Century Village, FL – Jewish civil war brewing in Century Village took a road trip Wednesday afternoon to a Palm Beach County code enforcement hearing room, turning what is normally a sleepy venue of mostly empty seats into a mob scene of agitated retirees who tested both the limits of the building’s fire code and each other’s patience.
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For weeks, residents of the condominium complex near West Palm Beach had been spreading the word to show up for the hearing on whether resident Issac Feder was improperly using one of the two condos he owns at Century Village.
Feder, 64, part of a small but growing sect of Orthodox Jews in Century Village, is a snowbird from Monroe, N.Y., who lives part of the year in a unit in the Kinswood building. But he owns another unit in the adjacent Golf’s Edge building, which he and the other members of his religious sect have turned into a makeshift synagogue for the past two seasons.
Men dressed in traditional black garb and formal hats walk from other buildings in Century Village to conduct twice-daily prayer services in Feder’s spare condo.
This has infuriated other condo residents, who are mostly Jewish but not Orthodox and don’t want their building turned into an ultra-religious house of worship. And they’ve complained to the county, which initiated a code enforcement action against Feder.
“It’s really not about zoning,” said Sam Koenig, 64, an Orthodox Jew who lives in a different Century Village building and is sympathetic with Feder. “This crowd doesn’t want this because it reminds them of an Eastern European shtetl, and makes them feel as if they’re going back in time.”
It wasn’t hard to find confirmation of that opinion.
“I see their women davening and dressing like they’re in Alaska,” said Frances Merel, a Jewish resident in a nearby building. “I don’t want to see it. They feel like the rules aren’t for them. They’re arrogant.”
Her husband, Maynard, chimed in: “If they win, I’m going to turn my apartment into a mosque.”
Aron Sandel, one of the seasonal Orthodox Jews who lives in Century Village, says most of his critical Jewish neighbors are overreacting to people who are simply practicing their religion.
“We don’t have weapons. No guns. Everything is quiet,” Sandel said. “In order to pray, we need a minyan, and that’s 10 men. Sometimes we have a hard time making the minyan.”
The group has shunned the Orthodox synagogue outside the gates of Century Village. Last year, when the dispute began, Feder said he was too frail to walk outside Century Village to pray, so he used his spare condo as a gathering spot.
As usual, there is a small cadre of frumies acting outside of the rules. Virtually all of these Florida condos prohibit any use of their facilities for any non-residential use. This arrogance and insensitivity to the rules “l’shem mitzvah” is a busha. It should be stopped before C’V the same behavior spreads to other South Florida condos.
if they are simply davening there and not holding any Purim festivals or simchas, whats the problem? I f I own a condo and I decide to eat lunch every day with my friends why should anybody care?? Its pure antisemitism and old bored scared yidden that simply do not want to be reminded about their Jewishness!
I few minutes of internet searching led to the discovery that there does indeed appear to be a perfectly reasonable Orthodox synagogue directly across the street from the entrance to Century Village. Why is there need for another?
Maybe if I were retired and lived there my opinion of what is going on could be different. From what I am reading here we have secular Jews who are ashamed of their more observant brethren and don’t want them to practice their common religion at a higher level. I for one coming from a secular background can’t find it in my heart to react this way to the more observant and hope that the community finds it in their hearts to do the the same thing. We are our own worst enemies.
As usual the secular crowd cannot tolerate the orthodox Jew.
contd. Miserable old bags, with no reason to live! just to cause strife and division in the community. They should be happy, that there are other jews,out there who are happy with their judaism,and not afraid to show it.
Some of these secular jews are worse than goyim. The goy respects his religion,and is not afraid to show it. The secular jew is. fecch!
Its really sad, that guy is gonna open a mosque in his apartment but wont even be able to pray in it as he is Jewish, if he likes it or not!
This is a very common point of contention in Florida Condo developments.
I am sure that if a condo owner decided to invite 9 friends to a weekly party or even a series of daily card games there would be no issue. the issue here seems to have been verbalized very clearly; it is based of their mode of dressing. That is definitely bias. Even if some of us are fortunate never to have needed it, have you never seen a minyan formed in the house of a choleh that was too weak to walk to shul?
Remember, this is a hot climate and it is hard to walk 100 yards, much more so to walk to the shul that is quite a walk even if it is right outside the gates. This development is a multi building widespread development.
