, image = Congregation Knesseth Israel.JPG , image_upright = 1.4 , caption = The relocated synagogue building , map_type = Connecticut , map_size = 250 , map_relief = 1 , map_caption = Location in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, location = 236 Pinney Street, Ellington,

, country = United States , coordinates = , religious_affiliation = Modern Orthodox Judaism , rite = Ashkenazi , consecration_year = 1906 , status =

Synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

, functional_status = Active , heritage_designation = , leadership = , website = , architecture = yes , architect = Leon Dobkin , architecture_type = Synagogue , architecture_style =

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

, facade_direction = East , established = 1906 , groundbreaking = , year_completed = 1913 , construction_cost = $1,500 , specifications = yes , capacity = , length = , width = , width_nave = , height_max = , dome_quantity = , dome_height_outer = , dome_height_inner = , dome_dia_outer = , dome_dia_inner = , minaret_quantity = , minaret_height = , spire_quantity = , spire_height = , materials =

Wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

, module = Congregation Knesseth Israel, also known as the Ellington Shul, is a

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

located at 236 Pinney Street in Ellington,

, in the United States. The congregation was founded in 1906 by a group of Yiddish-speaking Jewish farmers from Russia and Eastern Europe. Its building, dating to 1913, is a rare example of an early 20th-century rural synagogue in the state, and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1995.

Architecture and history

Knesseth Israel is located in what is now a rural-residential setting south of Ellington center, on the west side of Pinney Road ( Connecticut Route 286) a short way north of its junction with Middle Road. It is a modest single-story wood-frame structure, with a hip roof and clapboarded exterior. Its main facade is three bays wide, with a center entrance sheltered by a gabled portico. The portico is supported by square posts, and has a

Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

in the gable. The flanking windows consist of a lower pair of sashes, and an upper transom with paired round arches applied. The interior of the building consists of one large chamber, with a bema that appears slightly oversized due to the building's small size. Because it is a single-story building, the segregated worship area for women (normally located in a second-floor gallery) is on the south side of the main space, separated by a low divider. The synagogue was built in 1913, and was originally located at the corner of Middle Rd. and Abbott Rd. in Ellington. It was built in the

Colonial Revival Style The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

partly with funds from the philanthropist Baron Maurice de Hirsch's

Jewish Colonization Association The Jewish Colonisation Association (JCA or ICA, Yiddish ייִק"אַ), in America spelled Jewish Colonization Association, is an organisation created on September 11, 1891, by Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigratio ...

. In the 1954 the building was moved to its present location at 236 Pinney St. The building was designed by Leon Dobkin. and In addition to the synagogue, the congregation maintains an Orthodox Jewish

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

within the larger Ellington Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knesseth Israel Ashkenazi Jewish culture in the United States Ashkenazi synagogues Jewish organizations established in 1906 Synagogues completed in 1913 Cemeteries in Tolland County, Connecticut Ellington, Connecticut Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Synagogues in Connecticut Orthodox synagogues in Connecticut Colonial Revival architecture in Connecticut Buildings and structures in Tolland County, Connecticut Colonial Revival synagogues Jewish cemeteries in Connecticut Modern Orthodox synagogues in the United States 1906 establishments in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Tolland County, Connecticut Russian-Jewish culture in the United States Yiddish culture in the United States 20th-century synagogues in the United States

Architecture and history

See also

References

External links