Congregation B'nai Israel (Millburn, New Jersey)
Encyclopedia
B'nai Israel is an architecturally notable Conservative
synagogue
in Millburn, New Jersey
.
It was founded in 1924, and 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. Rabbi Gruenewald served the congregation until his 1970 retirement, and also ran the Leo Baeck Institute
s in New York, London, and Jerusalem.
Percival Goodman
'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
designed the curtain for the Torah Ark, Robert Motherwell
designed a mural, and Herbert Ferber
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.
, the rabbi is Steven Bayar and the cantor
is Lorna Wallach.
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
in Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 20,149.Millburn Township was created as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1857, from portions of Springfield Township.Millburn also...
.
It was founded in 1924, and hired Max Gruenewald as rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
in 1946. He had been the rabbi of the Haupt Synagogue in Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
when it was destroyed during the Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
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
Leo Baeck Institute
The Leo Baeck Institute-New York in Manhattan is a library, archive, and exhibition centre devoted to the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry. The Institutes's offices and collections are housed in Center for Jewish History in New York City...
s in New York, London, and Jerusalem.
Percival Goodman
Percival Goodman
Percival Goodman 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, and "the most prolific architect in Jewish history."-Biography:Percival Goodman was born in New York City...
'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
Adolph Gottlieb was an American abstract expressionist painter, sculptor and graphic artist.-Biography:Gottlieb was born in New York to Jewish parents. From 1920-1921 he studied at the Art Students League of New York, after which he traveled in France and Germany for a year...
designed the curtain for the Torah Ark, Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell American painter, printmaker and editor. He was one of the youngest of the New York School , which also included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Philip Guston....
designed a mural, and Herbert Ferber
Herbert Ferber
Herbert Ferber was an American sculptor and painter, born in New York City. He began his independent artistic studies in New York in 1926 at evening classes at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, while attending Columbia University Dental School...
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
Jewish Museum (New York)
The Jewish Museum of New York, an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, is the leading Jewish museum in the United States. With over 26,000 objects, it contains the largest collection of art and Jewish culture outside of museums in Israel. The museum is housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in...
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.
, the rabbi is Steven Bayar and the cantor
Hazzan
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
is Lorna Wallach.