Some members of Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael in Springfield, N.J., are not happy that their former synagogue building was sold to the Islamic Center of Union County. Are there any reasons a former Jewish house of worship shouldn't be turned into a different religion's house of worship, or for that matter, anything else?
The sanctity of a synagogue, as opposed to that of the Temple in Jerusalem, has a temporary status, valid only
while the synagogue is assigned for that purpose. After that point, the decision to sell the synagogue for another purpose is governed by its probable new use. Factors such as the size and the stature of the congregation relinquishing ownership on the one hand, and the respectability or lack of same of the potential new use, are relevant considerations.
There are more pointed considerations if the new use is to be as a place of worship. Since idolatry is
forbidden to Jews and non-Jews as well, we may not only not join in idolatrous practices, we may not even participate in providing a home for them.
Though it might seem surprising, the religion of Islam, notwithstanding its political facets, is generally not regarded as idolatrous. Maimonides himself ruled that Islam is identified with monotheism (Responsa No. 448); hence, a former synagogue’s use for a mosque would not be proscribed.
As to Christian churches, there is a difference of opinion. Tosafot (Avodah Zarah 2a) appear to regard Christianity as free of idolatry (by the non-Jewish standard), and thus would likely allow church usage, again for their use but not for Jewish practice. The medieval authority, R. Menachem Ha Me’iri (d. 1315), is emphatic that enlightened Christianity is non-idolatrous, as also ruled R. Moses Isserles (d. 1572), and as did the late Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog. That liberal point of view was, however, rejected by known contemporary authorities, such as R. Eliezer Waldenberg and R. Moses Feinstein.
To sell or lease a synagogue, then, does ask us to make some effort in advance of the sale to determine that the new occupant would not desecrate our values, religious and personal.
Some members of Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael in Springfield, N.J., are not happy that their former synagogue building was sold to the Islamic Center of Union County. Are there any reasons a former Jewish house of worship shouldn't be turned into a different religion's house of worship, or for that matter, anything else?
Rabbi Mark Greenspan:
Let me begin by saying that I understand your sadness and ambivalence about turning a beloved synagogue into a house of worship for another faith. For the members of your community, this decision must be disconcerting, to say the least. We associate our synagogue with sacred moments and special occasions in our lives. We often describe the synagogue as our ‘home’ and the congregation, as an extension of our family. To sell a synagogue building is a terrible loss or can even feel like a betrayal to those people who valued and cherished this sacred space and worshipped there for many years.
That said, I would like to address the larger question that you are raising. Can a Jewish house of worship be sold and turned into a different religion’s house of worship? This is not a new question; it is discussed at length in the Talmud, the medieval codes of Jewish Law and it has been addressed by contemporary Jewish scholars. In the Mishnah, the first code of Jewish law we read: “The trustees of the community who sell a courtyard (used for sacred gatherings) can only buy with those funds a synagogue. If they sell a synagogue, they must buy an ark. If they sell an ark they must buy the dressings for the Torah. If they sell the dressings for the Torah, they must buy sacred books. If they sell sacred books they must buy a Torah Scroll…” (Megillah 3:1) Nothing is said in this passage about what sacred space is being used for suggesting that the only question is whether it is being sold, not what purpose the space will be used for.
We can learn two important facts from the Mishnah: first, a synagogue can be sold for other purposes; second, once it is sold, the building loses its sanctity and the sanctity is transferred to the money which should then be used either for the same or a higher level of sanctity. Unlike a Torah scroll or an ark, a building is not inherently holy. Therefore it can be used for other purposes and even for another religion. In a 1997 Rabbi Kassel Abelson, chairman of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement, confirmed an earlier position of the law committee from 1959, stating: “In regard to the sale of a synagogue to a church, when the sacred symbols have been removed from a synagogue building no longer in use, and when the congregation has already moved to its new quarters, the congregation is justified in selling the old building. It need not be sold indirectly, and it may be sold to a church.”
Having shared this perspective with you, I would suggest that there are other issues at stake here. First, the Rabbi of a congregation is the mara d’Atra, the authority in all matters of Jewish law in his community. This question should not be discussed in a vacuum but should be addressed to the rabbi of the congregation, and possibly to the board of the synagogue. I am not certain it is appropriate to seek other opinions in such communal matters rather than turning to one’s own leaders. Second, I find it just a bit disturbing that you have raised the issue of the group’s religious background in your question. It should not matter whether the group that is purchasing the house of worship is Christian, Moslem or Buddhist.
