Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

Synagogues and other voluntary organizations rely on membership for vitality, growth, and purpose. Every shul I have been part of speaks of retaining and attracting members. 

As an undergraduate student, I majored in marketing, long before I contemplated going to rabbinical school. In marketing classes, we spoke of the four P's - Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

When I decided to pursue rabbinic studies, I would half kiddingly apply the four P's of marketing to Judaism: Our heritage is our product; Our shuls, homes, and schools are our places of distribution; Commitment is our price; and, for me, attending rabbinical school and ongoing learning programs throughout my career  are my places for learning promotional strategy.

In this week's Parsha of Lech Lecha, Abraham and Sarah understand the four P's in an authentic spiritual way. The Torah refers to Abraham and Sarah making souls in Haran. The Midrash asks what the Biblical statement  means and suggests that the first Jewish couple welcomed non-members of their household under the canopy of the divine presence, with Abraham inspiring the men, and Sarah inspiring the women.

Abraham and Sarah knew to promote their product of monotheism to the world at large openly, volitionally, with a place of distribution and a price of commitment.

Now, some 4000 years later, synagogues continue the spiritual mission which began with our first patriarch and matriarch. We believe in the integrity of the Jewish way of life. It is for the Jewish community to decide about retaining and attracting members to the synagogue. The synagogue  is the longest lasting spiritual and communal institution which unites fellow Jews in a shared sense of belonging, believing, and behaving.

Rabbi Howard Morrison