Ros. Responsa 21 a

Ros. Responsa 21 a

Synagogue

1931

Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana

Abraham Salomon Levisson

Levisson

Orah Haim

FALSE

Questions arising from a proposal to rebuilt a synagogue to accommodate a rental store and apartment, in order to generate revenues for a dying community.

In a large city there is a large synagogue and there are members who attend services daily but for various reasons there are very few members, and there is no more strength to maintain the premises. That is why the members decided to find means to strengthen the community chest and after lengthy discussions they concluded that they need to fix the situation as follows: They have to destroy the old synagogue and to build it anew in such a way that the lower floor is ready as a storefront and an apartment, and the upper floor will be used for services. The rent of the store would be source of revenue to the congregation. And now comes the question in front of the rabbi, if it is permissible to rebuild the synagogue in this manner and if it is necessary to make a condition not to build on Sabbath and the holidays or not. It is also asked what to do to allocate space among officials along the eastern wall, for if the building is rebuilt anew the eastern wall will be narrower and there will not be as much room for the officials as there are now.