I foresee Houston as a harbinger of other growing communities outside the high tax states
he largest concentrations of Jews in the United States are in high tax states — New York, Illinois, New Jersey, and California. And the situation for residents of those states grew considerably worse recently with the reform of federal income tax law, limiting the deductions taxpayers can claim for state income and property taxes.
I do not mean to suggest that Orthodox Jews are likely to flee their homes en masse to escape onerous taxes. Indeed, they may be the ones left turning out the lights. On a recent visit to Chicago, a friend pointed out three new kollelim that had recently opened, and I had the opportunity to visit the campus of a newly opened yeshivah patterned on Philadelphia Yeshiva.
But I do expect economics will foster the development of new communities. Case in point: Houston, where I recently had occasion to spend four days in the Fondren Southwest neighborhood and that community’s shul, the Young Israel of Houston. The attractions of the city are obvious: Texas has no state income tax, and the economy is booming. Not only are jobs plentiful, but convenient: Most of the working men and women in Northfield are within 20 minutes of their workplaces. And for the price of a duplex in Lakewood, one can purchase a mansion in Houston.
There are more intangible attractions as well. The community is overwhelmingly young, which means there are plentiful leadership opportunities for young couples. To that youth add a dash of experience: Rabbi Yehoshua Wender has been the rav of Young Israel since its founding nearly 40 years ago and has served as a school principal, among other leadership positions.
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