumble around, bumping into furniture that is suddenly where it doesn't belong. When mother nature rearranges the weather we also stumble around. Is it really too much to ask to have one week--okay, even one day--where the weather is as expected?
Figuring out what to wear may finally get easier. When you leave early in the morning and don't return until late at night, how to get dressed lately has been an issue. Truly strange to have a heavy jacket on the seat next to you while you need to turn on the air conditioning in the car. Shivering and sweating because you are suddenly not dressed right for the weather, both on the same day, is not fun.
The weather forecasters are saying that they believe New York will get a much milder winter than last year. So, autumn will first arrive in November, and winter will arrive when? And it's not just us. Denver, Colorado is expecting 77 degree weather tomorrow. That's Denver where snowfall at the end of October is common.
It's bad enough when balabustas sometimes rearrange the furniture in their homes. Family members stumble around, bumping into furniture that is suddenly where it doesn't belong. When mother nature rearranges the weather we also stumble around. Is it really too much to ask to have one week--okay, even one day--where the weather is as expected?
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Organized or OCD?
One of the differences between the years when I was growing up and now is in the scientific/medical/psychological terms that have come into general usage. Way back then there were far fewer of these terms both around and in general use. I'm referring to things like ADD, ADHD, OCD etc..
I come by my sense of what organized means quite legitimately--I got it from my mom. Unlike many back when I was young, my mom was working outside the home as well as running the family. She did both in an incredible fashion. Not one of us in the family lacked anything that a mother was "supposed" to provide--we thought, and still think, that our mother was the best mother ever. She spent time with us (although as an adult I still can't figure out how she carved those hours out of a 24-hour day), was involved in our activities, was active in our schools, was active in the community, did all her own cooking and baking (we had no take-out available in Portland), kashered her own meat, did needlepoint and embroidery, did all of the routine and not so routine household shopping and cleaning and yes, worked in the business she and my dad had. Because of the nature of the business my dad traveled for months out of the year, so mom was also the only parent around for a lot of the time. How did she manage all of this while still keeping her sanity intact? She was organized and she was a list maker.
Everything in the house had its own place, and all of us were trained very young to put things back where we found them--no wasted time trying to find things this way.
I used mom's principles of organization in setting up my own home. I did some thinking about where the best place would be to put the things we use, put them there, did any minor adjustments that were necessary and then stuck to the plan.
A funny thing has happened, however, to the idea of organization. Set up a system that is tightly organized, that attempts to account for all activities and items, and in some people's eyes you have crossed the line from organization to OCD--Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder. Far from being something laudable, something to be emulated, those whose lives are less well-ordered or who won't/can't make the effort to get organized now can wave the pathological flag in the air.
I make a "To Do" List for each day that I type up and print out. There are seemingly zillions of things that have to be done in the house, there are the same zillions of things I need to do for work, there are errands to run, calls to make, places to be. Having that list lets me see just what my day is going to be like and to plan accordingly. No forgetting things this way, especially if I'm tired or distracted. When I'm outside of the house, I carry that list in my purse. I was standing in the check out line at the supermarket one day and was checking over the list as I was waiting. The person right behind me noticed the list and asked me, in an incredulous voice, if I really needed and/or followed a list that specific. Simple answer? "Yes." She shook her head and out came the whispered "OCD." On another occasion the reaction was "Control Freak."
Where once those designations truly miffed me, my answer now is to smile and say, "Why thank you! What a lovely compliment!" When being well-organized is looked at as a mental disorder, I have to wonder just what has happened to our society.
I come by my sense of what organized means quite legitimately--I got it from my mom. Unlike many back when I was young, my mom was working outside the home as well as running the family. She did both in an incredible fashion. Not one of us in the family lacked anything that a mother was "supposed" to provide--we thought, and still think, that our mother was the best mother ever. She spent time with us (although as an adult I still can't figure out how she carved those hours out of a 24-hour day), was involved in our activities, was active in our schools, was active in the community, did all her own cooking and baking (we had no take-out available in Portland), kashered her own meat, did needlepoint and embroidery, did all of the routine and not so routine household shopping and cleaning and yes, worked in the business she and my dad had. Because of the nature of the business my dad traveled for months out of the year, so mom was also the only parent around for a lot of the time. How did she manage all of this while still keeping her sanity intact? She was organized and she was a list maker.
