Monday, April 5, 2010
Rabbi Upsets Town with Synagogue Plans
In Milburn New Jersey, Rabbi Mendel Bogomilsky in the process of applying for building permits in order to build a 16.000-square-foot, 144-seat Dutch colonial style synagogue and social center with a parking site for 50 cars. As one of the 4,000 emissaries of the Brooklyn-based Lubavitch Hasidic group, Rabbi Bogomilsky has been conducting his religious services out of the two homes he personally owns because the township of Milburn does not have an Orthodox house of worship. He has been able to draw in 30-40 worshipers on the Sabbath and 150 on the High Holy Days. The neighborhood began complaining about the overwhelming number of vehicles flooding the streets and other disturbances to the neighborhood’s tranquility and sued in order to stop the services. The state judge urged the parties to settle the matter themselves. As a result, the town did not make Rabbi Bogomilsky pay the potential $500,000 in fines and in return Rabbi Bogomilsky agreed to seek an actual synagogue elsewhere. However, little did the town realize that this would lead to his development plans of tearing down his houses and creating his own synagogue in the middle of the neighborhood. 
Neighbors are banding together and calling themselves “Concerned Neighborhood Association of Millburn Township” in order to protest the development plans. Despite the fact that approximately 1/3 of the town is of the Jewish faith, many residents who are Jewish are joining in the movement against Rabbi Bogomilsky. They argue that the building of this synagogue will not only disrupt the peace by being located in the middle of the neighborhood but they also fear that it will not just be a place of worship. They believe the central issue is that a synagogue on a small plot within the neighborhood could allow for other business, such as day care centers or shelters, to do the same.
This is a classic example of someone pushing a law to the extreme. I do not believe it was the original intent of the law to have an entire congregation held within a personal home. If this case is advanced through the court system, I believe the court would rule in favor of the community because of the precedent set forth in Braunfield v. Brown, in which the Supreme Court upheld the Pennsylvania Sunday closing laws because it was seen as the state’s best interest to promote a peaceful day of relaxation.
Legally, Rabbi Bogomilsky has the right to host prayer services in his home because of a recent New Jersey case law that upheld this right. However, when Rabbi Bogomilsky starts applying for the zoning permits to begin construction, he is now involving the state is his plan. If the state approves the zoning permits, it could be argued by those who are against the building plans that it would further allow for the establishment of a town religion by other businesses following the same footsteps of the synagogue. On the flip side it also could be argued by those who are in favor of the building permits that by not approving the building permits it would be directly hindering the religion because there is not an Orthodox house of worship within the town. However, the people of Millburn are not protesting the idea of building a synagogue but rather the location of it. By ruling against Rabbi Bogomilsky’s building plans, it would not be a case of discrimination because the issue is not that a place of worship is being built but rather that a place of worship is being built in middle of where people live and raise their families. The community would probably protest the same if a Wal-Mart was being built in the exact location.
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