[Avodah] Former Synagogue

[Jonathan Baker]

From: RallisW at aol.com
 
> How does halochoh view a former synagogue, either now lying abandoned or  
> C"Sh turned into a church or a mosque? Does one tear kriyoh upon seeing it, as  
> with seeing the mokom hamikdosh? (I would guess probably not.) Is there any  
> distinction between a former Orthodox shul or a  Conservative/Reform? Do they 
> still retain some of their former kedushoh? 

Isn't this all dealt with in the Gemara in Megillah?

The Makom haMikdash is special in that it always retains its kedushah.
That's why the Zerubavel crowd were able to offer korbanot after marking
off the positions of the heichal and the altar, even without rebuilding
them completely.  So we tear kria on it.

But a shul can be sold by the Shiva Tuvei haIr (essentially, the shul
board today), and loses its kedushah.  If it's just abandoned, I think
it would retain its kedushah, but if sold, boom.  Although, it's really
nice when a shul buys back a building that had once been a shul.  My
old shul in Park Slope did that - the building had been a Conservative
shul from construction in 1913 to sale in 1965, then an American Legion
hall until 1996, and now an Orthodox shul again, slowly being renovated.

Similarly, Cong. Or Zarua on the Upper East Side (C) bought a building 
that had been the original synagogue of Cong.  Kehillath Jeshurun (O)
until sometime around 1900, used by other congregations for 50 years,
then sold as a church in 1951, and then bought again as COZ about 15-20
years ago.  After some years, OZ knocked it down and built a larger
building.

See http://tinyurl.com/2vdnbt
and http://tinyurl.com/2mod3d

--
        name: jon baker              web: http://www.panix.com/~jjbaker
     address: jjbaker at panix.com     blog: http://thanbook.blogspot.com