- Posts tagged cost
- Explore cost on posterous
Is Jewish life too expensive?
(The articles it references are also worth a read: The High Cost of Jewish Living, by Jack Wertheimer, and The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment, by Peter Beinart.)
During a discussion session at shul, someone quipped that Judaism was the most expensive religion.
When a year of synagogue membership costs around $2k, day school $15k, and summer camp $4k, I can see why he would say this. Even with financial assistance, $20k per year, per child(!) is hard to swallow.
Even if you're just a High Holy Day Jew who goes to shul only during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, tickets go for a few hundred dollars. While I understand that the synagogue has to recover somehow the costs of hiring extra chairs, the extra air conditioning, the extra staff, etc., a few hundred dollars is not easy to scrape together especially when you've been laid off or have a low-paying job. Fortunately, the synagogues in my area are very open to discussing alternate payment plans, and don't turn away congregants simply because they can't afford to pay.
The cost of observance rises as you take on more mitzvot.
Keeping kosher? Then you need at least two sets of dishes, utensils and cookware. Kosher meat is at least twice as expensive as non-kosher meat, and you can easily pay three or four times the going non-kosher price for the best cuts of kosher steak.
If you observe Pesach with any stringency you also need another two sets of dishes, utensils, and cookware specifically for Pesach. Never mind the kosher for Passover food. Fortunately, it's possible to shop the week before and pick up the five-pound packs of matzah for the same price as the one-pound boxes are during the chag.
Putting up a mezuzah? Each one will set you back at least $30. For small apartments it's not so bad, but outfitting a full-sized house can cost a few hundred dollars. Then you have to replace them when the scroll deteriorates.
What's a potential convert to do? What do I do to save money as I begin to dip my toes into the wonderful world of Judaism?
I borrow extra hanukiot from friends. I use basic tealights for Shabbat candles. I relieve friends of their excess matzah. I go vegetarian at home, which cuts down the number of dishes I need. I don't need to worry about separating milk and meat dishes, as everything's a dairy dish, and I never have to worry about through-the-roof kosher meat prices or timing my meals. I'm not yet a member of the synagogue I go to, though I might join since I recently found out that they greatly discount membership for young families. I'll probably send my future kids to private Hebrew tutors instead of sending them to day school.
What do you think? Just how much of a barrier are finances when it comes to participating in Jewish life?
