Yeshivah takes small steps toward democracy
A SENIOR Chabad rabbi and member of the Yeshivah Centre's board has reached out to a select group of congregants in a bid to be seen as more inclusive.
A SENIOR Chabad rabbi and member of the Yeshivah Centre’s board has reached out to a select group of congregants in a bid to be seen as more inclusive.
Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Groner, the son of the late Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner, sent a letter to an informal group of approximately 200 Yeshivah members, known as the Yanash, last week.
In it, he agreed that in order to “take the Yeshivah Centre from strength to strength”, he proposed to “provide the community with a greater level of involvement”.
“The proposal is to establish a series of committees that will work independently within delegated powers to manage and advise on aspects of Yeshivah’s operations,” Rabbi Groner wrote, adding that information evenings would be held next week.
He said a shul committee would be established by election and would “effectively take over the day-to-day running of the shul”.
Don Wolf, chair of the Yeshivah Centre board, said Rabbi Groner had sent the letter to selected congregants “off his own bat” in the context of speaking with and involving younger men in the synagogue’s management.
Wolf added that he endorsed the meetings and would likely attend.
Menachem Vorchheimer, one of the recipients of Rabbi Groner’s letter and a long-time attendee at the Yeshivah Centre who has expressed disappointment in some of the facets of the centre’s management, was lukewarm towards the proposal.
“The forming of committees is a positive step,” he told The AJN. “However, it fails to address the core issue of accountability and transparency — ensuring that
parents and donors know where the millions of dollars they contribute annually goes, and removing the layers of nepotism and self-interest that rule the Yeshivah.”
Other long-time Yeshivah congregants told The AJN on condition of anonymity that they were puzzled by the decision to send the letter only to the Yanash mailing list, rather than to all paid-up Yeshivah congregants.
The Yeshivah Centre, the roof body for Yeshivah College, Beth Rivkah Ladies College and a number minyans and education centres, has come under fire for a lack of transparency.
The board, or Va’ad Ruchni, is unelected and is substantially weighted towards family members of the late Rabbi Groner.
A board survey last year found that many people were unhappy with services in the main shul and that improvement was needed to the centre’s administration and governance.
NAOMI LEVIN
PHOTO: Melbourne’s Yeshivah Centre. Photo: AJN file
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