Superior Court Judge Frank A. Buczynski Jr. ordered the Orthodox Jewish prayer gatherings to halt at the one-story home in A Country Place until an independent engineer determines the dwelling, which has undergone major renovations, is safe. Of particular concern, Buczynski noted, was whether a wall that had been removed was one that supported other parts of the house. The postponement will likely last into July.

"If a bearing wall were removed, I can assure you there'd be a restraint in 30 seconds," the judge said.

A Country Place filed a lawsuit in February against the condo owner, Anna Kahan, saying she violated the private community's bylaws by renovating without permission and using the unit for reasons other than residential.

Kahan's attorney, Gary Theodore, described the residence on Azalea Court as not an official synagogue but a private "prayer group" for mainly elderly handicapped residents who can't walk to another temple.

He has accused the condominium association of selective enforcement and mixed messages. A former association president said at a past meeting not to bother seeking board permission for interior renovations, according to Theodore.

"The way they interpret (the bylaws) is ridiculous," he said. The attorney for A Country Place, Martin Crevina, could not be reached for comment following the hearing.

Each side has charged the other with disruption, ranging from trespassing on lawns to dog attacks. Some people say the makeshift synagogue has decreased property values. Theodore said he will have a real estate agent testify at the next court hearing that the values have either stayed the same or improved.

About 50 to 85 of the community's 376 units are owned by Orthodox residents, with the number increasing recently with several purchases, according to Theodore. The attorney pointed to this population rise as an underlying reason for some of the concern about the ad hoc synagogue.

"Lakewood is showing a change in demographics and composition of owners and developers with the introduction of the yeshiva," Theodore said after Friday's hearing, referring to the Beth Medrash Gevoha, one of the country's largest yeshiva universities. "A lot of people fear change."

But the people objecting to the converted condo say their motives mostly lie in protecting quality of life. Crevina told the judge that the gathering "violates the character" of the neighborhood.

At least one Orthodox resident disagrees with the condo operators' tactics. Rabbi Martin Boas said he was pressured by what he called a "manipulated" Beth Medrash Gevoha dean to refrain from submitting a critical letter to the association's board. In a subsequent letter addressed to the board, however, he wrote: "It is not the existence of a synagogue per se that rankles me. It is the underhanded fashion by which it was done."

Kahan lives in Brooklyn and only occasionally visits the Lakewood condo, people from both sides of the case said. Theodore said the 91-year-old does sometimes stay there — a cot remains in a front room — and pointed out many residents use their condos as summer or weekend homes.

While not ruling on the issue, Buczynski did offer some comments. He called the situation of living in an open room with a Torah ark "highly unusual," but added that "if someone wanted to invite and gather people to a home to pray, certainly there's no prohibition in that, correct?"

Theodore said after the hearing that an alternative approach would be to call a special meeting with the association and vote on changing the bylaws. The bylaws state that signatures from a third of the residents are needed to call such a meeting.(ap)

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