For what can the funds from such a sale be used? In his responsa on this question, Rabbi David Fine writes: “While holiness can depart from something if that thing is sold, like a synagogue building, the holiness does not cease to exist. Rather, it transfers itself into the funds into which the asset of the synagogue was “converted.” The transference of the essence of a thing into its monetary equivalent is a concept that is found throughout Jewish law.” (On the Sale of Holy Property OH 153:2.2005a Committee on Jewish Laws and Standards) This money can be used for communal religious purposes, but the Talmud also suggests that such money can be used for other mitzvot such as Pidyon Shevuyim, redeeming captive Jews.
There are ample precedents for this practice. On the Lower East Side of New York there are many synagogues that began as churches and were converted into orthodox synagogues when Jews became the majority population in synagogues. In recent years, with less Jews living in this New York community, these synagogues have, in some cases, become churches once again. Personally, there is something comforting about knowing that a sacred space remains sacred even if it is sacred to another faith.
So the short answer to your question is there is no reason a synagogue cannot be sold and used for a house of worship. Opportunities should be provided, however, for members of the congregation to mourn this loss and celebrate the memories that are left behind in this building.
Question:“Some members of Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael in Springfield, N.J., are not happy that their former synagogue building was sold to the Islamic Center of Union County. Are there any reasons a former Jewish house of worship shouldn't be turned into a different religion's house of worship, or for that matter, anything else?”
Our Reform responsa do not address this specific question, that is, the peaceable sale and conversion of a synagogue to a mosque.And even in Talmud, there does not seem to be any reference to what happens, or how synagogue members should feel, after their Jewish houses of worship change hands.
In Babylonian Talmud Avodah Zarah 43b, the text relates the presence of statues of Babylonian emperors in “Shev V’yashiv”, the “sacred synagogue” in Babylon (Contemporary Reform Responsa, Solomon Freehof, 1974, page 46), but that is when the synagogue was still an active place of Jewish worship.And even in that situation, apparently, famous Babylonian Jewish scholars worshiped there without hesitation (ibid.).
There have been many conversions of synagogues to churches in our country – this seems to occur most frequently when Jews leave a certain neighborhood and the next identifiable population moves in – and there did not seem to have been a serious ringing-of-the-hands on those occasions.In the United States, synagogues have become black churches, banks, white churches, and the like; and synagogues have, themselves, purchased former churches.In my present community of Madison, Wisconsin, the local Conservative congregation considered the purchase of a former church building, simply because of the need to increase space and accommodate its members in the right facility.To be sure there are ‘Jewish logistic issues’ to be considered at the time of any construction or building conversion.On general issues of purchase, ownership, and use, however, there seems to be no historical or halachic prohibition.
This is probably not the first occasion of this kind of peaceable conversion of a synagogue to mosque.Reports that I found online mention a 2008 sale and conversion of Temple Israel of Jamaica (Queens) into Bait-uz-Zafar Mosque; the ceremony of dedication of this edifice took place on October 12th, 2008, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community website notes that the “event, attended by about 100 guests including senators, congressmen, assemblymen, clergy and neighbors, showcased a diverse crowd of Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims”.It should be stated that this movement is apparently not part of mainline Islam, but an offshoot of some variety.Still, the conversion of this building seems to have happened peacefully with the blessing of most of Temple Israel’s members.See http://www.ahmadiyya.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=488:bait-uz-zafar-inauguration&catid=64.
There is a rich history of the forcible seizure of synagogue buildings in the Middle East by Muslims, but this is not the focus of this question.Perhaps someone else will raise this issue.
At the time of the Israeli evacuation of the Gaza Strip in 2005, there seems to have been some synagogue demolition by the Jewish settlers as they departed, but I cannot discern through the reports that I read that there was halachic justification for doing so.Anecdotal comments regarding the demolition of houses there seem to indicate that the Jewish destruction of these buildings was done in anger and possibly revenge, in order to avoid giving the future Palestinian residents of Gaza ready-made buildings.
It should be stated that reports concerning the Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael synagogue sale note that the discontent was from a few-very-vocal members and former members; see http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/former_union_county_synagogue.html.Given the current anti-Islamic climate in our nation, it is not surprising to learn of this reaction, yet such reactions must be highlighted for what they are, expressions of prejudice and hatred.There is no Jewish justification whatsoever for the expressions of this kind of hatred, or any Jewish prohibition about the action that seems to have fostered them.
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