Congregation B'nai Israel () is a

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

located at 2710 Park Avenue, in

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, in the United States. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Bridgeport and the third oldest in Connecticut.

History

B'nai Israel was established by a group of

German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

immigrants as an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

synagogue in 1859. The congregation's first

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

was A. Jacobs. B'nai Israel established a

Hebrew school Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning one's Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Heb ...

in 1863. For its first fifty years, B'nai Israel did not have a permanent home. Its members met and prayed in one another's homes and in storefronts and lofts. In 1885, plans were made to erect a building for B'nai Israel. The building, designed by

Leonard Asheim Leonard Asheim (1877–1961) was a Germany, German-United States, American Jewish architect from Connecticut. He was especially noted as an architect of schools. Born in Germany, Asheim later came to the United States, locating in Waterbury, Con ...

with a

Craftsman Craftsman may refer to: A profession *Artisan, a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative *Master craftsman, an artisan who has achieved such a standard that he may establish his own workshop and take o ...

–style interior, was completed in 1911, located at 1100 Park Avenue and known as the Park Avenue Temple. By 1911, when the Park Avenue Temple was completed, B'nai Israel had moved from Orthodox to Reform Judaism. Members who were unhappy with the changes left B'nai Israel and founded two of Bridgeport's other synagogues: Adath Israel (Orthodox) and Rodeph Sholom (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

). After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, B'nai Israel outgrew its building and a second structure, called the Second Park Avenue Temple, was erected, designed by the prolific synagogue architect

Percival Goodman Percival Goodman (January 13, 1904 – October 11, 1989) was an American urban theorist and architect who designed more than 50 synagogues between 1948 and 1983. He has been called the "leading theorist" of modern synagogue design,Philip N ...

, located at 2710 Park Avenue. Goodman commissioned artist

Larry Rivers Larry Rivers (born Yitzroch Loiza Grossberg; August 17, 1923 – August 14, 2002) was an American painter, musician, filmmaker, and occasional actor. Considered by many scholars to be the "Godfather" and "Grandfather" of Pop art, he was on ...

to create a

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''hekhal'', , or ''aron qodesh'', ) is an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark is also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' () or ''aron ha-Kod ...

cloth for the new building, but Rivers' design was ultimately rejected and his work ended up in the collection of the

Jewish Museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. Notable Jewish museums include: Albania * Solomon Museum, Berat Australia * Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourn ...

in New York City. The former synagogue building at 1100 Park Avenue has been repurposed as a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, called the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. This 1100 Park Avenue building was one of fifteen Connecticut synagogues added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1995 and 1996 in response to an unprecedented multiple submission, nominating nineteen synagogues.

Recent history

In 2002, the temple drew attention (including an article in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'') after its large junior choir, directed by Cantor Sheri Blum, recorded a CD with Cantor Bruce Benson entitled ''The Rock Service, Featuring Cantor Bruce Benson and the Jazz Service''. This album was described as combining "original rock music with liturgically accurate chants," and was reportedly in contention for a Grammy nomination. In 2009 the temple, having recently renovated and expanded its building, celebrated its 150th anniversary. As of 2009, 700 families belonged to Congregation B'nai Israel and approximately 400 students were enrolled in its religious school.

Notable members

Craig Breslow Craig Andrew Breslow (; born August 8, 1980) is an American baseball executive and former professional baseball pitcher. He is currently the President of baseball operations, Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox. Breslow pitched for 12 ...

, a major league baseball player and executive, and his family

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:B'nai Israel (Bridgeport, Connecticut) 1859 establishments in Connecticut 20th-century synagogues in the United States American Craftsman architecture in Connecticut Buildings and structures in Bridgeport, Connecticut Culture of Bridgeport, Connecticut German-American culture in Connecticut German-Jewish culture in the United States Jewish organizations established in 1859 Percival Goodman synagogues Reform synagogues in Connecticut Synagogues completed in 1911 Synagogues completed in 1958