I often have used this prayer to teach my young students that when visiting a friend’s beautiful synagogue sanctuary in another town or city, they should take a moment to compliment their hosts on the beautiful space into which they have entered. Everyone wants to be proud of their spiritual homes, and it is a kindness to acknowledge the beauty.

But just how beautiful should those spaces be? How ornate should be the decorations? How much gold and silver should adorn the walls?

In this week’s Torah portion, Pekudei (“accounts of” or “amounts of”), Moses asks for an accounting of the resources it is taking to build the Mishkan (the portable Tabernacle prayer space) in the desert.

From Exodus 38:24-25: “All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary — the elevation offering of gold — came to 29 talents (one talent equaled approximately 3,000 shekels) and 730 shekels by the sanctuary weight. The silver of those of the community who were recorded came to 100 talents and 1,775 shekels by the sanctuary weight.”

That was big money in those days. Could this community of nomadic former slaves really afford this? What about the other needs of the community? What about clothing? What about food? (Sure, the manna from heaven was free, but all of the lapis lazuli stones and dolphin skins that were used to decorate theMishkan must have cost a lot, too.)

I think back on many of the prayer experiences I have had in my life. Some of them have been in enormous sanctuaries like Temple Emanu-El and Central Synagogue, both in New York City, and the Isaac Mayer Wise Temple in Cincinnati — stunning buildings built a long time ago to hold thousands of congregants.

I have also prayed in shtiebles (Yiddish for “little rooms” or “houses”) and hastily set up hotel catering-hall “sanctuaries” at Jewish professional conferences. Each experience is different. Sometimes the enormity of the big spaces can add to the spirituality, especially, speaking as a cantor, when the acoustics are amazing. But sometimes, I can feel swallowed up by the space. Sometimes, the catering hall services are informal but the energy of the people in the room is all that is needed for a successful service.

But for permanent synagogue sanctuaries in our communities, the sanctuary is the primary space around which the rest of the synagogue is built. How much money should be put into beautifying that space, when also taking into account the funds needed for Hebrew school education, staff and faculty salaries, missions to Israel, youth and adult programming, kitchen equipment for the kiddush, etc.?

Just a few years ago, my husband taught Judaic studies at a Jewish day school in New Jersey.  He told me of a high school student who would show up to class every day with a print edition of the Wall Street Journal. Seemed odd, at first, but my husband learned that the student volunteered his time on the budget committee and tzedakah committee of his synagogue.

The student wanted to learn how money flowed, how philanthropy worked and how to speak the language of Jewish professional finances. While most of the other students were studying Torah and Talmud, my husband had the realization that nonprofit management should also be part of any high school and college Jewish studies curriculum. The community needs Torah and Talmud scholars, but it also needs people who know how money works.

In Talmud Yerushalmi, Brakhot 5:1, Rabbi Yirmiyah says, “The one occupied with the needs of the community is like one who is occupied with matters of Torah.”

For those of you who have volunteered your time with a finance committee on your synagogue board, your contributions to the community are invaluable. Having the expertise to know how to balance a budget from dues, donations and fundraisers while making sure our prayer spaces are beautiful and well-equipped, is part art and part science — and woefully underappreciated.

It is often said that any budget is a set of values. If you want to know the values of an organization, look at its budget. And the next time you see the people who helped craft that budget, give them a hug and thank them for their hard work.

So, is it OK to spend a lot of money on beautifying a sanctuary space? The Torah says yes.

Coming from Israel, I am used to smaller and more modest sanctuaries. Big American, ornate synagogue sanctuaries used to bother me. They do not anymore.

If those particular communities have the budget to be beautiful, and have the resources for education, tzedakah work, Israel advocacy, etc., and they have the talent pool of financial experts who can constantly reassess that budget to make sure it reflects the values of the community, then it is all for the good.

Many years ago, a Reconstructionist rabbi, Jeremy Schwartz, created a new blessing: Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh Ha’olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu la’asok betzorkhei tzibur. “How full of blessing you are, ETERNAL ONE, our God, majesty of the Universe, who has consecrated us with Your commands, and commanded us to occupy ourselves with the needs of the community.”

If you are not already using it, this is a wonderful blessing to use at the start of any synagogue board meeting or for the board meetings of any other Jewish nonprofit organization.

Thank you, and blessings to all who do the financial work of the community.

Cantor Shirel Richman serves United Hebrew Congregation and is a member of the St. Louis Rabbinical and Cantorial Association, which coordinates the d’var Torah for the Jewish Light.