CCAR RESPONSA
Contemporary American Reform Responsa
148. Ark and Torah Permanently in a Christian
Church
QUESTION: An informal congregation of senior citizens in a
Florida retirement community has been meeting regularly for Sabbath and holiday worship services in the meditation chapel of a large Protestant church (United Church of Christ). The church is delighted to have the congregation meet there and has encouraged the group to install an aron qodesh, complete with several Torah scrolls, as a permanent fixture in the meditation chapel. The chapel, in addition to being part of the church complex, contains stained glass windows with modest cross designs inlaid therein. The size of the windows make it feasible for them to be covered during Jewish worship services. Under these circumstances, is it proper for the congregation to construct a permanent Ark for the Torah in this meditation chapel? (Rabbi R. Agler, Vero Beach, FL)
ANSWER: A number of ancillary issues must be
discussed in order to put this question into the proper perspective. We must ask what is the relationship of Jews and Judaism to modern Christianity. Second, we should ask whether it is permissible for Jews to worship in a house of worship of another religion. Let us, therefore, turn to these two questions before we discuss the matter of the Torah and the Ark placed permanently in a church.
It is clear that non-Jews who are Christians or followers of
Islam are not considered idolaters (Issac bar Sheshet Responsa #119, Yad Hil. Issurei Biah 14.7; Isserles to Shulhan Arukh Yoreh Deah 146.5), although Maimonides also expressed some hesitation on this matter (Yad Hil. Aqum 10.2, etc.; see also “Jewish Bridesmaid at a Christian Wedding”). All of this is based on the Talmudic statement which declared that those who had renounced idolatry and accepted the Noahide laws were to be considered gerei toshav and no longer as pagans (A. Z. 64b). The Christian Trinity is considered shituf; although it may impinge upon monotheism, Christians have, nevertheless, been considered monotheists (R. Tam, Tosfot to San. 63b).
Now
let us turn to the question of using a church as a synagogue. This question has arisen a number of times in recent centuries and usually when it was necessary to use such a building temporarily for synagogue purposes. For example, the Russian government gave a mosque to Jewish soldiers when the Russians were fighting the Turks in the last century, and Isaac Elhanan Spector permitted such usage (Ein Yitzhoq, Orah Hayim #11). It had already been permitted earlier by Abraham Gumbiner (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 154.11, note 17). These represented special emergency situations. Such services were, of course, permitted under emergency conditions (David Hoffman, Melamed L’hoil, Yoreh Deah #54). The question also has arisen when a church was to be permanently transformed into a synagogue; David Hoffman considered this acceptable (Melamed L’hoil, Orah Hayim #20), as did Joseph Saul Nathenson (Shoel Umeshiv I, part 3, #72.3,4) despite earlier hesitation (Tur Yoreh Deah 142). Some other authorities have provided similar answers (S. B. Freehof, Contemporary Reform Responsa,pp. 18 ff).
There is a very old discussion
which goes considerably further. An ancient synagogue in Babylonia contained statues of the emperor, yet this synagogue was considered sacred and appropriate for Jewish services (A. Z. 43b). This, of course, was a synagogue and not a place of pagan worship.
Now let us
turn to the specific question. We have seen that Christians are considered as monotheists by our tradition and that the temporary use of a church would be permissible. The modern close relations between Christians and Jews have led several Jewish and Christian congregations to use common facilities, as at the Greenwich Village Synagogue in New York, the Heinz Chapel of the University of Pittsburgh and most military chapels in the United States. This has continued for more than a generation in war and peace. We would permit such use especially when all Christian symbols are removable. In our instance, the permanent Christian and Jewish symbols would be covered, and that is acceptable.
Now let us turn to the Torah itself.
The Torah has always been considered the most sacred object of Jewish worship, and every other item is considered auxiliary (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 154). The Ark is sacred because of the Torah scrolls which it contains (154.1). As long as the Torah is treated with respect and proper demeanor, it may be kept in a synagogue or in a private home (Ber. 25b; Shulhan Arukh Yoreh Deah 282.8). Non-Jews also have a great respect for the Bible and for the Torah. The Talmud was aware of this feeling (Hul. 92b), which existed among all gerei toshav. Christians may handle a Torah (Yad Hil. Sefer Torah 9.8) and view it (Joseph Mesas, Mayim Hayim, Orah Hayim #13; Obadiah Joseph, Yabiah Omer, Vol.3, Yoreh Deah #15).
There would be no objection to installing an Ark in a church on a temporary basis in
such a way that they may be removed when the Jewish services are over. We would in the late twentieth century, however, raise a serious objection to permanent placement there, not out of animosity towards Christianity, but because of the religious confusion of our age caused by various Christians conversionist groups like Jews for Jesus who have constantly utilized Jewish symbols and Jewish objects in order to entice Jews, both young and old, into Christian congregations. For these reasons, it would be wrong to place an Ark permanently in a church. Furthermore, we would encourage the congregation to establish its own house of worship as soon as possible no matter how humble that might be.
November 1982
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