Check out the ones who are bring the complaint and see how many of there children are intermarried, living together and other things. The want to daven together and this is a crime to them. They should also be davening and that is really what bothers them. The pintele Yid is what causes them to be upset.
It sounds like the people who are opposed to the shul don’t like the way their neighbors dress and talk. If their neighbors dressed in droopy pants and spoke Spanish, that would be RACISM. Why is it different because they dress in black and speak Yiddish?
Corrrection: What I said was “that in Miami” all buildings went thru this process and prevailed. I was not there in support of Mr. Feder but something else. The issue of the shul is a zoning legal question. There is a question of Loy samod aal dam Reecha.. Over 600 people full of Hatred s a has showed up with anti-semitic prejudice against a handful of people. Comments such as “we don’t mind ILLAGE Black people, but not these blacks!” After the meeting, In front of board members of this section in dispute who claimed like the President of the village “they are only here regarding the shul” FI you VE RANDOMLY selected women and asked them ” why are you here today?” and all answered “because we don’t want the Chassidim here.”
7,800 units with 15,000 residents of all ethnic backgrounds AND RACES BUT 30 CHASSIDIC FAMILIES BRING OUT 600-700 STROKE VICTIMS..NOT AGAINST THE SHUL BUT THE VENOMOUS ANTI Semitic comments by the majority people there. That is why I came Lo saamod aal Dam Reeacha. Orthodox people in other parts of Century VILLAGE WERE harassed even
before the shul. Less than a minyan came from the Orthodox shul with hundreds
0f members.
why is it we cant do anything correctly there are strict rules and regulations as well as zoning rules but as usual we feel they are for everyone else there are shuls in this community seems this group monreo feel they can do anything and will yell anti semitism and as to sam koneig soory bro you are in an area that has been there longer then your arrival try living there in peace and use the existing shuls maybe there will be harmony among jews
let them spend 5 minutes before or after davening doing some yoga and they can say it is a yoga group meeting twice a day.
Boy,are the Chassidim waiving the flaf of patriotism and freedoms! Remember when they fought not to let the yuppies live (yup, just live) in Williamsburgh? I guess we may discriminate against them, but inviting outside traffic for a rogue minyan (berov am hadras Melech?) is our constitutional right!
Folks, you gotta read the Palm Beach Post article, AND the comments. This is too funny for words. Click on the link. Perfect for Adar. I’ve been having some of the best laughs of my life.
for all the arrogant people who say they (the non frum residents)do not to be reminded of their Jewishness because of the chassidiam. You got to be kidding, they are not at awe at you at all, they don’t consider you the apex of Judaism, they might even think you are a cult based of Judaism but really are not Jewish at all.
The only one who thinks that chassisium or people who wear winter clothing in fl are is the apex of Jewishness are you, no one else.
sorry to burst your bubble.
Now that we have cleared that little fact one can have a discussion about the shul in a rational manner.
And for those who always we have a right to do what we want the music was different when it came to the bike lanes it seems your logic changes to met your needs.
we have been living in peace with all our neighbors for sol long. People from the north east are a little more pushy and less tolerant than our southern and local neighbors. one group will have to adapt.
If this is the line in the sand they may not get the separate swimming pool hours, they are working on. they have to pick their battles.
charlie- n o where did I say the shul was not right -but many shuls across the country accommodate fellow Jews with Sefardic, Sfard, and nusac Ari Minyanim.
Condominium laws do not permit persecution of others as they have done here absent the shul issue. This meeting was a bunch of Chassidic Haters as I was there and not the zoning issue. Hundreds showed up due to their prejudice not the legal issue. None of u were there! I was!
Is Jerry Seinfeld’s father the president of the condo board?
I think this is the one in WPB which has an Orthodox shul outside the gates and Reform/Conservative on e inside the gates. There is no Chabad there. Its anywhere from .5-1.0 mile to walk outside from Kingswood and you have to cross a busy avenue to get to it. The shul website is aitzchaimwestpalm.com, they daven ashkenaz and maybe he wants to daven sfard. Bottom line, he bought another condo, pays the maintenance on it and doesnt bring outsiders (they have a gate at the entrance to the condo complex), cars, traffic or noise so whats the big deal?? If he did this in the privacy of his own condo, would it be a problem? If he played cards twice a day with his buddies would it be a problem? SO why is this a problem? BTW- this is the same Century Village that had a problem with ORthodox women wearing swim clothes to the pools that have no Mechitza and are mixed. In the end they let the women wear their spandex swim clothes when they were shown thats its not ordinary street clothes.
