I so appreciated the recent op-ed article by Andrea Samuels (March 22) about the ethics of Jewish buildings named after donors. As a Curb Your Enthusiasm fan, the scene she highlights from Season 6 with Larry hating on Ted Danson for being “Anonymous” but still reaping the kavod – honor – is a personal favorite.

I actually reference the episode in my book when lamenting our community’s “edifice complex” – our obsession with buildings, and putting donor names on them.
While Samuels shares teachings from our tradition indicating that placing donor names on walls is acceptable and common practice, as with all things in the Jewish tradition, there are counterarguments. For example, Rabbi Elazar teaches in the Talmud that “one who performs tzedakah in secret is greater than Moses, our teacher.” (Bava Batra 9b)
Where I respectfully take issue with Samuels though is with her conclusion. She writes, “As far as I’m concerned, however, as long as the end justifies the means, that’s enough. Even where a donor’s intentions are selfish, if the donation itself has a positive effect on the community or even the world at large, then who are we to criticize!?”
Philanthropy is absolutely essential to the flourishing of Jewish life. While those who invest their dollars in Jewish causes should without question be appreciated and applauded, I’d like to suggest that putting names on our buildings specifically has not necessarily had a positive effect on the Jewish community.

(credit: INGIMAGE)
(credit: INGIMAGE)

As I write in Just Jewish:
“These names on walls have caused problems over the years, as several organizations that realistically should have downsized, merged, relocated or closed their doors haven’t done so due to concerns about alienating the donors and their families whose names adorn their facility’s walls.
I understand the desire for legacy, wanting our names and the names of our loved ones to outlive us and be remembered. At the same time, putting names on physical structures isn’t helping our organizations to make the strategic decisions they need. I’d like to propose that going forward, a donor who wants their name to go on a wall can only have it appear there for 20 years – a generation.
Almost like stadium naming rights for sports teams, there can be a 20-year agreement, but then the opportunity should exist for another entity to assume those rights or for the organization to decide that their facility no longer meets their strategic needs and to make a change without having to worry about alienating their donors.

I’m admittedly not entirely sure how to roll out such a strategic change for those whose names already adorn our community’s walls. But going forward we can make an intentional change and emphasize endowing staff positions or particular programs as opposed to being so focused on our buildings.” (Just Jewish, p.136)

What worked then does not work today

Simply put, the models that worked for 20th-century Jewry are not working for the majority of Jews in the 21st (both Millennials and other generations as well), and in many communities, the physical infrastructure is overbuilt.
The associated carrying costs required to keep up these overbuilt facilities (let alone to secure them in today’s day and age) is quite burdensome. And yet, many a tough decision regarding necessary consolidation is being put off due to not wanting to offend the families of those whose names are on walls, continuing to drain limited communal resources.
With respect, unlike Samuels, I’m not convinced the ends justify the means. It’s time we sunset the practice of putting names on buildings, or at the very least allow for them to appear in a time-limited fashion the way sports stadiums do, and find different ways of expressing gratitude to those who so graciously invest in our communities. Something tells me if we did so, even Larry David would find the change not only valuable, but pretty... pretty... pretty... good.

The writer, a rabbi, is the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville, and the author of Just Jewish: How to Engage Millennials and Build a Vibrant Jewish Future. For more information, visit www.justjewishbook.com. The opinions expressed here are his own.