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TORAH PROJECT LEADERS
An Interview with Mrs. Doris Katz
co-chair
of a successful Torah Project concluded this past June. Her congregation's innovative programming involved and unified their diverse
membership while raising $500,000.
Please tell about your synagogue and why you chose to start a Torah Project.
We are 650 member congregation in Northern California. Our rabbi has been with us for 19 years. It was our
president,
though, who first gave voice to a desire that our congregation, in celebration of our 36th
anniversary, commission the writing of a new Torah. The rabbi, hazzan, and
board of directors felt that since the Torah is a symbol of our
faith; source of our appreciation of Judaism and record of the history of our people, that dedicating a "Year of the Torah," for our
congregation, would be an appropriate way to celebrate this special anniversary year. There were to be other benefits as well; a
lighter, more legible, more durable Torah scroll, would enhance our worship. The
new Torah would be the inspiration for an ambitious educational focus for the year. Two Chairpersons were
tapped, combining an "old-hand,"
me, with an up-and-coming volunteer. This was effective as we had different constituencies to turn to for volunteer support. Steering
and sub-committees were established as well.
What did you find unique about the Torah project that other synagogue programming did not offer?
It was felt that this would be a very special way to combine several important congregational
objectives: to enhance our study opportunities, to raise needed operating and development funds which
enable us to preserve our outstanding educational, religious and social programs that have made our congregation a leader in our local Jewish
community, to update our physical plant in making our sanctuary "a beautiful home for our beautiful new Torah," and to enhance our sense of
community.
Did the Torah Project theme help to unify and strengthen your congregation?
Absolutely! Our congregation is multi-generational, and here was an opportunity for all segments of our population to participate.
Various ideas were forthcoming from the beginning to help establish opportunities for broad participation. Not only did we call upon the
obvious standing committees, i.e. Education (both youth and adult), Ritual, Library, to create special programming for the year, but we
reached out to all segments through our Program Planning Committee asking them to take on the task of creating appropriate events and
themes in each of their spheres. This included our Sisterhood, Men's Club, Youth Organizations, Seniors, etc. Some groups were more
successful than others in realizing our year's theme, but the bottom line was very satisfying in terms of a successful unifying theme.Some of our programs included:
Religious School teachers attended a regional Jewish Educator's conference in January and participated in such seminars as "Torah
Lishma" and how to teach Bible in the classroom.
A monthly bulletin column was developed called "Am HaSefer" using a question-and-answer format to reveal interesting facts, themes and
stories of Biblical heroes throughout the year.
"Perek Yomi," a chapter-a-day Torah study program, designed by the U.S.C.J., provided educational pamphlets available through our office."From the Bimah to Broadway" Concert: where our Hazzan performed
songs from the Torah in March.
Were you able to involve "hard to reach" segments of your membership?
A Library reading program was started to encourage children to read eight books, at least four of which were related to Torah or the Bible.
In Hebrew High, an Essay Contest based on "What Torah Means to Me' (with cash prizes for all participants) encouraged students to describe
their feelings about Torah and Judaism as it had an impact on their lives.
Our high school youth group, hosted their regional spring conclave in April, with the theme of "The Other 603 Mitzvot."
As part of Kinder Shabbat's regular monthly services, each child carried a flannel Torah in procession, and were offered an animated
toddler's-eye view of the weekly Parsha.
How did your congregation respond to the Scribe's visits, workshops and demonstrations?
Rabbi Shmuel Miller was a very important part of our overall
success. Some members of our congregation were already familiar with Rabbi Miller from his visits to repair our older Torah scrolls and his
workshop given during a parent education day in the previous year.
Rabbi Miller spent three days with us during our Year of the Torah, specifically our beginning of the journey in June, 1999, our Torah
Education Day in January and of course at our concluding celebration in June, 2000. We received very positive feedback from those in attendance
at these three events. I think the first event, our "kickoff," was especially important to ignite the interest and set the tone for the
year. Rabbi Miller entranced a capacity crowd as he demonstrated the sacred art of inscribing the Five Books of Moses. There was a lively
question and answer period in which Rabbi Miller's charming personality was very evident.
