He gets the davening started on time and stays to clean up afterward. In between, he has to make peace and keep people happy. Meet the gabbai— and find out what he’s really thinking when he’s looking at you
Photos: Menachem Weinreb, Naftoli Goldgrab
H
e’s frequently overlooked, yet the entire shul spins within his orbit. He’s the shul gabbai, the man whose penetrating gaze scans over the white talleisim for a shishi candidate or a suitable baal tefillah.
Shamashim of old tended to be unlearned souls who obtained their room and board in exchange for putting away the seforim and leining the parshah. Today’s gabbaim, in contrast, are likely to be business executives with packed schedules — and even the local daf yomi maggid shiur.
What they have in common are the tricks of the trade: how to get the recalcitrant to be the baal tefillah. How to divide the aliyos fairly and keep people happy. How to temper the verve of the Yossele Rosenblatt wannabe.
They have their stories as well.
Ever heard the one about the guy who came to a shul and was given revii? Enraged, he said to the gabbai, “Back home, you know who they give revii to? The dregs of society!” The gabbai responded, “Same here.”
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