Everything in the house had its own place, and all of us were trained very young to put things back where we found them--no wasted time trying to find things this way.
I used mom's principles of organization in setting up my own home. I did some thinking about where the best place would be to put the things we use, put them there, did any minor adjustments that were necessary and then stuck to the plan.
A funny thing has happened, however, to the idea of organization. Set up a system that is tightly organized, that attempts to account for all activities and items, and in some people's eyes you have crossed the line from organization to OCD--Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder. Far from being something laudable, something to be emulated, those whose lives are less well-ordered or who won't/can't make the effort to get organized now can wave the pathological flag in the air.
I make a "To Do" List for each day that I type up and print out. There are seemingly zillions of things that have to be done in the house, there are the same zillions of things I need to do for work, there are errands to run, calls to make, places to be. Having that list lets me see just what my day is going to be like and to plan accordingly. No forgetting things this way, especially if I'm tired or distracted. When I'm outside of the house, I carry that list in my purse. I was standing in the check out line at the supermarket one day and was checking over the list as I was waiting. The person right behind me noticed the list and asked me, in an incredulous voice, if I really needed and/or followed a list that specific. Simple answer? "Yes." She shook her head and out came the whispered "OCD." On another occasion the reaction was "Control Freak."
Where once those designations truly miffed me, my answer now is to smile and say, "Why thank you! What a lovely compliment!" When being well-organized is looked at as a mental disorder, I have to wonder just what has happened to our society.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Who Owns Klal?
The question in the title is not quite as inane as you may think. What I'm referring to is who owns the physical infrastructure of Klal and the organizations and institutions? So many of the complaints about what is wrong in Klal end up saying "They won't listen." So, who is this they?
In some cases it is easy to say who owns the infrastructure. Many of the summer camps that abound are owned by individuals and/or family groups. These camps are a business venture, and decisions about pricing and about services provided are decided by the owners. If you like the product being offered you pay what is being asked; if you don't like the price you shop elsewhere. A few of these camps are direct offshoots of existing yeshivot; decisions about pricing and about services are made by the sponsoring yeshiva.
But what about the rest of the infrastructure? Take shuls first. A few of these shuls, chassidishe/litvishe shtiblach for the most part, are owned by the rabbis who opened them. The shul is their business. Should the rabbi decide he no longer wants the shul the mispalellim have no say in the matter. Should a rabbi die it is his heirs who will make decisions about the future of the shul, again not the mispalellim. If the rabbi decides to sell his shul to another rabbi, he makes the decision. That the mispalellim pay dues and give donations to the shul is irrelevant as it is the rabbi's name on the deed of ownership.
Then there are community shuls, and here is where things get murky. Who owns these community shuls? Saying "The community does" gives no information whatsoever. First, you want to define community for me? Just what is a community? And if we are able to define community is some useful way, are we talking everyone in the community? Are we talking about only paid members of the shul or everyone who lives in the community, regardless of whether or not they are paid members? Are we talking about past and/or present paid members? It can't be the rabbis of these shuls that own them because they are salaried employees of the shuls. Most of these shuls have elected boards. The boards are entrusted with making day to day decisions about the practical matters of running the shul. They may use surrogate administrators, paid for by the shul, for the day to day running of the shul. But what if something arises that is not an everyday occurrence? In many shuls it is necessary to have a vote of the full membership for items outside of the ordinary.
Okay, but what about a wholly different scenario--a shul is losing its membership; maybe the community is shrinking or maybe the type of people that shul appeals to aren't moving in etc. The shul gets to the point where it is no longer viable for the shul to remain in existence. Is it that the full membership votes and agrees that it just isn't possible to keep the shul open any longer; the members left simply cannot pay what it costs to keep a building of that size open for only a handful of people? Or is it a different process? So the shul is going to be sold. So, when the building is sold, who gets the profits? "The community does" is a common answer, and back we are to defining just what that community is.
