Congregation B'nai Israel Synagogue
Encyclopedia
Congregation Bnai Israel Synagogue is located on Wagner Avenue in Fleischmanns
, New York, United States. It is a wooden building dating to the 1920s, built two years after local farmers founded the congregation.
Originally an Orthodox
synagogue, it has since become Conservative
. It is the only synagogue
in the Catskills
with an exposed truss
roof. In 2002, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
, the only synagogue in Delaware County
to be listed.
on the north side of Wagner Avenue, a side street that runs along the south side of the village, between Ellsworth Avenue and Park Road, southwest of downtown Fleischmanns. The neighborhood is largely residential, with many old boardinghouses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Behind the houses across the street the ground slopes up to the NY 28
state highway
, rerouted there from the center of the village. To the west is the park created by Julius Fleischmann, son of Charles, after whom the village, originally called Griffin Corner, were renamed. Behind the synagogue, to its north, a small grove of trees surrounds the rear of the building, buffering it from the Bush Kill. As a consequence of being on the creek's flood plain, the synagogue's lot is flat and grassy, set off by ornamental hedge
s.
frame
structure on a concrete block foundation
. It is sided
in clapboard
and topped by a gable
d roof with overhanging eaves supported by brackets
. Along the south (front) and side elevations the bays are divided by flat pilaster
s with Doric
capitals
supporting an architrave
with wide frieze
.
On the south facade
the windows are in deep molded
lancet arch frames. Below the sashes
the eight panes are filled with colored glass; above them they have a Star of David
design filled with yellow glass surrounded by blue. Larger versions of this design are in the circular windows at each gable end.
, with a kitchen on the side, leads to another set of double doors which open onto the community room. It has a pass-through window to the kitchen on a rear wall that replicates the sanctuary's original rear wall.
Another set of double doors leads into the sanctuary
, which occupies the rear third of the building. The tripartite ark is on the north wall, on a balustraded platform with round-arched carved wooden doors. On either side are projecting sections with panels. Corinthian
columns support an entablature
with a wide frieze and projecting cornice
with modillions that extends across the center. Atop either side projection is a carved lion. The center section holds the Torah
behind sliding wooden doors. It is topped with a round-arched panel with key molding depicting two wooden tablets carved with the Ten Commandments
.
The bimah
is in front of the ark. It has four heavy posts, two with finial
carvings on top and wide wooden moldings on its exterior walls. Pew
s with foliate moldings on their scrolled, curved handrails, surround it on three sides.
The walls and ceiling are finished in wallboard with applied batten
s. A narrow strip old wooden molding makes a course
around the interior at windowsill level. The ceiling has exposed wooden truss
es. Above the vestibule, community room and kitchen is a space that could have been a gallery, with a railing, yet is unfinished and too small to be used as such. It may have been purely decorative.
. In 1918, six of these farmers in the Fleischmanns area who had been meeting in each others' homes for informal religious study formally incorporated
as Congregation B'nai Israel.
A month afterwards, they bought the land for the synagogue they hoped to build for $1. The following year they held a ball to raise more money. A thousand guests attended; it would be remembered for long afterwards as one of the best such events in the region. It raised about $3,500 ($ in contemporary dollars) from affluent Jews in the area and construction was able to begin in 1920.
Local builders Crosby and Kelly, who had also built the village's Skene Memorial Library
two decades earlier, did the construction. It reflects a number of influences common to Catskill synagogues. Its overall plan and sanctuary layout, and the Stars of David in the windows, are in keeping with the Orthodox traditions of the founders. The gable roofs and combination of Gothic and classical
detailing are features borrowed from the Protestant churches abundant in the region. B'nai Israel is unique in the Catskills in having an exposed truss ceiling, a feature suggesting Episcopalian
influences.
After 20 years, the sanctuary was partitioned to create the current community room, kitchen and vestibule. Finishings from the original rear wall were saved and reinstalled on the new rear wall of the community room. There have been no other significant modifications to the building.
Fleischmanns, New York
Fleischmanns is a village in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 351 at the 2000 census. Fleischmanns is in the town of Middletown.- History :Early settlers of this area came from Germany, England, Holland and Ireland...
, New York, United States. It is a wooden building dating to the 1920s, built two years after local farmers founded the congregation.
Originally an Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
synagogue, it has since become Conservative
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,...
. It is the only 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 the Catskills
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
with an exposed truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
roof. In 2002, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, the only synagogue in Delaware County
Delaware County, New York
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of 2010 the population was 47,980. The county seat is Delhi. It is named after the Delaware River, which was named in honor of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, appointed governor of Virginia in 1609.-History:When counties...
to be listed.
