By Larry Kaufman
My teacher, Rabbi Fred Schwartz, used to remind us that synagogue leaders, both lay and professional, have to remember and cater to the congregation's two constituencies - the Prayers and the Payers. 

Just as Torah can stand for the full body of Jewish learning as well as only for the five books of the Pentateuch, the Prayers as the rabbi used the term are not just those who attend services, but include all those who participate on a regular basis in the life of the congregation.  The Payers, on the other hand, may be those who show up only for the High Holy Days and perhaps for yahrtzeit, but who unfailingly send in their dues (and maybe even more) to assure the financial stability and continuity of the institution.

To these two categories, I add a third - the Players, the officers and trustees of the congregation, the folks who make the decisions (or sometimes fail to make them) on what programs to offer the Prayers and what to charge the Payers.

All too often, the three categories -Prayers, Payers, and Players - are indeed three distinct groups.  For our congregations to thrive, we have to build a culture where as many people as possible fit into at least two of the three categories - where those who consume the programs of the congregation, the Prayers, move into additional roles in designing the programs - as Players, and/or in underwriting the programs, as Payers.

Since I'm a realist, I concede that not every Prayer has the affluence to be a Payer (in this case, the capital P signifying Big Giver) nor the aptitude to be a Player; and I equally concede that we should say thank you to our check-writing 3-day-a-year friends, and not try to put them on a guilt trip because they're not Shabbat regulars.  I stand on firmer ground, however, when I propose that every Player should fit into at least one of the other two categories.

That proposal is based on the well-known Rule of the Three W's as it applies to the composition of voluntary boards. The Three W's are Work, Wealth, and Wisdom - and no-one should sit on any not-for-profit board who doesn't bring two of them.   The tycoon who shares his (or her) smarts and writes big checks, but is too busy to serve on committees, is kosher; so is the fellow of modest means who brings ideas to the table and follows up with the energy to implement them. 

We've had a lot of conversation here at rj.org on the health of Reform Judaism. Much as I appreciate and have learned from the insightful and provocative Berkson analyses, I for one do not believe the health of our movement depends on our attitude towards the Talmud, but rather on our attitude towards our congregants.  If we have healthy congregations, we'll have a healthy movement - and healthy congregations are based on understanding and serving the constantly changing Judaic needs of people - social, spiritual, and intellectual.  Our congregants are by and large not concerned with ideology, whether current or historical.

They are completely comfortable in their American skins, and they come to the synagogue to "do Jewish."    We need Payers and Players who can empathize with the Prayers - and the more they are among them, the better they can move our congregations forward.

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