Now the sticky part--who owns the schools in a community? If it is a chabad school that has to close down then there is a national chabad movement which will make that decision, and if a sale is forthcoming, they will make the arrangements and get any monies from the sale. But what about other local schools? What if your kids go to the Derech HaDerech School, a legacy school from 30+ years ago? What will happen to that school's property if the school goes below the numbers needed to keep the school open? We know that school boards can vote to spend money for the school, but what is the financial/legal procedure when a school closes? And who or what is liable if legal action is taken against a school, such as a foreclosure on the school property because a mortgage is not paid? Who, in actuality, owns the schools?
Why am I asking (harping) on this? Many schools today are in financial trouble. We've seen/heard news all year about schools saying they may not be able to open or continue due to financial troubles. Sometimes, if that school is the only school in a community, that closure could be very problematic for parents in the community and for the community itself. Take away a sole local school and you may kill the community. You don't attract new people to revitalize a community if there is no school available for the kids. And you won't attract people to a community if they know ahead of time that tuition at a local school (or schools) is out of sight and growing by leaps and bounds. So yes, the question needs to be asked and answered: who has the authority to increase tuition at a school, and how is it that they have that authority?
If the answer to the question is "school boards have that authority" then show us where that is stated. Where are the schools' official regulations published? What are the actual by-laws? And if a board serves because it has been elected by the parents in the school? Do those same parents have the authority to recall that board if the parents believe the board is working against the interests of the parents? We keep complaining that yeshivas in particular need to give full disclosure about the workings of the school and the way the finances are run. We keep complaining that we are not getting that full disclosure. Well, why aren't we getting that disclosure? We keep saying that "they" won't give it to us, but until we can clearly say who that "they" is we are going to get nowhere. If "they" is a private individual or group with legal entitlement to the school's property that is one thing. But if "they" is really all of us in a community then why aren't we claiming our legal rights as "owners" to full disclosure?
This is very murky water we are swimming in. There are institutions that have been around seemingly for ever. But if change is needed, who has actual authority to make that change? Who can "force" that change? Who can deny that change? Yes, once again, who owns the institutions of Klal?
In some cases it is easy to say who owns the infrastructure. Many of the summer camps that abound are owned by individuals and/or family groups. These camps are a business venture, and decisions about pricing and about services provided are decided by the owners. If you like the product being offered you pay what is being asked; if you don't like the price you shop elsewhere. A few of these camps are direct offshoots of existing yeshivot; decisions about pricing and about services are made by the sponsoring yeshiva.
But what about the rest of the infrastructure? Take shuls first. A few of these shuls, chassidishe/litvishe shtiblach for the most part, are owned by the rabbis who opened them. The shul is their business. Should the rabbi decide he no longer wants the shul the mispalellim have no say in the matter. Should a rabbi die it is his heirs who will make decisions about the future of the shul, again not the mispalellim. If the rabbi decides to sell his shul to another rabbi, he makes the decision. That the mispalellim pay dues and give donations to the shul is irrelevant as it is the rabbi's name on the deed of ownership.
Then there are community shuls, and here is where things get murky. Who owns these community shuls? Saying "The community does" gives no information whatsoever. First, you want to define community for me? Just what is a community? And if we are able to define community is some useful way, are we talking everyone in the community? Are we talking about only paid members of the shul or everyone who lives in the community, regardless of whether or not they are paid members? Are we talking about past and/or present paid members? It can't be the rabbis of these shuls that own them because they are salaried employees of the shuls. Most of these shuls have elected boards. The boards are entrusted with making day to day decisions about the practical matters of running the shul. They may use surrogate administrators, paid for by the shul, for the day to day running of the shul. But what if something arises that is not an everyday occurrence? In many shuls it is necessary to have a vote of the full membership for items outside of the ordinary.
