Posted on 07/30/2026 10:03:16 AM PDT by MtnClimber
The biblical account of Daniel in the lions’ den is so well known that even those with differing religious beliefs or none are likely familiar with it.
[SNIP]
Daniel Grand is a devout Orthodox Jew who has lived in University Heights, Ohio, a small suburb east of Cleveland, since 2019. He bought his home to raise his family and live out his faith. For Daniel, those things are inseparable.
Orthodox Jewish practice calls for prayer in a group of at least ten men three times every weekday and four times on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays.
[SNIP]
A neighbor saw the email and informed the city’s mayor. The next day — before the prayer meeting could happen — the city sent Daniel a cease-and-desist order. It accused him of operating an illegal “place of religious assembly.” It threatened legal penalties. And it ordered him to stop, citing zoning regulations.
What happened to Daniel had nothing to do with traffic, noise, or any legitimate zoning concern. It had to do with the fact that University Heights decided to classify Daniel’s prayer group the same way it classifies actual synagogues and other houses of worship — as “places of religious assembly” requiring a special use permit.
Daniel tried to work with the city and began the process of filing for the permit.
[SNIP]
Then came the ultimate Catch-22. Daniel discovered that obtaining the permit the city had told him to apply for would have barred “sleeping or residential use” on any property governed by the permit. So the only way to legally host a prayer group in his home was to stop living there. Faced with the untenable choice between praying at home with friends or living at home, and wanting to avoid another hostile public spectacle, Daniel withdrew his permit application.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Please read the whole story. It is pretty amazing.
‘In Ohio, poker night is fine, but praying with friends is forbidden‘
What’s wrong with this picture?! Enlighten me, make it make sense!
Unless you are Baptist.
Card playing is a big no-no.
Isn’t there some praying when playing poker?
As early as the 15th century, it appears that there were Jewish people playing cards on Chanukah, as well as rabbis and leaders decrying the practice. Eventually, for reasons we shall discuss, Polish Jews invented their own card games.
Banned All Year Long
Some have suggested that both dreidel and card playing became Chanukah customs for the same reason: Because, during the era of persecution that led to the Chanukah miracles, Jewish students would pretend to play with these items to hide the fact that they were illegally studying Torah.1
However, this is not the case. In fact, it seems that card playing was associated with Chanukah mostly because rabbis wanted to limit it to a set season rather than allow people to play cards all year long.
......
Nowadays, it is relatively easy to come by alternative types of cards. As such, if one wishes to play with cards (in a permissible fashion), it is best to use Uno cards or something similar.
Better yet, if it is Chanukah time, play dreidel, the classic Chanukah game!
The man will win the lint out of your pocket.
Put up a rainbow flag (maybe sneak 7 colors into it), and say ‘everyone welcome’.
Now what will they do?
Who plays poker three times every weekday?
After Daniel withdrew his application, the city government’s harassment escalated. The mayor declared publicly that the cease-and-desist order remained in full force. The mayor turned to the community, urging Daniel’s neighbors to surveil his home and “report” any “activities consistent with those in a house of assembly.” Police patrols drove past Daniel’s house. The city prosecutor launched baseless housing code investigations against him. The city withheld Daniel’s certificate of occupancy and tax abatements, resulting in substantial additional taxes. City workers even began periodically skipping his home on trash collection days.
This was a coordinated pattern of harassment and discrimination. Forcing Daniel to continue the permit process was a punishment.
It makes sense when you factor stupidity into lawmaking and enforcement.
I like the way you think.
https://carrollnews.org/242501/community/michele-weiss-elected-mayor-of-university-heights/
Michele Weiss, the vice mayor since 2016 and frequent rival of Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan was elected to serve as University Heights’ next mayor on Nov. 4, 2025.
One would think the Constitutional prohibition against laws that interfere with the free exercise of religion might come into play here. Of course, to challenge this, he’d have to continue holding the prayer group without the permit, get cited or arrested for violation of the applicable law and then challenge the constitutionality of it in court. Sounds like he was unwilling to go to that much trouble and expense. I can’t say I blame him.
One can only imagine the uproar from the left if there were inconvenient restrictions and permitting requirements placed on women who were seeking abortions. They would certainly argue that such restrictions were infringements on their rights; I fail to see how this is NOT an infringement on the right to free exercise of religion.
Weiss ran on her experience, having served on several committees. She was chair of the committee of the whole and the finance committee as well as a member of the economic development committee. Weiss also serves as the chief financial officer at The Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, the largest Jewish day school in Ohio. Weiss is a 28-year resident of University Heights and a graduate of John Carroll University’s Boler College of Business.
Ha, my devout Baptist mother played bridge twice a week.
I wonder what will happen when the communists in this country come up against the muslims and vice versa
Bridge is acceptable, poker is not.
I always pray before a poker game.................
https://www.bridgetastic.com/blog/bridge-vs-poker
People who play one are often curious about the other. Bridge players wonder if poker would sharpen their bluffing instincts. Poker players hear that bridge is “the hardest card game” and want to know what makes it hard.
Both games involve a standard deck of cards. Both involve incomplete information and strategic thinking. Beyond that, they have less in common than you’d expect.
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