Rabbi Einhorn’s SynaBlog is a new innovative blog that shares tips, tactics, strategies and best practices that enable Shul growth and promote Shul vitality.
Hi there! Welcome back.
Don’t you notice every year that we fight over the same ritual practices? How come nobody remembers the projected time the Baal Shacharis was going to finish on the second morning of Rosh Hashana? Wait! Who was supposed to call the Hoshanas guy? When were we expected to begin marketing our Simchas Torah programming?
These are typical synagogue holiday issues/questions/fights that come up every single year. Why not create a post High Holiday database where all the information is contained. Break it up by holiday and also insert projected points on the calendar where best practices dictate that something begins. For example, your particular synagogue may need to begin promoting selichos 3 weeks before it begins. That should be in the document.
I also find it helpful to indicate the energy levels of different dates. Meaning – are people nervous Yom Kippur night or is there excitement in the air. Knowing this kind of seemingly trivial information is helpful in terms of sermon packaging, fundraising appeals, and branding.
Start times and end times are also helpful additions to this document as it gives each of your chazanim the appropriate reference point so that they can pace themselves properly.
Wishing you success,
Rabbi Shlomo Einhorn