Preservation, intrigue and property

About this book

"This book tells the story of how a dying synagogue congregation on Boston's Beacon Hill (the Vilner Congregation, which built and operated the Vilner (Vilna) Shul on Phillips Street) filed what it thought would be an uncontested dissolution plan. The petition instead triggered a reaction in which Jewish communal groups, local synagogues, preservationist interests, First Amendment religious rights, the Court system and Boston political/regulatory interests intersected with a real estate recession to create a legal maelstrom lasting over fifteen years (from 1985-2000) involving control of the shul's real estate and Torahs"--Publisher's description.