Someday the Rabbi Will Leave by Harry Kemelman Page B

whom the rabbi saw regularly at the daily minyan. “This man is a regular goy . He doesn’t come to services on the Sabbath. Not once has he come to the minyan. Not once since I’ve been here. Believe me, I would have remembered. Even on Yom Kippur, I—”
    â€œHe came to the synagogue on Yom Kippur,” said the rabbi quickly. “I saw him.”
    â€œMaybe in the morning for an hour. Then he went home, I’m sure for lunch. This is what you should expect from the president of a synagogue?”
    â€œMost of our presidents have been nonobservant,” said the rabbi. “Except for Jacob Wasserman and yourself—”
    â€œYeah, they were nonobservant, but at least they grew up in observant homes. Their parents were observant. They didn’t come to the minyan regularly, but at least you saw them when they had Yahrzeit and had to say kaddish . This one, never. Has he conferred with you, Rabbi, since he became president? Have you talked to him at all?”
    â€œNo, but—”
    â€œThere,” said Kaplan triumphantly. “A man becomes president of a synagogue, and doesn’t even meet with the rabbi!”
    The rabbi smiled. “It doesn’t bother me, so why should it bother you?”
    But the following Sunday, Howard Magnuson did seek him out. Shortly after the board meeting adjourned, there was a tap on the door of the rabbi’s study, and in response to the rabbi’s “Come in,” Magnuson entered.
    â€œI’ve been expecting to see you at the board meetings, but you seem to have stopped coming to them,” he said as he took the visitor’s chair.
    â€œI didn’t come because I wasn’t invited,” replied the rabbi.
    With a touch of irony, Magnuson asked, “Do you need a special invitation?”
    â€œNot a special invitation,” said the rabbi with a smile. “Just an invitation.”
    Magnuson looked puzzled. “I don’t understand.”
    â€œWell, I’m not a member of the board and, strictly speaking, not even a member of the temple organization. So I come to the board meetings only at the invitation of the president. Usually, the new president asks me at the beginning of his term to come to the meetings. Not always, though. There have been presidents who have not extended the invitation, or have invited me to attend only particular meetings where they felt that I could be helpful with the business that was to be discussed”
    â€œWell now, I didn’t know that. I’m new to this game. I’m glad you told me. So I am now inviting you to attend the meetings of the board.”
    â€œAll right. Thank you. I’ll try to be present in the future.”
    â€œYou know, I didn’t get your job description yet.” He smiled. “If I had, perhaps I would have seen that you attend board meetings only by invitation. Are you still working on it?”
    â€œNo, I wasn’t planning to make it out. I didn’t feel that your letter applied to me, since I am not part of the temple organization personnel.”
    â€œNo? Don’t we pay you?”
    â€œYes, but it’s really in the nature of a subsidy, since I am the rabbi of the Jewish community of Barnard’s Crossing and serve the needs of the entire Jewish community of the area, those who are not members of the temple organization no less than those who are.”
    â€œYou mean you’re a kind of consultant like our CPA or our lawyer, but that you’re on a kind of retainer.”
    â€œSomething like that, but they act only when called upon, whereas I can take action on my own. If the temple organization should propose something that I considered to be contrary to our law or tradition, and by the way, I’d be the one who would decide if it was, then I would forbid it.”
    â€œAnd what if we, that is the temple organization, chose to ignore your edict? You couldn’t go to law about it,