Teaneck, NJ – To many people, the High Holidays are a time when people take out their wallets to pay for their family to have seats and when synagogues take in the most revenue from this collecting.

That tradition, however, is coming to end this year for the Teaneck Jewish Center. No longer will people have to pay to get High Holiday Seats; it will instead be free.

“The Teaneck Jewish Center was the first synagogue in Teaneck in the beginning and we feel a very strong connection to it and its community. Now, when we are transitioning to meet the community’s religious needs, we want to show our gratitude and do what most synagogues across the country and even the world cannot: have free High Holiday Seats,” said Sandy Hausler, president of the Teaneck Jewish Center.

“At the time when people are open to religious possibilities, we want to be open to them as maximally as possible,” said Rabbi Lawrence Zierler, the congregation’s rabbi. He hopes that the appeal of free seats, a concept most synagogues are unable to offer to the general community, will remove their alibi for leaving and encourage more and more families to stay, instead of going to family or trying to find the synagogue with the lowest seat cost. The Teaneck Jewish Center, unlike most synagogues, he feels, will be able to make up for the expected loss of revenue by the use of their other facilities, like their pool and gym.

They don’t expect this to interfere with the other synagogues attendance. Rabbi Zierler said, “We are not trying to take away people from other synagogues. There is a big demographic of people who are unaffiliated with a single synagogue or who float from synagogue to synagogue; these are the people we hope to target and attract to us.”

And people have seem to taken a liking to this concept! The Jewish Center has received a lot of positive feedback from both members and from others who have read about it on other media outlets, calling this idea ‘revolutionary’ and ‘interesting’.

While the seats are free, there is still a need for those interested to call the Teaneck Jewish Center’s office and make reservations. They need to have an accurate approximation of people who will be praying in the sanctuary as well as how many children plan to be in their offered childcare so they can not only make sure there is room for everyone but also ensure their safety and security.

“We hope to get people to come into the synagogue and see what we are all about. I think they will be pleasantly surprised and realize it is the kind of place they could want to come to everyday,” said Sandy Hausler.

Anyone who is interested in getting the reservation form should call the Teaneck Jewish Center’s office at: 201-833-0515.

By: Estee Kahn