Who is it that coined the phrase: If you want to know someone's true intentions, just see what they accuse others of?
The last post says it all: I have heard from more than several Synagogue members (including board members) that they will do whatever Jack says they should do. After all, he is the one that cares most and is the "savior" of the Synagogue. MAny of the board members will tell you that they were placed on the board over the years by Jack, and some will even acknowledge, simply to be his "rubber stamp." Are they "useful idiots" beings used as pawns by a real estate lawyer, who has been known to do more than one dubious act in his real estate career?
If I had to pick between Jack and the Rabbi as to who is making a real estate move -- I would use the last post's directive: Follow the money. Look closely at who is into money and real estate, and who is the one hurling "real estate" takeover accusations. Look at who has dedicated his life to business and who has dedicated his life to revitalizing Jews.
It's an old trick: Always accuse your adversary of what you yourself want to achieve. And the proof is in the pudding: Why has the shul suddenly gotten so active, with all these elaborate decelerations and strategic -- while allowing the attendance and membership to dwindle over the years?
Who -- except a savvy real estate guy who feels he "owns" the place with shall we say business-like intentions -- would even suggest that a shul can be "taken over"? Who does the shul exactly belong to that it is now concerned with being "taken over"? Doesn't a shul belong to its members -- all its members -- and not to one or a few individuals? Would anyone accuse someone of a "takeover if they did not feel that it "belongs" to them?!
Did Jack and Co. buy the shul with their own money that they feel it is "theirs" to own?!
Anyone truly dedicated to the shul and its survival should above all be declaring: Let us do whatever it takes to bring new Jews into this sacred space. Instead of investing so much time and energy to creating fabricated conspiracy theories of "takeovers," let us welcome all Jews, and let the Synagogue grow into a place that we can all be proud of -- living up to the intention of those Jews that spent their hard-earned money to buy and renovate the shul...
