@Rebbetzin
Thanks for your good wishes for my grandson’s recovery.
The discussion of the Chasam Sofer is interesting, but my days of arguing the theoretical really ended when I left Yeshiva for university and law school. As an attorney I deal in the concrete facts of the situation.As we say the theoretical is not ripe, it could not be brought for a prospective judgment.
Small town synagogue life is far different than big city shtieblach. Everything is more regimented and seats, tables, siddurim, chumashim, machzorim outnumber the congregants. Young people tend not to return to raise their families and we see many synagogues close and sell off or give away their belongings.
Just this year, a major MO Hungarian shul less than 20 minutes from here closed and was demoished and senior living apartments are being built on its site. Mrs. CTL grew up in that shul and when we were in high school there were 500 member families, a Rav, asst. Rabbi, educational director, Hebrew School and Day school. As of a year ago they couldn’t get a regular minyan. The suburb is still white and Jewish, just not frum. The next generations moved away to NY, Baltimore, EY, etc.