Does anyone know how much it costs for a Jewish family to belong to a synagouge. I was just curious because I heard that its extremly expensive compared giving money at a church (which is voluntary anayway).

Membership in a synagogue comes with a lot of things. Growing up jewish, I got to use a lot of them.

I've heard ranges from 500-3000$. For the most part, it is due to much smaller membership numbers in synagogues, but a large part has to due with paying Rabbis, teachers, building requirements and staff. Many of the membership fees include the ability to enroll into the schools that most synagogues provide, admittance to the services on major holidays, and abilities to take advantages of other things in the jewish community. Not to mention, Torahs themselves cost 10,000$ a piece.

But the general rule of thumb is that anyone can come and worship for free, but involvement is rooted in funding the synagogue.

What are the usual church fees?

Actually, some synagogues are free. It really depends on the particular establishment.

Cheers,

Lost

The Torah cost 10,000???

quote:Originally posted by AnAsTaSiO:

The Torah cost 10,000???



At least.

A Torah scroll is all hand written by a trained person called a Sofer, or scribe. It's written entirely on treated animal hide, not a cheap commodity. There are 3x3 foot squares attached to each other to equal a very very long scroll (300,000+ hebrew calligraphic letters). If any part is messed up, that whole segment must be buried. From what I read, every word in the Torah is assumed to be divine, so messing it up is unacceptable. The scribe must write the entire Torah in perfect Hebrew, and prepare it in a certain way. There are adornments to the scroll once it is finished: a decorative plate, scroll covers, a Torah cover, and an elastic band to keep it from separating.

Basically, Torah writing has used the same technology for thousands of years. Someone passes it on to someone else, and they write it. Imagine book copying fees back in the 1500s, and it's probably proportional. 10,000-30,000 dollars covers a lot of labor and material costs.

quote:Originally posted by Infectedgoose:

What are the usual church fees?

Most of the time its a few dollars a week in a basket, but every once in a while a preacher will come around telling you your blessed so pledge X amount of your income to the church for however many months. At least thats what happens around here.

quote:Originally posted by AnAsTaSiO:

The Torah cost 10,000???



The Torah is the first five books of Moses. Basically it's The Old Testament... And it can be found in original Hebrew/Aramaic for a much more reasonable price.

Of course, if you're considering becoming a rabbi...

Cheers,

Lost

quote:Originally posted by Infectedgoose:

At least.

A Torah scroll is all hand written by a trained person called a Sofer, or scribe. It's written entirely on treated animal hide, not a cheap commodity. There are 3x3 foot squares attached to each other to equal a very very long scroll (300,000+ hebrew calligraphic letters). If any part is messed up, that whole segment must be buried. From what I read, every word in the Torah is assumed to be divine, so messing it up is unacceptable. The scribe must write the entire Torah in perfect Hebrew, and prepare it in a certain way. There are adornments to the scroll once it is finished: a decorative plate, scroll covers, a Torah cover, and an elastic band to keep it from separating.

Basically, Torah writing has used the same technology for thousands of years. Someone passes it on to someone else, and they write it. Imagine book copying fees back in the 1500s, and it's probably proportional. 10,000-30,000 dollars covers a lot of labor and material costs.

That's extremely interesting. It's good to see a religion that is actually sticking to its history.

The real bona fide scrolls in the front of the synagogue are the pricey ones. Many Torahs in book form that have the hebrew in it, either calligraphic or with vowels, aren't very expensive at all.