Okay, but what about a wholly different scenario--a shul is losing its membership; maybe the community is shrinking or maybe the type of people that shul appeals to aren't moving in etc. The shul gets to the point where it is no longer viable for the shul to remain in existence. Is it that the full membership votes and agrees that it just isn't possible to keep the shul open any longer; the members left simply cannot pay what it costs to keep a building of that size open for only a handful of people? Or is it a different process? So the shul is going to be sold. So, when the building is sold, who gets the profits? "The community does" is a common answer, and back we are to defining just what that community is.
Now the sticky part--who owns the schools in a community? If it is a chabad school that has to close down then there is a national chabad movement which will make that decision, and if a sale is forthcoming, they will make the arrangements and get any monies from the sale. But what about other local schools? What if your kids go to the Derech HaDerech School, a legacy school from 30+ years ago? What will happen to that school's property if the school goes below the numbers needed to keep the school open? We know that school boards can vote to spend money for the school, but what is the financial/legal procedure when a school closes? And who or what is liable if legal action is taken against a school, such as a foreclosure on the school property because a mortgage is not paid? Who, in actuality, owns the schools?
Why am I asking (harping) on this? Many schools today are in financial trouble. We've seen/heard news all year about schools saying they may not be able to open or continue due to financial troubles. Sometimes, if that school is the only school in a community, that closure could be very problematic for parents in the community and for the community itself. Take away a sole local school and you may kill the community. You don't attract new people to revitalize a community if there is no school available for the kids. And you won't attract people to a community if they know ahead of time that tuition at a local school (or schools) is out of sight and growing by leaps and bounds. So yes, the question needs to be asked and answered: who has the authority to increase tuition at a school, and how is it that they have that authority?
If the answer to the question is "school boards have that authority" then show us where that is stated. Where are the schools' official regulations published? What are the actual by-laws? And if a board serves because it has been elected by the parents in the school? Do those same parents have the authority to recall that board if the parents believe the board is working against the interests of the parents? We keep complaining that yeshivas in particular need to give full disclosure about the workings of the school and the way the finances are run. We keep complaining that we are not getting that full disclosure. Well, why aren't we getting that disclosure? We keep saying that "they" won't give it to us, but until we can clearly say who that "they" is we are going to get nowhere. If "they" is a private individual or group with legal entitlement to the school's property that is one thing. But if "they" is really all of us in a community then why aren't we claiming our legal rights as "owners" to full disclosure?
This is very murky water we are swimming in. There are institutions that have been around seemingly for ever. But if change is needed, who has actual authority to make that change? Who can "force" that change? Who can deny that change? Yes, once again, who owns the institutions of Klal?
Monday, October 25, 2010
Taking Inventory
A lot of people who own a free-standing freezer pretty much ignore that freezer until the time is approaching for Pesach and they may need to use up any chometz in it. I'd like to recommend a different approach.
Before and during the chagim of Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot a lot of freezer inventory may have gotten used up. Now is a good time to clean the freezer and reorganize the contents, making a list of what is in there. Come the end of this month and the beginning of November a lot of people will start stockpiling freezer items. Colder weather brings with it less of a desire to be constantly out there and shopping. Inclement weather may make shopping difficult or impossible for some. Hearty soups, not all that much in demand during hot weather, are appearing back on menus. Most of those soups are excellent candidates for freezer storage--make the kitchen messy once and have the benefit of soup for 4-6 weeks.
But it's not only freezer inventory that you should be taking--it's a good time to get into your pantry/food storage areas and see what you have. If there are staples that you use on a consistent basis, check out the sales, clip those coupons and stock up now. Do the same for other types of goods such as cleansers and paper goods. And as with the items in a freezer, make a list of what you have on hand, and check items off that list as you use them.
A friend admitted that she had had to ditch a whole bunch of grocery type items she had in her pantry because she didn't know how many she had, bought too many replacements and ran up against a lot of products way past their expiration and/or use by date. And a little note about those expiration dates on products: while you're doing your inventory move those products that will expire soonest to the front of the shelf so they get used.
There's no chag coming up until Chanukah so we're not busy now with the extra preparing for a yom tov. Use this "free" time to save yourself aggravation and loss of money, not to mention avoiding running out of things you use regularly. Make up an inventory of what you have, and then actually use it to control what goes out of and into your house.
