שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן קנ:ג
מי שהגביה ביתו יותר מבהכ"נ, י"א שכופין אותו להשפילו.
If a person has made his or her house higher than the synagogue, there are those who say he or she may be forced to lower it.
This text was compiled by Rabbis J. Rolando Matalon, Marcelo Bronstein and Felicia Sol of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York, NY, for Rabbi Matalon’s teaching on the American Jewish World Service Rabbinical Student Delegation. Their work was based on and inspired by The Dignity of Difference by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Edited for gender neutrality.
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. What does it represent for a person to build a house that is higher than a synagogue?
2. Why would some force that person to lower it while others wouldn't?
3. When is a time that we raise ourselves up inappropriately?
Time Period: Medieval (Geonim through the 16th Century)