Conference provides practical advice for synagogue 'traffic cops'
By <A href="mailto:judiej@jewishledger.com">Judie Jacobson</A>

One of the major challenges Stuart Serkin faces as gabbai of Congregation Ahavath Achim in Fairfield is that of maintaining what he calls "synagogue decorum."
At least now, however, he doesn't feel so alone. Because, as Serkin learned at the first-ever conference sponsored by the Orthodox Union (OU) for gabbaim (the plural of gabbai, referring to synagogue congregants who play a major coordinating role in the running of services), decorum or, more specifically, the lack of it, is a universal issue faced by this specialized group of volunteers at shuls all across the country.  
"What I found out is that synagogue decorum is a constant concern across all the synagogues," says Serkin, who has served as one of five gabbaim for most of the six-plus years he has lived in the area, and was gabbai at Young Israel of New Haven for some 15 years prior to that.
Serkin also found answers at the conference to a series of other conundrums that gabbaim face daily through conference seminars on such topics as how to deal with disputes and hurt feelings, how to get more people involved, when to correct the ba'al koreh -- the Torah reader, etc.  The conference even included a seminar that educated the gabbaim on how to use cutting edge technology to make their jobs easier. 
"The gabbai is a very significant personality in the synagogue and his work is vital for maintaining the dignity and sanctity of the service," declared Rabbi Moshe D. Krupka, OU national executive director, in addressing those gathered at the one-day conference held in New York in February.
"Gabbaim face many challenges - from resolving disputes and hurt feelings, to maintaining decorum, to knowing when to correct the Torah reader if he makes a mistake," he said.
It is because of these delicate situations that seem indigenous to synagogue life, that the OU scheduled the conference, notes Krupka. 
It hit a nerve.  The event drew a capacity audience of 130 gabbaim, with an almost equal number turned away for lack of space.  Those who didn't make it to the conference were able to watch it with their colleagues worldwide on the website of OU, an organization now in its second century that is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work, political action, and advocacy for persons with disabilities. Its kosher supervision label is the world's most recognized kosher symbol. 
"After the family, the synagogue is the most important institution in Jewish life," explained OU executive vice president Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb to conference attendees.
"A synagogue cannot be vibrant without its gabbai, and the gabbai, in turn, must be sensitive, firm and learned, with the ability not only to make people comfortable but to enforce standards of decorum, learning and halacha."
The purpose of the conference, added Weinreb, was to "help the gabbai fulfill these responsibilities." 
Some synagogues felt the issues addressed were so central to the health and welfare of their congregations that they sent an entire contingent of representatives to the New York meeting.
"We face a number of issues as a small shul in a small community," says Ralph Klein, gabbai of Congregation Brothers of Joseph, a modern Orthodox congregation in Norwich, who attended the conference with the shul's spiritual leader Rabbi Asher Oser, as well as its gabbai sheni - second gabbai - Sam Zwillich.
"We have changing dynamics, we are a small community with a wide variety of members. We face challenges every time we come together to daven..." 
According to Klein, who is also chairman of his shul's ritual committee and in "real life" serves as manager of quality assurance projects for Stoller Nuclear Fuel Division of NAC International, the challenges he faces as gabbai are exacerbated by the size of his congregation.  And that, in turn, influenced what he hoped to cull from the conference.
"The problem is that as a small community, the group we have to draw on to help with the services, and to take aliyot, is small," notes Klein. "So what I was looking for were answers to questions like, how do we make do with what we have...how do we handle issues of who gets what and when, etc."
Did Klein get what he was looking for?
"All of these were addressed, either in sessions provided by the OU or by talking with other gabbaim...It was good to be reminded that we are not that different, even though we are a small synagogue in a small community.  Big synagogues face similar challenges."
Both Serkin and Klein, as well as Steve Batkin of Greenwich, who serves as gabbai of Chabad of Greenwich, took away valuable lessons from the conference.  
Batkin, the owner of a Greenwich insurance agency,  describes his role as gabbai as that of "traffic cop...It's my job to help with the logistics of how the service runs so the rabbi doesn't have to worry about what goes on in the seats."
Though he admits to walking in with no expectations, he walked out with a few valuable tips.
'I'll probably be much more vigilant in making sure that the person leading the service, when it isn't the rabbi, is really the appropriate person to daven... Often the person who davens is the one who gets there first or who has been doing it for years.  But this may have to change - albeit slowly."
Serkin believes that one thing the conference highlighted was the need for gabbaim to share experiences and insights.  He hopes that the conference suggestion to create an internet set-up for gabbaim to do just that will materialize.
Comments? Email <A href="mailto:judiejacobson@jewishledger.com">judiejacobson@jewishledger.com</A>