LONG ISLAND — In an attempt to draw in more members, Beis Knesses Ohr Tefilla introduced a new feature this past Shabbos, allowing congregants to set the Rabbi to a 2x speaking speed so they can end davening faster and get to Mussaf and most importantly - the Kiddush.
The feature reportedly works via a Tzomet manufactured Shomer Shabbos bell voting system wherein each shul member, when they feel they've gotten the gist of the drasha, can vote to speed up the Rabbi. When over half of the mispallelim agree, the Rabbi will begin talking twice as fast to get through the rest of his drasha.
"I thought this would be a fun way to attract new people and show current membership that I'm aware my drashot can be a little long-winded," said Rabbi Mark Reznick. "Although I didn't expect everyone to start jamming the button right away."
Just two minutes into a drasha about Avraham's search for the Creator, Rabbi Reznick was prompted to speak at double speed. "Do you know how hard it is to talk about such a deep topic at twice the speed? I'm not even sure what I said in that drasha," the Rabbi said.
Membership appears to love the new feature. "It's great", said 39 year old accountant Michael Rosenberg. "We get to hear the drasha but also finish much earlier and get to the delicious hot kiddush".
At publishing time, the success of the drasha prompted the shul leadership to install a "Skip Intro" button. At least a dozen new families have joined the shul in the last two weeks alone.