Before and during the chagim of Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot a lot of freezer inventory may have gotten used up. Now is a good time to clean the freezer and reorganize the contents, making a list of what is in there. Come the end of this month and the beginning of November a lot of people will start stockpiling freezer items. Colder weather brings with it less of a desire to be constantly out there and shopping. Inclement weather may make shopping difficult or impossible for some. Hearty soups, not all that much in demand during hot weather, are appearing back on menus. Most of those soups are excellent candidates for freezer storage--make the kitchen messy once and have the benefit of soup for 4-6 weeks.
But it's not only freezer inventory that you should be taking--it's a good time to get into your pantry/food storage areas and see what you have. If there are staples that you use on a consistent basis, check out the sales, clip those coupons and stock up now. Do the same for other types of goods such as cleansers and paper goods. And as with the items in a freezer, make a list of what you have on hand, and check items off that list as you use them.
A friend admitted that she had had to ditch a whole bunch of grocery type items she had in her pantry because she didn't know how many she had, bought too many replacements and ran up against a lot of products way past their expiration and/or use by date. And a little note about those expiration dates on products: while you're doing your inventory move those products that will expire soonest to the front of the shelf so they get used.
There's no chag coming up until Chanukah so we're not busy now with the extra preparing for a yom tov. Use this "free" time to save yourself aggravation and loss of money, not to mention avoiding running out of things you use regularly. Make up an inventory of what you have, and then actually use it to control what goes out of and into your house.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
News Junkies
I admit it freely--I get uneasy if I don't check my news sources daily, sometimes many times during the day. We live in a society with instant access to knowledge available 24/7. Where once we had to wait hours, days or weeks to hear the news from around the world, we see that news as it happens.
Yes, that instant access can have some positive benefits for us. Knowing what is happening elsewhere can help us to plan ahead, to cry out if that is required, to help when help is needed. But it also has some drawbacks. There is a certain anxiety that comes with having to know what is doing everywhere at every second. Our minds and bodies are on constant alert, and there is a wear and tear price to pay for that. Where once our priorities were first with our families, then our friends, then our community, then our country and then the world at large, everything, everywhere has now become a top priority. No matter what we may have personally to deal with, we are expected to dedicate time and effort to the world at large.
I'm not saying that caring about the world at large is a bad thing, but at what price and to what degree? Our insistence, fostered by instant communication, that we be instantly reachable by everyone, at any time, for any reason, has splintered and fractured far too many of us.
During our last power blackout there were an awful lot of anxious people. Was that anxiety fueled strictly because people were worried about how they would cook or heat their homes or see inside their homes? Only some of it. A lot of that anxiety came because our instant communication devices lost power, and suddenly we were faced with a world only as large as our homes or blocks. We lost access to the torrent of knowledge and contacts we have become accustomed to, and many didn't know how to live in a world like that, were scared of a world like that.
I'm trying to get out of that rut, and to that end I've decided to make Sundays a fairly news-empty day. Okay, I have a way to go, and maybe I'll never get to a totally-news-free day, but I'm trying. Short of a real catastrophe, and news of that will travel by word of mouth no matter what I do, I want one day not to worry about whether a Japanese beetle invasion is going to impinge on avocado production for the next ten years. I do not want to think about whether or not global warming is merely cyclical or created by man. I do not want to think about who has the right to Antarctica or how to define a liberal. I don't want to think about how "they" are trying to take over the world. For one day out of the week all I want to think about is what am I doing, where do I want to go, what do I want to be. For one day I'd like to concentrate on my family and my personal interests to the exclusion of all else. For one day I'd like no more on my plate than will fit comfortably.
What are my chances of this happening? Probably a safer bet to just plop down money on a roulette wheel and set it spinning. Already this morning I've visited a few blogs and news sites, mostly frum ones, and my teeth are already grinding and gritting. And yes, here I am on my own blog, in conversation with that "outside world." Hmmm, perhaps next Sunday.
