[Avodah] sell the Beit Knesset?

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, May 31, 2018 at 01:27:43PM +0000, Rich, Joel via Avodah wrote:
: The Rambam (matnot aniyim 8:11), based on Bava Batra 3b, states that a
: Beit Knesset(Synagogue) is not sold for pidyon shvuyim(redeeming captives)
: but rather new funds must be collected for that purpose...

However, when fundraising, pidyon shevuyim comes first, even after
the funds were raised and the building materials bought for the
not-yet-existent shul. SA YD 252:1. And the Tur says this is the only
mitzvah we may sell those building supplies for.


: 1. This seems to imply a complex interaction between tzedakah priorities
: and other halachot (perhaps respect for Beit Knesset or people's intent
: in donations) or it might be that tzedaka priorities are multivariate?

Is this distinction more than semantic? You are asking whether the
"other priorities" are outside the label "tzedaqah" and therefore "other
halakhot", or within the label, and therefore tzedaqah's priorities
would be "multivariate".

But the word "tzedaqah" has multiple usages. For example, in the sense
we have been using it, we've been including pidyon shevuyim and binyan
bhk"n. But it could be used to refer to supplying the poor with their
needs exclusively. Or to mean their needs and dei machsero. Etc...

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
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