To what do you attribute your success in raising funds through the Torah Project?
Our congregation has for many years, along with our traditional
dues structure, raised critical operating funds through an Annual Campaign. It was decided that we would not attempt a separate
fundraising campaign for our new Torah, but would instead have a combined effort, setting a goal of $400,000. We actually raised about
$500,000, which was very satisfying for all involved. It is to our Finance Committee and Publicity
Committee that we owe a great deal of this success. Marketing materials were prepared with the theme, "Torah,
Commitment and Community: Making a Home Worthy of Our New Torah," which established the Goals of the Annual Campaign. Our Endowment Agreement
Form was also a very successful marketing tool and we trained a cadre of
solicitors to approach our congregants both face to face and through telethons. Our Rabbi and Project Chair met with individuals who were
deemed to be likely to support our project at the highest levels. We
were very fortunate that our local economy had a very "plus" year, allowing our members the opportunity to support, not only our project,
but other Jewish and community fundraising efforts, at a high level.
How did you present the Torah Project to your congregation? Which programs are you most proud of?
We had some wonderful marketing tools which, along with our traditional outlet of communication, our monthly bulletin, helped us "make the case," for this project. The three programs that received the
best response were our beginning event, our Community Education Day and our concluding celebration. All three were very special. With the motto "The More Torah, the More Life," we created a
community education day entitled "Touching Torah," which featured a marvelous diversity of workshops: text study, lectures by well-known
area scholars, educational displays, arts and crafts sessions, and discussions geared for all age groups. Our Siyyum, welcoming our new Torah on June 11, was electrifying.
We had 500 in attendance. To the music of a klezmer band we marched our
new Torah to our building, greeting it with song and dance. Our program
itself included the completion of the final letters of our new Torah by
Rabbi Miller, with various congregants participating. All was projected
on a large wall and additional television monitors allowed all to feel the emotion of the day. The feeling of community was truly palpable.
One program I haven't mentioned, was our congregational trip to Israel to pick up our Torah after its computer checking.
Seventeen of us, including our Rabbi, journeyed to Israel in May to explore the land
of the Bible, to study, and ultimately to fly home with our valuable cargo. For me, personally, this was a highlight of the year.
I believe I am most proud of the large participation by our congregation in educational opportunities, financial support and
volunteer involvement. We truly came together as a community from Shavuot to Shavuot in a very special way which we hope will set an
example for future unifying projects.
What guidelines would you give for congregations starting to plan their Torah Project year? What time frames do you recommend for planning?
We started 15 or so months before our completion date, and are actually still finishing up with recognition of participants and a display of our endowments.
Is it important to have a layperson chair the project even if the
synagogue has an executive director?
This project must, as of necessity, combine the efforts of the
professional staff and lay leadership of a congregation. It affords a wonderful opportunity to involve many in the planning and execution of a
variety of programs and events. I believe co-chairing is very important
as well as establishing sub-committees as there is a great deal of work to be done. I believe, the more laypersons involved in such a project,
the better, as the opportunities for personal growth are tremendous
In what ways did you acknowledge participation in the Torah Project?
We are having a display created by the gentleman who created the one for
Congregation Albert in Albuqueque. We are looking forward to sharing this with our congregants during the High Holy Days this year. We are
also in the process of mailing certificates to each of our endowers. We
created a wonderful commemorative brochure which was distributed at our siyyum and which will be sent to those who could not be there.
Will any programs started during the Torah project continue beyond the concluding event?
One interesting project that has been established which will
afford on-going learning is the creation of a Biblical Garden on our property. This idea was actually developed during our congregation's
participation in Synagogue 2000, but received impetus during our Year of
the Torah for its actual creation, which has now begun and will continue
over the next several months.