Yes, that instant access can have some positive benefits for us. Knowing what is happening elsewhere can help us to plan ahead, to cry out if that is required, to help when help is needed. But it also has some drawbacks. There is a certain anxiety that comes with having to know what is doing everywhere at every second. Our minds and bodies are on constant alert, and there is a wear and tear price to pay for that. Where once our priorities were first with our families, then our friends, then our community, then our country and then the world at large, everything, everywhere has now become a top priority. No matter what we may have personally to deal with, we are expected to dedicate time and effort to the world at large.
I'm not saying that caring about the world at large is a bad thing, but at what price and to what degree? Our insistence, fostered by instant communication, that we be instantly reachable by everyone, at any time, for any reason, has splintered and fractured far too many of us.
During our last power blackout there were an awful lot of anxious people. Was that anxiety fueled strictly because people were worried about how they would cook or heat their homes or see inside their homes? Only some of it. A lot of that anxiety came because our instant communication devices lost power, and suddenly we were faced with a world only as large as our homes or blocks. We lost access to the torrent of knowledge and contacts we have become accustomed to, and many didn't know how to live in a world like that, were scared of a world like that.
I'm trying to get out of that rut, and to that end I've decided to make Sundays a fairly news-empty day. Okay, I have a way to go, and maybe I'll never get to a totally-news-free day, but I'm trying. Short of a real catastrophe, and news of that will travel by word of mouth no matter what I do, I want one day not to worry about whether a Japanese beetle invasion is going to impinge on avocado production for the next ten years. I do not want to think about whether or not global warming is merely cyclical or created by man. I do not want to think about who has the right to Antarctica or how to define a liberal. I don't want to think about how "they" are trying to take over the world. For one day out of the week all I want to think about is what am I doing, where do I want to go, what do I want to be. For one day I'd like to concentrate on my family and my personal interests to the exclusion of all else. For one day I'd like no more on my plate than will fit comfortably.
What are my chances of this happening? Probably a safer bet to just plop down money on a roulette wheel and set it spinning. Already this morning I've visited a few blogs and news sites, mostly frum ones, and my teeth are already grinding and gritting. And yes, here I am on my own blog, in conversation with that "outside world." Hmmm, perhaps next Sunday.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Show Me the Money
We keep a detailed accounting of all of our tzedaka donations: date of donation, amount, name of recipient. For one thing, it allows us to see how much tzedaka we are giving and to make sure that we are giving what we need to give. We have been keeping the records for many years now and I recently took some time and looked back through those records. I noticed something quite interesting that has happened over the past 20+ years. The way we give tzedaka has changed.
What do I mean by this? The first year that we started keeping formalized records I showed 78 different charitable organizations getting a donation from us. No charity got a particularly large amount of money, although some got a bit more and some a bit less. The organizations to whom we gave ran the gamut as far as what type of service they offered. We still had our children in high school so there were also checks made out for PTA functions. The organizations were not all local but spanned the globe. And yes, there were more than a handful of secular organizations that received donations from us.
A glance at this year's donation list shows that it is radically different from that first list. For one thing, there are far fewer organizations to whom we donate, about 15+ as compared to the original 78. Also obvious is that 20 some odd years ago we had less in salaries coming in ergo less money available for tzedaka. We are giving more tzedaka today than we gave decades back. More money coming in plus fewer organizations being donated to equals more money being given to each organization.
Given the economic situation right now we made the decision to keep the majority of the money given local; our goal is to help our community first before giving to anyone outside of the community.
But what has also changed is that we have become more knowledgeable over the years and more informed. All tzedaka organizations are not created equal. Some are far better run than others and make better use of the monies collected. There is a duplication and overlap for many organizations which are all basically purporting to provide the same service to the same clientele. This duplication of services produces more overhead and reduces the actual amount of money going to those who need it. Then there is this. In some cases organizations under frum auspices have come into existence which basically are offering the identical services that are already provided by secular organizations already in existence, and these secular organizations are better run and provide better services.
