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Sold-out conference honors those who make the Torah service run smoothly
What do you do when you have three bar mitzvas, two yahrtzeits, and a wedding in the congregation in the same week, and you're the gabbai -- the person responsible for giving out the Torah honors on Shabbat?
The sometimes touchy choreography of the synagogue service was just one of the subjects of a day-long conference held Feb. 5 at the headquarters of the Orthodox Union in lower Manhattan. Some 130 gabbaim (plural of gabbai) gathered to discuss the occupational hazards -- and rewards -- of ensuring that services run smoothly on a daily or weekly basis.
Gabbaim are lay leaders who volunteer to help with the Torah reading, usually bestowing aliyot -- honoring a congregant or visiting worshiper with the opening and closing prayers that accompany the reading of sections of the Torah portion -- or other honors and ensuring the accuracy of the Torah reading. They are often considered the unsung heroes of congregational life.
"They are the true oskei tzibur [community workers] who work for the benefit of the congregation. These are volunteers who are vital to the shul's operation and are often underappreciated," said Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler of Ahawas Achim B'nai Jacob and David in West Orange, which sent the largest contingent of gabbaim to the conference of any Orthodox synagogue.
"They are the nitty-gritty of the shul, the everyday generals," said OU president Stephen Savitsky.
Mitch Cohen of West Orange, a gabbai at AABJ&D, was delighted when he first heard about the conference. "I never saw anything like it before. I'm a gabbai, and it seemed like an interesting opportunity to see what other people are doing."
According to OU officials, the conference was intended to shine a light on the practitioners. "We take certain services the community has to offer for granted," said Rabbi Moshe Krupka, OU national executive director. "At this organization, we take nothing for granted. We must give everyone the resources and training to...