B'nai Israel is an architecturally notable

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 ...

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 ...

in Millburn, Essex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, in the United States.

History

Founded in 1924, the congregation hired Max Gruenewald as

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 ...

in 1946. He had been the rabbi of the Haupt Synagogue in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

when it was destroyed during the

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

of 1938. In 1950, two stones from the Haupt Synagogue were retrieved and placed in the walls of the sanctuary. Rabbi Gruenewald served the congregation until his 1970 retirement, and also ran the

Leo Baeck Institute The Leo Baeck Institute, established in 1955, is an international research institute with centres in New York City, London, Jerusalem and Berlin, that are devoted to the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry. The institute was ...

s in New York, London, and Jerusalem. , the

is Ari Isenberg and the

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

is Lorna Wallach. Steven Bayar is Rabbi Emeritus.

Synagogue building

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 ...

's design for B'nai Israel, constructed in 1951, has been called "the first truly modern synagogue", and "a revolutionary moment in American synagogue design." Goodman became known for his integration of modern sculpture and art into modernist buildings.

Adolph Gottlieb Adolph Gottlieb (March 14, 1903 – March 4, 1974) was an American abstract expressionist painterChilvers, Ian & Claves-Smith, John eds., ''Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. pp. 282-283 who also m ...

designed the curtain for the

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 ...

Robert Motherwell Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American Abstract Expressionism, abstract expressionist Painting, painter, printmaker, and editor of ''The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology''. He was one of the youngest of th ...

designed a mural, and

Herbert Ferber Herbert Ferber (April 30, 1906 – August 20, 1991) was an American painter and sculptor. He is an abstract expressionist and is considered a vital member of the New York School." Background Herbert Ferber Silvers was born on April 30 ...

created an exterior sculpture for the new building. 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. Motherwell's preparatory study for his mural is in the collection of The Jewish Museum in New York. The Gottlieb-designed curtain for the Torah Ark was stitched by the women of the congregation. 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. In 2009, historic preservationists objected to renovation plans thought likely to negatively impact the building's architectural integrity. 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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:B'nai Israel (Millburn, New Jersey) 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