Read the VIN posting. Did you get the sense that these people are making a veiled threat to become violent? Why do they malke a point of saying “we have weapons/guns”?
I dont understand the need of a Minyen in a private apartment when there is one across the street…I understand the people who live in the Wmsbg. projects on the higher floors and they need a minyen Friday night or at shalesh sides and also in KJ when the weather is harsh there are many houses who make a minyen. But in Florida with such georgeous weather i believe Mr. Feder and Mr. Sandel can walk across the street and there is NO need for this Machloykes…
We do not know the explicit contracts that were signed when moving into these condos, they each have their own mishagas, but I know I would not want a “prayer” meeting of the KKK there or the New Black Panthers church, the Baptist church group who show up at soldiers burials to denegrate them, anti-Israel Muslime Mosque prayers 10 times a day, but that’s just my opinion!
There is a federal statute which protects the right of people to gather in their homes and have religious meetings – daven. It is “Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.” There are many court cases with this and zoning rules. A good lawyer can help.
Building presidents are volunteers, they give of their time and experience to maintain the value and integrity of our investment.
I enjoy my residence throughout the year, we come down summer and winter for weekends
Herring bones and Kichel crumbs left over in a uninhabited unit even for a few hours is asking for trouble. especially in Florida. The bugs migrate to other units
Poeple milling about outside the unit during Minyan or Laining are bothersome to the neighbors who want privacy to enjoy their weekend down south. Let us have respect for their wishes.
The Palm Beach Post reports these guys were using the swimming pool as a mikvah…. yep. In public.
in response to Schwartzy: I so agree with you. Jews never stick together and they never learn from the past. I am not an orthodox jew but I would be so happy if my fellow Jews were worshiping in a location near myself and my family. Maybe they should just go out and try to do some good in this world like volunteering in a hospital or something that would benefit another human being, instead of rioting against fellow lancemen whose only sin is praying. Shame on you menshen.
I have had relatives living at this CV for 30+ years and have visited almost every year. Yes, there is an Orthodox shul, Aitz Chaim, across the street and a Conservative one built on private land accessible to the village. The longest walk to the shul is less than 2 miles, though there are so many available condos that there is no reason to buy that far away. CV’s Jewish,population has drastically declined over the past several years and might now be a minority. The frum group in question has been asking for things which are not permitted by the condo association rules, such as single sex hours for swimming pools. They also have been going into pools fully clothed (street clothes, not tsnius-compliant bathing suits). I have seen this. I heard about naked men using the swimming pools for a mikvah- haven’t heard from an eye witness, though. They do use the lake, however, to tovel dishes. Part of the objection is that this group essentially shuns the other residents – I was told yesterday that a frum couple fled from the Yiddish Club meeting when they saw that the members were mostly secular. Perhaps some friendly communication would help.
This “using the pool for a mikveh” is a bunch of baloney. Mikvaos have to be build according to very specific criteria. You can’t just use a random swimming pool or a bathtub or a fountain. This is just hysteria that some bigot made up in order to fan the flames.
I really dont understand why are those people in Florida to begin with..?
I thought the Satmere rebbe zt”l signed the Kol Kora that NO person(except eldery and sick) should NOT be in Florida…Mr. Sandel looks b”h very healthy and so look the others…Pack your bags and come back home to NY and let those neighbors live in peace….
I have owned a condo in Century Village for the past 5 years and am familiar with the situation. Up to very recently, Litvaks, yeshivish types, chasidishe types, yekkes, MO, no label frum Jews, etc., all davened in one shul. However, a few recent newcomers, (mainly from Monroe, NY) don’t want to daven with the rest of us and opened up an illegal shul in two condo apartments. This has noting to do with not being able to walk to the existing shul and has everything to do with a small group of non tolerant newcomers that want to force everyone to bend to their whims. Talk about a chilul hashem. Before they purchased their condos they knew that the Century Village Association bylaws, their condo association bylaws and the West Palm Beach laws all prohibits them from doing what they are doing but they don’t give a hoot. Their attitude is “I’ll decide which rules to keep and which to break”. Perhaps we can get some nice Moslems to open a mosque next to these low lifes so that they can can get a taste of their own medicine.
