There is a joke about a Jew marooned on a desert island. He is stranded for years but is eventually rescued. Before departing the island, he shows his rescuers what he has been doing for the last several years.
He shows them an impressive collection of small buildings. One is his house. Another is a storage hut. Then there are two other buildings. He points to one of them and says, this is my synagogue.
His rescuers notice that the other building looks very similar and ask him what it is. He responds, “That’s the synagogue that I never go to!”
The moral of the story is simple. Even a castaway can find synagogue politics to be inescapable.
The following story in the Jewish Chronicle Online highlights an interest aspect of inter-synagogue politics. The Tourl synagogue is the oldest synagogue building in the United States. It has a special relationship to the oldest congregation in the United States, Congregation Shearith Israel.
Both of these communities were originally founded by Spanish and Portuguese Jews. Who owns the building and its assets is now a matter of contention.
Subsequent to this story coming out, another update is available.
Congregation Shearith Israel appeals court case over Touro Synagogue.
Posted Rabbi Juan Bejarano-Gutierrez the director of the B’nei Anusim Center for Education and author of What is Kosher?
B'nei Anusim Center for Education 