And then there is this point that we came to realize: there is only X amount of money in Klal that can go for tzedaka. Even if you donate 10% or 20% or 30% you are never going to be able to cover all the organizations that are in existence. The budgets of all the frum organizations alone exceeds the amount of money that we in Klal have available to support them. No, I haven't counted all the money in Klal, but I have been keeping track of the number of tzedaka organizations and they number in the thousands. Just run down a list of yeshivas and day schools alone and you will account for hundreds of organizations. Know of any yeshivas that will tell you that they don't need donated outside money just to keep afloat? Now add in all the various other types of organizations and I believe you will come to believe as I do--we haven't got enough money to adequately support them all. And perhaps what is worse, there are certain types of organizations that we don't have enough of to meet the needs of Klal--think services for the elderly. How will we pay for these services to be put into place when we cannot afford what we already have in place?
We have plenty of talented and knowledgeable financial mavens in Klal. What we need them to do now, and I do mean NOW, is to run an analysis of all the frum tzedaka organizations (even a general one will do) and come up with the 1)how much is Klal is spending to keep up these organizations and 2)how much of the donated money actually goes towards the objective of the tzedaka organization. I believe that the analysis will show that it is not only individuals who are deficit spending but that Klal as a group is doing the same.
Everyone needs to learn to live within their means, and that applies to our Klal in general. We cannot afford to support as many organizations as we have in place. The obvious answer should be reduce the number of organizations. But that would be logical, and frankly, the dealings of Klal are anything but logical.
What do I mean by this? The first year that we started keeping formalized records I showed 78 different charitable organizations getting a donation from us. No charity got a particularly large amount of money, although some got a bit more and some a bit less. The organizations to whom we gave ran the gamut as far as what type of service they offered. We still had our children in high school so there were also checks made out for PTA functions. The organizations were not all local but spanned the globe. And yes, there were more than a handful of secular organizations that received donations from us.
A glance at this year's donation list shows that it is radically different from that first list. For one thing, there are far fewer organizations to whom we donate, about 15+ as compared to the original 78. Also obvious is that 20 some odd years ago we had less in salaries coming in ergo less money available for tzedaka. We are giving more tzedaka today than we gave decades back. More money coming in plus fewer organizations being donated to equals more money being given to each organization.
Given the economic situation right now we made the decision to keep the majority of the money given local; our goal is to help our community first before giving to anyone outside of the community.
But what has also changed is that we have become more knowledgeable over the years and more informed. All tzedaka organizations are not created equal. Some are far better run than others and make better use of the monies collected. There is a duplication and overlap for many organizations which are all basically purporting to provide the same service to the same clientele. This duplication of services produces more overhead and reduces the actual amount of money going to those who need it. Then there is this. In some cases organizations under frum auspices have come into existence which basically are offering the identical services that are already provided by secular organizations already in existence, and these secular organizations are better run and provide better services.
And then there is this point that we came to realize: there is only X amount of money in Klal that can go for tzedaka. Even if you donate 10% or 20% or 30% you are never going to be able to cover all the organizations that are in existence. The budgets of all the frum organizations alone exceeds the amount of money that we in Klal have available to support them. No, I haven't counted all the money in Klal, but I have been keeping track of the number of tzedaka organizations and they number in the thousands. Just run down a list of yeshivas and day schools alone and you will account for hundreds of organizations. Know of any yeshivas that will tell you that they don't need donated outside money just to keep afloat? Now add in all the various other types of organizations and I believe you will come to believe as I do--we haven't got enough money to adequately support them all. And perhaps what is worse, there are certain types of organizations that we don't have enough of to meet the needs of Klal--think services for the elderly. How will we pay for these services to be put into place when we cannot afford what we already have in place?
We have plenty of talented and knowledgeable financial mavens in Klal. What we need them to do now, and I do mean NOW, is to run an analysis of all the frum tzedaka organizations (even a general one will do) and come up with the 1)how much is Klal is spending to keep up these organizations and 2)how much of the donated money actually goes towards the objective of the tzedaka organization. I believe that the analysis will show that it is not only individuals who are deficit spending but that Klal as a group is doing the same.
Everyone needs to learn to live within their means, and that applies to our Klal in general. We cannot afford to support as many organizations as we have in place. The obvious answer should be reduce the number of organizations. But that would be logical, and frankly, the dealings of Klal are anything but logical.
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