Kehilat Yedidya - The Committees

Vaad Menahel - Executive Committee   (click on committee name for a description)

Linda Gradstein

Chair

Bruce Rosen

Deputy Chair

Kobi Ableman

 

Gary Ginsberg

David Gleicher

Donna Goldberg

Adina Golombek

 

Josh Margo

 

Avital Ordan

 

Daniel Rohrlich

 

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

Minutes of vaad meetings


Ritual

Hevra

Support

House

 

 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee is the body authorized by law to manage the affairs of the kehillah. Among the decisions under its purview are the kehillah's budget, membership dues and operating procedures. It operates in part through a variety of committees, whose mandates are determined by the executive committee. Its members are chosen by the organization's general assembly, which is composed of all the kehillah's members. The executive committee selects the chairperson(s) of the kehillah from among the committee's members. It generally meets once a month and members of the community are invited to attend those meetings. The executive committee's protocols are posted on the Yedidya website. (back)

ART COMMITTEE
The Art Committee organizes three exhibits every year of professional artists, either in groups or as individuals: painters, calligraphers, photographers, printmakers, etc. - giving preference to members of the community and other Jerusalem artists. After selection, the works are hung in the upstairs prayer hall, along the ramp and/or in the social hall on the ground floor. A festive opening takes place at the beginning of each exhibit. If there are sales during the exhibit, or commissioned through the exhibit, Yedidya receives 15% of the profit, which then helps to finance future exhibits. Artists may also give lectures/workshops during their exhibit, and often invite outside groups of artists or students for private visits. (back)

BUILDING USE COMMITTEE
The Building Use Committee (BUC) was established in conjunction with the move to the new building. Its focus is on maximizing the use of the building beyond Shabbat and Chagim (first and foremost by, and for, Yedidya members and then for the community at large) in ways that can generate income for the community, while protecting the integrity of the building and the Yedidya community. It does so by establishing a rental procedure including creating rental agreements, a system for tracking building use (including maintaining a sub-calendar on the general Yedidya calendar) and a schedule of rental charges. Procedures and unusual requests are reviewed by the committee as a whole as needed. It reports directly to the Executive Committee and provides periodic financial reports to the Finance Committee for their consideration. (back)

COMMUNICATION
Deot is Yedidya’s in-house moderated email discussion list. Only topics that directly involve the synagogue are discussed; no commercial or announcement emails are permitted. Members can choose to receive Deot per email, per digest (usually 10 posts), or not at all. All emails are posted in English and Hebrew; there are volunteers who translate submissions sent in only one language. (back)

COORDINATORS OF THE FRIDAY NIGHT DIVREI HALACHA AND THE SHABBAT MORNING DIVREI TORAH
The coordinators schedule the darshanim (speakers) and acquaint them with the Yedidya norms regarding length and content. Sometimes the initiative to give a drash comes from a coordinator, while in other cases it comes from the darshan. In making the schedule, priority is given to members with a simcha or a yahrzeit. (back)

FINANCE COMMITTEE
The finance committee's (FC) main job is to prepare annually (in December) the draft for Yedidya's Annual Budget during the coming year. This draft is based on projections made by the treasurer which are in turn based on discussions with budget holders as to their expected needs for the coming year (e.g.: maintenance, art exhibitions etc.), historical utilization data for utilities, expected building plans, contingencies and a conservative estimate expected income. The FCs draft budget is then sent on to the VM in January for approval. The treasurer monitors the expenditures of the budget holders throughout the year and gives feedback when limits are being reached in order to keep to budget discipline. The FC also deals in other financial matters such as modes of collecting membership dues, how much to put away and where to invest our reserves, and other issues pertaining to the financing of the community. (back)

GREETERS COMMITTEE
Greeters are volunteers who meet people as they come into the synagogue for services on Shabbat or Holydays. The purposes of the greeters include giving a friendly welcome to everyone and instructing visitors and first-timers on where to go. Greeters are given basic instructions on how to open and close the synagogue, as well as what to do in an emergency. (back)

LIBRARY COMMITTEE
Yedidya’s library serves the community’s members and provides books for classes and other educational and religious activities in the community. The committee deals with all technical aspects of library management: purchasing books and accepting donations, having the books stamped and shelved, and periodically tidying up the shelves and checking that all the books are accounted for. The committee is always seeking volunteers for picking books up, helping with the catalog and files, labeling books and checking the shelves. One time and recurring volunteers welcome. Please coordinate any proposed book donation with Avital Ordan. (back)

PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
The Yedidya Personnel Committee was created to handle all issues relating to the interface with persons employed by the Kehillah, in such matters as: -interviewing, hiring, and firing of personnel; conditions of employment; supervision of overall performance and recommendations for changes in employment conditions; general policy regarding employees. The committee meets on an as needed basis to deal with problems and issues as they arise. (back)

PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
The Public Affairs Committee (PACOM) provides leadership on when and how the kehillah should take a position on a public affairs issue. The types of actions it considers include initiating and signing petitions, using the kehillah's website or a newspaper advertisement to express a position on a public policy issue, organizing and participating in rallies as a community, etc. The PACOM also organizes educational activities for the community that are related to public affairs issues. (back)

MEMBERS MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT COMMITTEE
The committee offers an initial address to community members in times of need, distress or crisis. In such times, the committee can refer members to professionals or people with experience within the community who can lend a sympathetic ear and provide information, advice and support. The areas in which help is available include halakhic and spiritual issues; emotional and general health; family crises; loss and trauma; coping with the educational, medical, legal and military systems; financial counseling, etc. (back)

YOUTH COMMITTEE
The Yedidya youth committee is responsible for the children and youth educational programming in the kehilla. This ranges from weekly "Tefillot Yeladim" for three different age groups, teen tefillot and activities to special events for families and different age groups surrounding the holidays. The committee also seeks to build bridges between the youth and the general community activities and tefillot. The goal of the committee is to provide quality educational programming to the children and youth of the kehilla and to create a positive, social shul experience for them. The committee consists of parent members of the community and both supervises and supports the work of our professional youth director, Elazar Waldman. (back)