Temple Sinai is considering a proposal to merge with Rodef Shalom. The joint steering committee and our officers have published a lot of information about why they think this is a good idea. They have not provided equal access for those with other perspectives. Some congregants are seeking answers to questions and some have concerns. The June 8 vote, if in favor, makes commitments that will be difficult or expensive to revise after due diligence.
Current Status
At the May board meeting, the board approved a term sheet ("brit") by a vote of 18 to 6. The board approved three small amendments in principle, without final language, to clarify some ambiguities.
Fact sheet handed out by members at the June 8 meeting. Despite the promise at last fall's town hall that this would need to be "nearly unaimous", the vote will be by simple majority. Please make sure you know what you are voting for.
Monica's detailed notes from the May 2025 board meeting.
Many questions from the membership remain unanswered.
Post-Meeting Update
At the meeting on June 8, the steering committee presented their position at length, but discussion from members was limited (60 seconds at a time, though you could get back in line once or twice). Had we been allowed to speak more openly, this is approximately what I would have said. I know it doesn't matter now, but I'll share it anyway.
Temple Sinai clearly needs to do something; deficits aren't sustainable. That doesn't mean we need to do this, or that we need to do something right now. The steering committee has spent lots of time over the last year and a half on this and they deserve our thanks, especially as this is nobody's full-time job. But the work is not complete. Initially we heard that our leaders were looking at options, but it seems only one option was considered from the start. Other real options exist, not just strawmen like "raise $6M". We owe it to ourselves to consider them.
We haven't done due diligence. Even the board hasn't seen the financial details, or the building assessments, or the legal documents. Many questions remain. This process is being rushed. Rushing is not in Sinai's interest. Remember, our obligation is first and foremost to Temple Sinai and we have other options to explore, options that preserve Temple Sinai. Maybe those options work, maybe they don't, but we have to look at them.
I expect to be vilified for speaking up (personal attacks have already begun). Those of us with concerns have been dismissed as fearing change, which is nonsense -- we're always changing. No congregation stands still. Sinai isn't the same as it was even a year ago, let alone five or ten or twenty years ago. Some things that have been unchanging until now are the strength of our community and the integrity of our decision-making processes. These are worth preserving.
Voting yes today commits us to a path and to spending lots of money we don't have. Voting no means "not yet; we haven't done the necessary work".
I've collected dozens of questions from members that remain unanswered. This week I distilled out a smaller set to ask, starting with "question 0", the essential one we all need to understand today before voting: Why are we rushing this vote and making commitments before we've done basic due diligence?