Congregation Beth Israel (

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

from the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

as "House of 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 701 Farmington Avenue in

West Hartford West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquiall ...

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. ...

. Established in 1843, Beth Israel is one of the two oldest Jewish congregations in Connecticut and one of the largest Reform congregations in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

; its membership includes about 650 families and about 2,000 individuals. The congregation's first synagogue building on Charter Oak Avenue in

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, commonly called the Charter Oak Temple, was completed in 1876. It was designed by George Keller in the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

style and was 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 1978.

History

Founding and affiliation

Beth Israel was founded in 1843, the same year the Connecticut legislature first permitted public worship by Jews. That year also saw the founding of

Congregation Mishkan Israel Congregation Mishkan Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 785 Ridge Road, in Hamden, Connecticut, in the United States. Founded in 1840, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in both Connecticut and New England, and ...

. Originally an Orthodox congregation, Beth Israel adopted Reform practices relatively quickly, influenced in part by the immigration of German Jews to Hartford. In 1877, the congregation joined with other American Reform Jewish communities to form the

Union of American Hebrew Congregations The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms establ ...

First synagogue

Congregation Beth Israel's first synagogue was built at 21 Charter Oak Avenue in Hartford in 1876. Though Beth Israel left the building in 1936, the building is occupied by the Charter Oak Cultural Center. It is among the oldest synagogue buildings still standing in the United States. Beth Israel moved into its present location in 1936.

Clergy

Rabbi Feldman

For most of the middle of the 20th century (1925–1977), Congregation Beth Israel was led by

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 ...

Abraham J. Feldman, a leading exponent of Classical Reform philosophy. One change that Rabbi Feldman brought to the congregation was the confirmation ceremony at age 16. Feldman exerted wide influence. He fostered a sense of community and was well-respected by the congregation. He focused on building a congregation with long-term members, who celebrated their major life events as a community. His long service as rabbi saw many people born, confirmed, and married under his leadership. Even at the start of the 21st century, some older congregants used his leadership and rabbinate as a model.

Rabbi Silver

Rabbi Harold Silver succeeded

Feldman Feldman is a German and Ashkenazi Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: Academics * Arthur Feldman (born 1949), American cardiologist * Chanda Feldman (born 1976), American poet * David B. Feldman, American psychologist * Da ...

in 1968. He served as senior rabbi for 25 years, retiring in 1993. Silver came from a family of

rabbis 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 ...

, including the five generations preceding him. His father, Maxwell Silver, was a rabbi in New York City; his uncle,

Abba Hillel Silver Abba Hillel Silver (January 28, 1893 – November 28, 1963) was an American Rabbi and Zionist leader. He was a key figure in the mobilization of American support for the founding of the State of Israel. Biography Born Abraham Silver in ...

, was a rabbi in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

; and his grandfather, Moses Silver, was a rabbi in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Silver was

ordain Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vari ...

ed in 1951 at

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

in New York City. Rabbi Silver's first rabbinate was as assistant rabbi at the

Rodef Shalom Congregation Rodef Shalom Congregation () is an historic Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The landmark building was designed by architect Henry Hornbostel and completed ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He later became rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Pittsburgh, where he served from 1955 until 1968, when he came to Congregation Beth Israel. Silver was prominent in the Hartford Jewish community. He organized the first Greater Hartford Rabbinical Board of Rabbis, which assembles rabbis from different Jewish congregations and movements. He also served on a variety of community boards, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Silver also promoted

interfaith Interfaith (also called "interreligion") may refer to various ways of relating between beliefs, creeds, ideologies, faiths, or religions: * Interfaith conflict (disambiguation) * Interfaith dialogue, also known as interfaith cooperation * Interfai ...

dialogue, preaching at many local churches, as well as encouraging peace and understanding between people of different faiths. Additionally, Silver taught courses on Judaism at local universities. He hired Connecticut's first female associate rabbi, Jody Cohen, bringing her to Beth Israel in 1984. Silver retired in 1993 and became rabbi emeritus. He died on March 9, 2017, at the age of 92.

Rabbi Glaser

Silver was succeeded by Rabbi Simeon Glaser in 1993, who served as assistant rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel at the end of Rabbi Silver's tenure as senior rabbi. Glaser was popular with young families and children because of his interest in and talent for

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

. Glaser put on lively services for the holidays of

Purim Purim (; , ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Genocide, annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther (u ...

and Simchas Torah; in these services, he, Cantor Green, and Assistant Rabbi Weiss sang, danced, and acted out stories of the holidays. After serving four years as senior rabbi, Glaser left Beth Israel, initially to serve at a small

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 ...

synagogue in

Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield ( ) is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 27,298 at the time ...

, and then at Temple Israel in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Soviet immigration

During the 1990s, Congregation Beth Israel was instrumental in absorbing hundreds of Jewish

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

s from the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Early in this period, the New American Committee was formed to provide assistance with education, licensing, clothing acquisition, and home needs. The New American Committee continues to provide educational opportunities, including lectures and weekly language classes. Congregation Beth Israel currently has a large Russian-speaking population, and immigrants make up a significant portion of the congregation.

Rabbi Fuchs

Rabbi Stephen Fuchs became senior rabbi in 1997 and has served as Rabbi Emeritus since 2011.

Architecture

The congregation occupies a large building that is dominated by a

Byzantine Revival Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Or ...

dome. The building contains multiple parts: a

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

(on which the dome is built), a chapel, a religious school, a pre-school, offices, two meeting halls, a small museum, and a library. Both the sanctuary and the chapel feature stained-glass windows. The 1936 building was designed by Charles R. Greco and built at the height of the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

movement; the

Byzantine revival Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Or ...

form in Art Deco style provides a grand appearance. In 2006, the congregation was given the West Hartford Historic Preservation Award for its meticulous restoration of the historic structure. The synagogue building was one of fifteen Connecticut synagogues added to the

in 1995 and 1996.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel (West Hartford, Connecticut) 1843 establishments in Connecticut 20th-century synagogues in the United States Art Deco architecture in Connecticut Art Deco synagogues Buildings and structures in West Hartford, Connecticut Byzantine Revival architecture in Connecticut Byzantine Revival synagogues Founding members of the Union for Reform Judaism German-American culture in Connecticut German-Jewish culture in the United States Jewish organizations established in 1843 National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut Reform synagogues in Connecticut Synagogues completed in 1933 Synagogues completed in 1936 Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut