If they sell the seats for the high holidays in their synaguogue it is to collect well needed funds to upkeep the synaguogues during the year round. There is another jewish ability to buy and sell the seats at a much higher price say like concert tickets. You buy a seat next to the rabbi for US$ 50.000 and sell it for US$100.000 to another sucker. After all isn't it jewish business ?

You can always pray for free at Chabad, however the point of this article is YNet's rip-as-usual on the religious. The custom of auctioning seats and aliyahs has been going on for hundreds of years and traditionally has been a way of raising money for charity.

READ THIS: After WWll a rabbi realized that his Jewish neighbor who he knew to be religious before the war, did not keep Shabbos, didn’t go to shul etc. He went over to him and started talking to him & then popped the question WHAT HAPPENED? How come you don’t keep Shabbos?.... The man answered I was in the concentration camps and I don’t have to tell you what it was like there, the hunger the pain...., however there was one religious Jew who snuck in a pair of Teffilin and all the Jews asked him, "PLEASE LEND US THE TEFFILILIN SO WE CAN DO THE GREAT MITZVAH OF PUTTING ON TEFFILIN" .... He answered them, he will only lend them the Teffilin if they give him half of their daily bread, AND THEY DID. I got soooooooooo angry, how can a person use religion to rip people of their little bread they had, that’s when I dropped the religion. The Rabbi turned to him and said my friend you are seeing it backwards, LOOK AT THOSE PRECIOUS JEWS they were willing to give away their last piece of bread just to do a mitzvah $$$$$$ 50,000 $$$$$ WOW just to sit in the house of G-D and be next to his great servants, WHAT A GREAT NATION" indeed. Thank G-d I'm a Jew

why I quit going a long time ago to a synagogue. For one, asking money for a seat to pray is outrageous, for the other, many people attending service talk and disrespect others during prayer. Ridiculous! Those aren't houses of Worship anymore where you can find spirituality and peace. You lost me for a member!

do as i do : don't go , i don't need it . But if you have a need to go , because you have sinned , why should you want to sit on the "honor" places in the costly synagogues ? Go to your Synagogue , in your vicinity , there you will meet your friends . Of course there are bipedes who talk about "prostitute seats" , have a look in a mirror , you will see a p's child .

Would you care if someone paid $50,000 for a seat at a concert ?? You wouldnt say "let it be to the one who brings the most canned goods for those who have no food " as # 21suggests. . Maybe these people ARE the ones who support the poor.

It's sad to see that so many people read an article and then vent so much anger towards religion. Let's work on giving the benefit of the doubt and being positive, only that can bring moshiach

that no matter how disgusting and outrageous the dossim get, there will always be a group of hardcore idiots to defend them, as evidenced by a few commentators here.

There is plenty place for poor in Judaism. Giving money to a shul to operate has nothign to do with it. I give money to my shul and I still give thousands of shekels a year to the local charity organization for the local poor. Giving to one does not exclude giving to the other.

What the heck are you all complaining about ? open the sidur it says (in chabad sidurim at least) "its a big mitzvah to purchase the first torah at kol nidrei. They are charging because this is WHAT PEOPLE WANT TO PAY!! youve never been to beit keneset in my opinon.. too bad you were too busy smoking outside or whatever.. they auction them off because everyone WANTS TO BUY THEM.. Are you people OUT OF YOUR MINDS ? do I criticize you if you pay 50,000$ for a car? or 5000$ for a plasma TV? I personaly think its a waste of money.. Its demented how you people are so out of touch with judaidm.. Why is this being painted as some kind of sports tickets ? go get a life.

His point was precisely this: Where do people who don't have the money to pay for High Holiday seats belong in Judaism? Do they sit at home and daven all alone? Do they collect a minyan of people who are in the same economic straits and worship in someone's home? Where do the less fortunate among us go when they can't afford High Holiday seats at a shul? I personally think that, in most places, people having to pay for High Holiday seats is sickening. Yom Kippur is supposed to be a day where we, to quote the Prophet Isaiah (Z"L) "we break the bonds of oppression" and "invite the wretched poor into our homes," not where we ostracize a segment of our community (whether intentionally done or not) because they are less fortunate than us. While your committment to Tzedakah is outstanding and commendable, Tzedakah is more than just giving money. It means opening our hearts, homes and synagogues to those who have nowhere to go. The need for synagogues to take in money to support themselves is more than self-evident, but High Holidays is not the time to ask for such donations. The weeks prior to and following Shabbat Shekalim, the time set aside in the Torah for asking for and receiving such donations, is the proper time for this.

Any one interested in praying in the High Holidays or Shabbos yom tov or a plain weekday for Free can visit any Chabad House around the globe. For the people forking out large amounts of money may they be able to give tenfold next year. They are giving charity. You criticisers instead of looking with bad eyes and Hatred beleive it or not there are people who give lots of money for charity especially before the Holidays. They are good people and set example for all of us.

My seat at a Conservative shul in the US cost me a bundle. If they're free in Israel it's only because giving them away is the only way to fill them. When people have a real choice, they don't choose "Conservative."

...have to do with anything, much less giving to charity?

...that while nobody wants to charge money to attend services, buildings require upkeep and rabbis need to feed themselves and their family. And unlike other religions, we can't pass the collection plate around at services. So the result is you have synagogues which charge membership dues. At the same time, however, my congregation does not turn away anyone who wants to attend services for lack of ability to pay. We do ask that if they are not members and do not have tickets, that they make a donation to the synagogue. Ideally they call in advance so that such arrangements can be made. But again, we don't turn people away.

"This is the living proof of just how disgusting religion can be. It is not only a business but it is one run by conmen." So I guess Boaz Yona is the living proof of just how disgusting secular Israelis can be.

check your newspapers and public noticeboards. Very pleasant extremely well organised and highly recommended. What a load of dramatic hysteria over nothing. Pay/pray, take your pick. Happy New Year.

As Chairman of the Board of the Jeruslaem Great Synagogue I can confirm to you that no one pays $700 for a seat. In fact, we do not pre-reserve one third of our seats so that anyone wishing to attend can do so with or without paying. We set aside seats for members of the IDF. While our financial needs are great all of our Religious services and Lectures are free to the public. Wishing everyone a Shan Tovah.

Wow, talk about inflation.

I think most shuls, and I know it is true in my shul, will not turn someone away because he cannot afford it. Somebody who is in a difficult financial situation will not be asked to pay or wioll only be asked for a nominal fee of something he can afford. This article had nothing to do with that though. People are connecting things that are not connected. People are making this into a situation that is as if people who cannot pay $50000 cannot come. That is simply not true. A few select seats and honors are sold for that kind of money. Most seats are reasonably priced and for someone who cannot afford even that much arrangements are usually made....

1. Seculars posting their comments here should refrain from criticising what they obviously do not comprehend! 2. Nobody has ever been turned away from any synagogue, for not paying, anywhere, sometimes even if they are not Jewish they are allowed in! 3. Every synagogue has a core of comfortably rich people who tend to contribute the lion's share of the running of its expenses. It is traditional to give an equal opportunity to every member to acquire a mitzvah through an auction. It is universally accepted that this happens in a big way during the High Holydays. 4. There is no rivalry during the auctioning. On the contrary this takes place in a very friendly atmosphere whereby people try to outdo each other with their generousity for the benefit of that community. 5. Often, those who only attend during High Holydays take the opportunity to make a large donation to make up for the rest of the year. In short, believers look to perform a mitzvah and not to impress. The less fortunate are NEVER made to feel bad.

You really never listened to Jesus yet you speak of him as if you know him. " You do not know him as you do not know the father. He came to punish the fallen Jew. He is not the messiah bringing peace, but war. (his words none the less) ...You think I have come to bring peace. I have not come to bring peace but war...(to fallen Jews) Not a messiah message a punisher message. A war horse (Hasus) ....There will be those that come and say I am the messiah.....this is not true... I know what conspiracy theories Jesus freaks have about the money changers - sickening that so many would blame their curses on another person. I was once a Christian. Jesus collected fallen Jews - that is another word for evil sinners (hoars, publicans, theives, etc). Read the books in order and in context. So as a christian you are a fallen Jew. Never mind the money changes, what does Torah say will happen to those who abandon Torah? Jesus ceratinly was a table turner but not the Messiah (Mosiach)

Talk about not understanding. Do you know that Torah prohibits additions? Did Moses charge people money to hear the message of G-d no matter how wealthy? There is a provision in Torah known as an offering and it was Levis mentioned in Torah -not rabbis . Certainly what you say is true, that if someone wants to attend they can, but lets face it, buying seats and telling someone you must move from my paid for seat - is pretty cheesy way of financing. Everyone should contribute to G-d and Torah services and since the Rabbis claim they are allowed to interpret torah and make chet additions under the part of Torah calling for Israel to appoint wise men and Judges - How is taking money from the rich acceptable? Should Judges and Wise men take money and favor the wealthy? One law for everyone. You shall not show favor in judgement for the rich nor pity for the poor. Now how can that happen if I am the finicial cornerstone of a synangogue? Under this backdrop of Torah, people who are under the conevenat, can and must comment. "You shall be a nation of judges" I remind you, you shall give G-d and orginal prayer. So when you talk about supporting houses that encourage repeittive prayers, most empty of love for G-d but rich in Kabbalah magical structure, by men not mentioned in Torah that dress as Chistan noblemen, who teach additions to Torah not in the context of the orginal text, with special donations and favorable seating and speaking roles for doing what the Levis were to do, yes I feel a need to speak up. One G-d one love Back to the straight reading of Torah

Shouldn't it be lowly pleading for a leinient sentance after the year has passed an you have not paid for nor rectified your sins. After all the tradition is to dress as dead men in white. Choose life or choose death. So as you stand waiting for judgements before G-d and the heavenly court, should not we take a lowly stature? I think it would be better to call, "boy I really messed the year up again holidays". Certainly not "high" holidays. Stop sinning and return to Torah. (e.g. Love for G-d, shabbat, honoring your parents, honestly, fair dealings, no stealling, choosing good no matter what the cost, etc.)

What do they do with the money?

Temple I went to looked at me strangely when I gave him a weekly check and the accountant called to ask me what I wanted the money spent on. Collections are quite different from Yeshua's houses of worship where people donate cash or a check each week.