Don’t pay your temple dues and get sued, at least in N.J.

WHIPPANY, N.J. -- A superior court case in Morris County that pitted a Rockaway couple against their synagogue has left those involved angry and holding opposing ideas of what the nature of the relationship between a temple and its congregants should be.

David Slossberg was sued by White Meadow Temple of Rockaway for unpaid membership dues totaling $1,500. Slossberg and White Meadow settled -- the agreement has Slossberg paying his former synagogue $33 a month for one year, a total of nearly $400. White Meadow brought the lawsuit after Slossberg and his wife, Dian, believed they had severed their relationship with the temple.

Slossberg said he agreed to settle with the synagogue because they agreed to leave his wife out of the suit, which originally named her as well.

He also said he is "extremely upset" at the way White Meadow's people handled the situation. Although Slossberg holds no ill will toward his former congregation's legal counsel -- he said attorney Robert J. Rosen was "a gentleman through the whole matter" Rabbi Leslie P. Lipson and temple administrators are another story.

"It's very bad what they did, but what they're doing to other people is worse," Slossberg said, referring to two other sets of defendants currently named in White Meadow suits to collect back membership dues. "It's pathetic the way they treated them...The other parties are not like me. They want to go to temple. One couple has young children."

The temple's president disagrees, and believes it's White Meadow's only recourse.

"We generate a budget every year," said Robert Goldberg. Based on that figure, the synagogue's leaders determine what the dues are. "When people fall behind, our financial secretary sends a letter," he explained, adding that additional letters are sent at regular intervals over as many as five years.

Only then, he said, is such a matter turned over to the temple's attorneys. He added that the temple often makes arrangements with those who cannot afford to pay full dues and that White Meadow maintains a hardship committee whose members assess such situations. Only "after all the letters are ignored," said Goldberg, "then the lawsuits start."

The rabbi at White Meadow with whom the Slossbergs were familiar was Ralph Dalin, who happened to live next door to them. David Slossberg had apprised Dalin that he had spiritual and financial hardships; Slossberg was under the impression, at that time, that he had made a definitive, if unofficial, break with White Meadow. "He was sympathetic, but I don't know if he had any say in the business end," said Slossberg. That was in 1996.

Dalin moved to San Diego last summer and could not be reached for comment. He was replaced by Lipson.

Once the dispute came to light and Slossberg tried to explain his financial situation to White Meadow, he said, the synagogue was less than understanding. "They never said, 'Just pay what you can,' or anything like that." Slossberg believes the temple needs to be restructured when it comes to the way they do business with their congregants. "The temple should be held to an incredibly higher moral standard " than other businesses.

Goldberg said that Slossberg made no attempt to contact the synagogue regarding the matter of his late dues.

Slossberg said he now questions the moral standards of White Meadow's administrators and rabbi, who spoke only through their attorneys to Slossberg and his wife. "This rabbi, not to have reached out to me, for him not to do that is unconscionable."

The settlement Slossberg reached with the synagogue has both embittered him and prompted him to start making some future plans. "My plan is to help people that want to belong to a synagogue and have perhaps financial or spiritual problems." Slossberg did not go into further detail but rejected the notion that he will seek retribution of some kind against White Meadow.

Lipson, who was on vacation, and Rosen could not be reached for comment. Goldberg said members of the congregation have been supportive but are upset about the publicity. The New Jersey daily, the Star-Ledger, published two stories chronicling White Meadow Temple Inc. vs. David and Dian Slossberg. "This is an unfortunate situation. I don't know why The Star-Ledger thought it was so important," said Goldberg.

"This kind of thing is a last resort. Before we take action, three or four letters or more are sent," Goldberg said, stressing that similar situations have lasted for as many as five years. "Some people thought I shouldn't have settled at all. I wish we could have made some kind of arrangement."