Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 21:23:15 -0400
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
From: Samuel Lubell <programming at capclave.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Fw: reparations: a Libertarian speaks out
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

At 04:44 PM 8/23/02 -0400, you wrote:
>Samuel Lubell wrote:
>  > --- Steve Smith <sgs at aginc.net> wrote:
>
>  >
>  >
>  > Don't churches charge a price for membership in the church?  I know
>  > synagogues do.
>
>Are you saying that someone who fell on hard times and couldn't come up
>with the synagogue membership fee would be thrown out?
Of course not.  In fact for normal services no one even checks.  However,
for Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, the high holidays, many synagogues do have
tickets (distributed to members and sometimes extras are sold to
nonmembers) and only let those with tickets in.  I'm sure even then, if
someone fell on hard times and explained this to the synagogue in advance,
something would be worked out.

The Christian method of passing a hat around at services wouldn't work for
Jews since Orthodox Jews aren't supposed to handle money on Shabbat.

>I'm not aware of any church that charges fixed fees.  Many have
>"suggested donations", but no fixed fees.  Walk into any church
>that I know of, say "I'm interested", and you'll walk out with a whole
>pile of literature, including probably a cheap Bible/Book of
>Mormon/Koran/collection of sutras/whatever.  Walk into a Scientology
>bookstore, and you'll walk out with a price list.  Want a copy of
>"Dianetics" [1]?  You'll pay list price for it.
Most conservative/reform synagogues might have a brochure of activities and
classes, but only enough prayer books and Bibles for use in the
synagogue.  Not only would they NOT give you a pile of literature, they
probably would send you to a bookstore since they don't order books
either.  Some groups of Orthodox, like the Lubbavitchers, are exceptions to
this but they're a small minority within a minority.