H eadlines
Synagogue Admins Built Community During COVID
L OCA L
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
ON MARCH 13, 2020, Ben
Wachstein, president of the
Delaware Valley Association
of Synagogue Administrators,
thought that the impending
COVID-19 lockdown would
last two weeks, and that area
synagogues would resume
normal activity by April.

T h e fo l l ow i n g we e k ,
Wachstein, along with the other
DVASA members, realized
that things weren’t going to be
that easy.

Over the past 15 months,
DVASA, a g roup of a
dozen-or-so synagogue admin-
istrators across the region, went
from meeting sporadically to
Zooming weekly, sometimes
more, trading tips and tricks
on how to stay afloat during
the pandemic — and forging
deep connections with each
A recent DVASA Zoom meeting
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As a group, we are incredibly willing to share
our experiences and information.”
BRIAN RISSINGER
other along the way.

At first, DVASA members
were emailing each other
ceaselessly, trying to make
sense of the rapidly changing
climate. Wachstein made the
snap judgment to host weekly
Zoom calls instead as a way
of exchanging information
and supplies more efficiently:
Where were people getting
hand sanitizer? Disinfectant
wipes? Were they supposed to
be wearing masks?
Wachstein feared for his
employees safely.

Brian Rissinger, execu-
tive director at Reform
Congregation Keneseth
Israel and a DVASA member
for 34 years, was challenged
with laying off dozens of staff
members. Most shuls had to confront
the operation of preschools.

Many closed over the course of
the pandemic and, when some
reopened, administrators were
tasked with designing proce-
dures to keep both the children
and staff safe.

DVASA’s direction quickly
pivoted when shuls began to
close indefinitely.

According to Wachstein,
2 0 -30% of A mer ic a n
synagogues were expected to
shutter during the pandemic.

Few administrators knew
how to apply for federal Payroll
Protection Program loans
and feared the worst for their
synagogues. One member gave
the others a crash course in
applying for the loans, another
taught them how to receive
The Employee Retention Tax
Credit. Wachstein said the
synagogues saved thousands of
dollars because of it.

Rissinger explained that
because there isn’t a specific
training regiment for adminis-
trators, some have backgrounds
in business and facilities
management, and others in
social work or past leadership
in their congregation.

“As a group, we are incred-
ibly willing to share our
experiences and information,”
Rissinger said. “There’s nothing
gained by being tight-lipped.”
Beyond career creden-
tials, DVASA
members represent a diversity of Jewish
backgrounds. While national
organizations such as the
National American Association
of Synagogue Executives and
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