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 ...
I live close to Lakewood NJ. I see what goes on. It’s an illegal setting. It’s wrong. And the city is correct to stop it.
I remember that part of the Bill of Rights. 1st Amendment says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances except for Jews in democrat cities. Muslims are okay though."
Can you not just say you are inviting friends over? How do they know what you are doing?
If I was a neighbor and they were quiet and didn’t block the street with parked cars, I wouldn’t care. However, if you look at 2343 Miramar Blvd in University Heights, OH, his “house” is nothing like the others. It’s obviously been modified to act as a place where many people can regularly gather. I can see the neighbors’ and city’s point here.
Why is it an illegal setting?
If I host a Bible study in my home, that does not make my home a house of worship. If I host a party at my home, it doesn’t make the home an event space.
If he hosts fellow Jews for prayer, that does not make his home a synagogue.
If he hosts fellow Jews for prayer, that does not make his home a synagogue.
If the government gets to “permit” you to worship, isn’t that defying the first amendment?
Look at his house and the rest of the neighborhood and tell me there isn’t a zoning violation there. What he has done is nothing like the occasional party, bible study or poker night. As I’ve said, I wouldn’t care if they were quiet and didn’t block the street, but the city is obligated to enforce its zoning laws.
He probably has a large family. Orthodox Jews often have a lot of kids so that may be to house a large family.
We would always have our prayer groups at a church. We could invite more people without the parking hassles. YMMV
A public elementary school and the Church in the Gardens are in Forest Hills Gardens:
There was a 1961 case in Coral Gables wherein the Supreme Court said an animal sacrifice could take place even the city had a law prohibiting farm animals within the city limits.
Most poker nights are once a month with a few cars. Having ten or more cars out in front three times a day every workday and several weekend days during the year is not comparable to a poker night. That is imposing on your neighbors.
The article stated that all lived nearby and would walk over.
I get that and took it into account. Look at the "house" from above, that's more than just living space on either side. Looks like meeting or conference rooms have been added on. Chances are that the building permits that he got to do that probably stretched the truth a bit. Doesn't sound as if the city has handled it well but they are most likely in the right on the building and the "driveway" (looks like a small parking lot). This is going on 3 times a day and 4 times on the Sabbath. It's basically a place of worship that he and his family are living in. It's before SCOTUS now, we'll see what they say about it.
https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/grand-v-city-of-university-heights/
Other dates, such as October 2018, are available.
The key part of the article was this:
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.
bold part is mine.
“He reached out to about a dozen friends near his neighborhood, inviting them to walk to his house the following Sabbath and pray together as a minyan.”
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