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Orthodox Rabbi Presents Novel on Fund Raising
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An Orthodox rabbi writing a novel? An Orthodox rabbi writing a novel that is hilarious? An Orthodox rabbi writing a hilarious novel about fund-raising? This is a different kind of a novel! One of the great industries in Jewish life is fund-raising. We have professionals in the field who have graduate degrees in the subject and who run sophisticated offices. But my favorites are the meshulochim---the self-taught emissaries who represent yeshivas and who go every year to the people on their list. These people do more than raise money. They are a living link between their "clients" and the Yeshiva world, and they bring a bit of Torah and a bit of kovod to the people on their list in exchange for the donations that they receive. I suspect that Rabbi Shlomo Wexler knows the world of the meshulochim first hand but I don't know how he came to write such a funny story about how they work. His previous novel, about the daughters of Tselofchod, was prim and proper. In that one, he was careful to work strictly within the parameters of the Talmudic traditions and he produced a novel that was reverent and that carried the impramatur of halachic authorites. But in this novel he lets himself loose and writes with tongue in cheek. This is the book that P.G. Wodehouse or S.J. Pearlman might have written if they knew Torah! The characters are familiar to anyone who knows the Yeshiva world. Rabbi Steiner is a Jew from Vienna but since he wants the yeshiva he has founded in Jerusalem to be acceptable, he tries to out-haredi the Haredim. Rabbi Brill is an innocent yeshiva teacher who turns out to have unexpected and incredible talent as a meshulach. Rabbi Sayevitch, the spiritual mentor of Rabbi Brill's wife, turns out to be a graduate of Cambridge and to have been formerly involved in the British secret service. Mel is a modern Orthodox but somewhat stuffy young man and Sandy is a bold and life-loving young woman, and the two of them meet when they are both solicited for the same yeshiva. Lili is a Human Resource Coordinator, or, to use a more accurate if less prestigious term, a shadchan. And they all come together and influence each other in unexpected ways in this hilarious book. Rabbi Wexler introduces us to the worlds of yeshiva fund raising and Israeli politics. We learn that prime ministers and cabinet members can be had for a reasonable price, and we learn that even yeshiva heads have their moments of envy. We learn that buildings, classrooms, kitchens, and dormitories can all be "sold" to donors who want a bit of immortality in exchange for their gifts. We learn what it is like to deal with contractors in Israel. And we learn that sophisticated public relations techniques can help to put a yeshiva on the map and make its donors happy. And we learn, most important, that love conquers all. The meshulochim are the real heroes of the yeshiva world. The teachers are the ones who get the recognition, but if it were not for the meshulochim, who march from city to city, carrying their own kosher food, and going through the names on their list of potential donors, there would be no yeshivas. Many of them have only limited English; none of them have graduate degrees in "managing non-profits" or administering philanthropies. Some of them have no idea what those terms mean. They work long hours and receive limited compensation, and they are not always welcomed with respect. The few occasions when they bring home "the bacon", if we dare to mix metaphors, are offset by the many times they are turned down or fobbed off with a token donation. And so, it is good to have a book that pays long overdue honor to these foot soldiers. And especially, when it is a book that is so funny. The twists and turns that this novel takes will keep your interest till the end, and who knows? This book may even persuade you to be more welcoming and more generous the next time a meshulach comes to your door. He just might be cupid in disguise! (Rabbi Jack Riemer is the co-editor of So That Your Values Live On, published by Jewish Lights and the editor of the three volumes of The World of the High Holy Days, published by the National Rabbinic Network. He misses the meshulochim who used to come to his house when he was a child and regrets evidently not being on their lists any more.) Rabbi Jack Riemer |
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