P-E-L your way to Success

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Hi there! I hope you are all well.

Nothing worse than running blindly into a synagogue program. A creative program can be costly, poorly attended and at times leave people upset if your eye isn’t on the ball. When running an effective program (e.g. carnival, fundraiser, etc) I try never to deviate from my P.E.L. system. Purpose – Execution – Link. Before running a program ask yourself what’s the purpose. Why do this program? Which segment of your community does it serve? If run well, would it benefit your synagogue in a significant way? Understanding the basic reasons and envisioned outcomes are integral to going ahead with this program. Understanding the targeted outcome of your program also impacts the way that your program is going to look. Next is execution. A fluid plan of action is a must for any decent program. Who is going to get names at the door? Who is going monitor traffic? Who is going to run out and get more pizza if you begin to run out? All of these little execution questions are pivotal. With one simple blunder you can turn off the wrong person. Step 3 is the link. The link to your next synagogue event should already be in place. If you plan this event without a follow up event in mind than you may have squandered the long term impact of your current event. Moving from event A to event B should be a premeditated concept.

See you around,
Shlomo Einhorn
Rabbi of West Side Institutional Synagogue - www.wsisny.org
Director of WINGS – A OU Synagogue Consulting Group – http://www.ou.org/synagogue_services/wings

Email: wings@ou.org

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COMMENTS
  • http://www.ronniefein.com/ Ronnie Fein

    Who says Jewish food must always mean cake, kugel and cholent. First, there are healthy alternatives and modern alternatives to traditional European style dishes — I wrote a cookbook, Hip Kosher, to address this. Second, isn’t mindfulness part of the spirit of being kosher? Mindfulness not only about what we eat, but how much we eat, with reverence for production and for those who go hungry? Maybe we should emphasize more of that so people would think twice before having that second plate of food.

  • Leah

    I agree with Rabbi Spalter, despite the fact that there is widespread anorexia in the frum community. Obesity is probably a bigger (no pun intended) issue than anorexia. I see little Orthodox children and teens who are already obese. I remember a girl that I was friendly with as a youngster. Judy was the only child of Holocaust survivors and was obese as a child. When we got into our teens and 20′s, Judy was seriously obese and was left out when the dating began. By the time she was in her late 20′s, she was a type 2 diabetic. She was placed in a nursing home in her 40′s due to loss of both feet. Her kidneys began to fail. She passed away in her early 50′s. Now I agree that starvation kills much more quickly and we should not brush off that deadly issue but obesity can also destroy health.

  • Rivka

    We don’t have this problem in the Sephardic Orthodox community that I have been raised in. Exercise and healthy eating is very important. At simchas we DO put out tables full of very delicious and very unhealthy appetizers and desserts, but in tiny portions, and no one would EVER fill a plate with either, you choose- a kibbeh OR a samosa, a couple of cookies OR a tiny tart and that is IT, and most women don’t even touch the desserts- they are served mainly for the children. At Shabbat we serve many, many courses, four courses would seem like starvation to a Sephardic family, but most are vegetables- for instance this week I served stewed eggplant, roasted carrots, zucchini “pasta” with a garlic sauce, roasted ears of white corn, roasted asparagus,spinach salad, tomato and onion salad, fava beans with olives, two different rice dishes and freshly picked steamed peas, sour soup with lamb meatballs(kefte) with a roast leg of lamb and a baked cod. For dessert I served fresh pineapple and watermelon with a plate of almond mamoul(a little rich cookie), and at the end of the evening I served my husband a bowl of cherries- his favorite fruit. That’s a lot of fresh foods and no one is obese in our families! We women just need to stop cooking so many meat and starch based foods- the men and children eat what we serve! You can still shine your cooking skills in the kitchen for your families, and think of how proud you can be to feed them healthy foods!

  • Rivka

    I posted a lengthy bit about what I and most women in my community(sephardic Orthodox)serve for Shabbat and how my family, and my community, is NOT obese, with a message that we women are able to guide our families to better health, but, perhaps because I am Sephardic, this was immediately deleted. So sad to know that we are still delineating based on this difference in nationality in this day.

    • AJ
    • Tamar Genger

      Your comment is still there, I enjoyed it. While I am ashkenaz, I group up conservative and Shabbat observant. We had a big salad to start every meal and rarely had cholent. Now that I am an adult and a Dietitian and Editor a major kosher recipe site I see how many people do eat cholent and kugel every week and all I can do is provide new and healthy recipes and hope some people will make the change.

      I agree with the article, the lifestyle doesn’t make it easy, but it doesn’t have to be this way and many shuls across the country are changing their kiddishes and offering healthy foods. At least if we are going to eat a lot, make it healthier.

  • Chanatzip

    My doctor’s daughter became frum and he told me she quickly gained 20 lbs due to the lifestyle he especially has issues with the dreaded “deli roll’, which is a horrible combination of salt and fat, proud to say I haven’t touched the stuff since.

  • Dan

    I object to this article because it advocates for no personal responsibility. Why blame the self and a lack of will power when it is easier to blame a larger social structure. As much as I personally hate it, exercise does burn calories. And simply NOT eating when confronted with all that food works also. Is there anything wrong with making foods using wholesome ingredients? I’ll put my wife’s spelt and whole wheat challah up against anyone’s, and my decision not to eat a whole loaf in one sitting is because I think about the consequences. The scenario described of meal after meal requires that someone actually open his mouth and eat all that food. Blame stupidity, not orthodoxy.

  • Rivka

    SO not true in my community.