The problem with this story is that people in NY do not understand the culture here in FL. Many (and in some cities MOST) communities are divided into sub-divisions, including condo-communities. Most of these sub-divisions have a governing body which has rules and/or bylaws. When you buy there, you agree to abide by the rules. That agreement is in the deed to your home. It is a binding contract. Even if the governing body of your community (condo association, HOA, etc) makes NEW rules, you agree to abide by the decisions.
This is the real issue.
People move in, from out of state and actively look to disrupt this lifestyle which we long-time Floridians enjoy. Why is it that so many come here and refuse to respect our way of life here?
In other parts of the state there are all sorts of religious enclaves (especially in north-central and north FL). These are (I believe) all xian groups. If a particular group wants to buy the land and build a subdivision with bylaws allowing you to do whatever you want, then you are free to do so. However, you can’t come into other people’s communities, defaecate on their standards, customs & way of life and expect to be “accepted”.
Don’t force the men to use the lake as a mikveh, it has alligators especially during the rainy time of year. keep them safe and let them use the pool. please be considerate
I continued this article on the original website, and I was amazed to see that so many of the comments were pro the chassidim–simply because of freedom of speech and democracy! I copied a few of them over here:
Perfect story for the PBP. Not worthy of the news, but perfect for the racists to vent. Cerabino’s not a reporter, he’s a garbageman.
Wow, I can’t believe how intolerant these people are! The people they’re upset about aren’t harming anyone, causing any crime, property damage, etc. These curmudgeons have way too much free time on their hands – they need to get a new hobby!
get a life
11:13 PM, 3/2/2011
A ROOM FOOL…OPPS…FULL OF ATHEISTS……
“If they can get three or four people on the board, they can get control of a building,” said resident Elaine Brown. “And then they can change the rules. This is the greatest threat to the Village we’ve ever seen.”
CAN YOU SAY DEMOCRACY?
D-E-M-O-C-R-A-C-Y…..DEMOCRACY…..AGAIN….
D-E-M-O-C-R-A-C-Y…..DEMOCRACY…..THERE YOU GO !!!
FIRST AMENDMENT
People have been gathering for ages in homes to have church. If they have been gathering for two years, you think they would have said something earlier. It’s not like they haPeople have been gathering for ages in homes to have church. If they have been gathering for two years, you think they would have said something earlier. It’s not like they have to fill up a parking lot or block the road to get there. If I were them, I would set up a few tables and play a few hands of gin rummy too! and um… Pray to win 🙂 There is nothing wrong with being traditional. If anything, it’s refreshing.
Gidge
11:35 PM, 3/2/2011
REPORT ABUSE
This IS Hilarious….for such a persecuted group to NOW be PERSECUTING each other…What a Joke!! You can’t have it both ways People!!
You are just making folks even more unsympathetic to your cause…..talk about BLOWING IT!!
Haven’t you ever heard of the saying “Live and Let Live”?
This IS precisely….going to be your downfall!!
You can buy a condo near a shul in these place for less than the price of a car. You can keep it up for less than the cost of 4 restaurant meals (couple with wine) a month. It’s a no brainer, Boca has 2 shul’s ( 1 orthodox 1 conseravtive) on the premises and a new Rav coming in. for the Orthodox Shul. Deerfield and Boca are in the middle of the fastest growing Jewish community in North America. Our brethren from Monroe and Willianmsburg discovered this during the last Spring and bought in West Palm Beach. They left their shovels and boots up North and come down as Snowbirds, for weekends or longer We welcome all newcomers.
Please do not leave out Century Village of Pembroke Pines. It is the newest and we have an Orthodox Shul within the Village. It is a Young Israel. Visit our website and you will see pictures of the Shul. I see the Shul from my patio which is why I bought one two years ago. I live here all year and love it. Come on down.
Hey Pembrooke great to hear from you. I heard its nice there, Seems that each place has its own mailos and chisronos. WPB . inexpensive but a little older, Deerfield close the beach but more hurricane prone. Boca ine the heart of Jewish Community, buggier but less hurricane prone. How is the bug situation at Pembrooke, you are further inland?? are bugs a problem, what about kosher amenities