Congregation B'nai Israel (Millburn, New Jersey)
| Congregation B'nai Israel | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Conservative Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership |
|
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Millburn, Essex County, New Jersey |
| Country | United States |
  Location in Essex County, New Jersey | |
| Geographic coordinates | 40°43′17″N 74°17′33″W / 40.7215°N 74.2926°W |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Percival Goodman |
| Type | Synagogue |
| Style | Modernist |
| Date established | 1924 (as a congregation) |
| Completed | 1951 |
| Website | |
| cbi-nj | |
B'nai Israel is an architecturally notable Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue in Millburn, Essex County, New Jersey, in the United States.
History
[edit]Founded in 1924, the congregation hired Max Gruenewald as rabbi in 1946. He had been the rabbi of the Haupt Synagogue in Mannheim, Germany when it was destroyed during the Kristallnacht pogrom of 1938. In 1950, two stones from the Haupt Synagogue were retrieved and placed in the walls of the sanctuary.[1] Rabbi Gruenewald served the congregation until his 1970 retirement, and also ran the Leo Baeck Institutes in New York, London, and Jerusalem.[2]
As of August 2020[update], the rabbi is Ari Isenberg and the cantor is Lorna Wallach.[3] Steven Bayar is Rabbi Emeritus.
Synagogue building
[edit]Percival Goodman's design for B'nai Israel, constructed in 1951, has been called "the first truly modern synagogue",[4][5] and "a revolutionary moment in American synagogue design."[6][7] Goodman became known for his integration of modern sculpture and art into modernist buildings.[8]
Adolph Gottlieb designed the curtain for the Torah Ark, Robert Motherwell designed a mural, and Herbert Ferber created an exterior sculpture for the new building.[9][10] Goodman's use of cutting-edge artists caused a sensation in the American Jewish community, causing other congregations to rush to commission modernist buildings with works of art by contemporary artists.[9] Motherwell's preparatory study for his mural is in the collection of The Jewish Museum in New York.[11] The Gottlieb-designed curtain for the Torah Ark was stitched by the women of the congregation.[12] Gottlieb's wife supervised the sewing of the curtain, which was made of velvet in two-tiers, with appliqués and metallic thread embroidery. By 1987, the curtain required extensive (and expensive) restoration, and the congregation decided to donate it to the Jewish Museum, which carried out the restoration and displays the curtain in special exhibitions.[13][14]
In 2009, historic preservationists objected to renovation plans thought likely to negatively impact the building's architectural integrity.[1][15] The Motherwell and Ferber artworks were taken down for the renovation, and loaned to The Jewish Museum in New York for an exhibition reuniting them with the original Gottlieb curtain.[6][7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Rispoli, Mike (March 24, 2009). "Renovations to Percival Goodman-designed synagogue raises ire". The Star-Ledger.
- ^ "Obituary: Max Gruenewald, 93, A Rabbinical Scholar". The New York Times. December 29, 1992.
- ^ "Clergy". Congregation B'nai Israel. Retrieved November 21, 2010.[self-published source?]
- ^ James, George (March 28, 1999). "Places of the Heart; Historic Houses of Worship, From Soaring Spires to Simple Quaker Meeting Houses". The New York Times.
- ^ Baigell, Matthew (2006). Jewish Art in America: An Introduction. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 108.
- ^ a b "New Exhibition at the Jewish Museum Focuses on Abstract Art and Modern Synagogue Architecture". The Jewish Museum. March 1, 2010. Archived from the original on August 31, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
- ^ a b Zeaman, John (March 18, 2010). "Jewish Museum exhibits modern art commissioned by Millburn congregation nearly 60 years ago". The Star-Ledger.
- ^ Wise, Michael Z. (March 9, 2001). "America's Most Prolific Synagogue Architect". The Forward. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011.
- ^ a b Baigell Matthew (2006). Jewish art in America: an introduction. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 108.
- ^ Wong, Janay Jadine (Winter 1994). "Synagogue art of the 1950s: a new context for abstraction". Art Journal. doi:10.1080/00043249.1994.10791658.
- ^ "Tablets of Moses, Jacob's Ladder and Burning Bush". New York: The Jewish Museum. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
- ^ Cobb, Caroline T. "William Halsey: Abstract Expressionist in the South". Carolina Arts. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
- ^ Falkenstein, Michelle (July 18, 2004). "Jersey Footlights". The New York Times.
- ^ "Torah Ark Curtain". New York: The Jewish Museum. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
- ^ "Percival Goodman-designed synagogue in Millburn faces questionable renovation". Preservation New Jersey. April 3, 2009.
External links
[edit]
- 1951 establishments in New Jersey
- 20th-century synagogues in the United States
- Ashkenazi Jewish culture in New Jersey
- Conservative synagogues in New Jersey
- German-Jewish culture in the United States
- Millburn, New Jersey
- Modernist architecture in New Jersey
- Modernist synagogues
- Percival Goodman synagogues
- Religious buildings and structures in Essex County, New Jersey
- Synagogues completed in 1951