Building
The synagogue occupies a 120 by lotLot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
on the north side of Wagner Avenue, a side street that runs along the south side of the village, between Ellsworth Avenue and Park Road, southwest of downtown Fleischmanns. The neighborhood is largely residential, with many old boardinghouses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Behind the houses across the street the ground slopes up to the NY 28
New York State Route 28
New York State Route 28 is a state highway extending for in the shape of a "C" between the Hudson Valley city of Kingston and southern Warren County in the U.S. state of New York. Along the way, it intersects several major routes, including Interstate 88 , U.S. Route 20 , and the...
state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
, rerouted there from the center of the village. To the west is the park created by Julius Fleischmann, son of Charles, after whom the village, originally called Griffin Corner, were renamed. Behind the synagogue, to its north, a small grove of trees surrounds the rear of the building, buffering it from the Bush Kill. As a consequence of being on the creek's flood plain, the synagogue's lot is flat and grassy, set off by ornamental hedge
Hedge
Hedge may refer to:* Hedge or hedgerow, line of closely spaced shrubs planted to act as a barrier* Hedge , investment made to limit loss* Hedge , intentionally non-committal or ambiguous sentence fragments-See also:...
s.
Exterior
The building itself is a one-and-a-half-story three-by-five-bayBay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
structure on a concrete block foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
. It is sided
Siding
Siding is the outer covering or cladding of a house meant to shed water and protect from the effects of weather. On a building that uses siding, it may act as a key element in the aesthetic beauty of the structure and directly influence its property value....
in clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
and topped by a gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof with overhanging eaves supported by brackets
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
. Along the south (front) and side elevations the bays are divided by flat pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s with Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
supporting an architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
with wide frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
.
On the south facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
the windows are in deep molded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
lancet arch frames. Below the sashes
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
the eight panes are filled with colored glass; above them they have a Star of David
Star of David
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
design filled with yellow glass surrounded by blue. Larger versions of this design are in the circular windows at each gable end.
Interior
A set of concrete steps leads up to the main entrance, double wooden doors surrounded by an enframement in which pilasters on the side support a large pointed arch with iridescent glass panels. Inside, a narrow vestibuleVestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
, with a kitchen on the side, leads to another set of double doors which open onto the community room. It has a pass-through window to the kitchen on a rear wall that replicates the sanctuary's original rear wall.
Another set of double doors leads into the sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
, which occupies the rear third of the building. The tripartite ark is on the north wall, on a balustraded platform with round-arched carved wooden doors. On either side are projecting sections with panels. Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
columns support an entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
with a wide frieze and projecting cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
with modillions that extends across the center. Atop either side projection is a carved lion. The center section holds the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
behind sliding wooden doors. It is topped with a round-arched panel with key molding depicting two wooden tablets carved with the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
.
The bimah
Bimah
A bimah A bimah A bimah (among Ashkenazim, derived from Hebrew בּמה , almemar (from Arabic al-minbar) or tebah (among Sephardim) is the elevated area or platform in a Jewish synagogue which is intended to serve the place where the person reading aloud from the Torah stands during the Torah reading...
is in front of the ark. It has four heavy posts, two with finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
carvings on top and wide wooden moldings on its exterior walls. Pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s with foliate moldings on their scrolled, curved handrails, surround it on three sides.
The walls and ceiling are finished in wallboard with applied batten
Batten
A batten is a thin strip of solid material, typically made from wood, plastic or metal. Battens are used in building construction and various other fields as both structural and purely cosmetic elements...
s. A narrow strip old wooden molding makes a course
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
around the interior at windowsill level. The ceiling has exposed wooden truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
es. Above the vestibule, community room and kitchen is a space that could have been a gallery, with a railing, yet is unfinished and too small to be used as such. It may have been purely decorative.
History
Jews began settling in the Catskills around the end of the 19th century. Many came to farm but soon found that the hotel business was as lucrative, if not more, with many of their urban co-religionists wanting a mountain vacation at resorts that welcomed them and accommodated their dietary obligationsKashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
. In 1918, six of these farmers in the Fleischmanns area who had been meeting in each others' homes for informal religious study formally incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
as Congregation B'nai Israel.
A month afterwards, they bought the land for the synagogue they hoped to build for $1. The following year they held a ball to raise more money. A thousand guests attended; it would be remembered for long afterwards as one of the best such events in the region. It raised about $3,500 ($ in contemporary dollars) from affluent Jews in the area and construction was able to begin in 1920.
Local builders Crosby and Kelly, who had also built the village's Skene Memorial Library
Skene Memorial Library
The Skene Memorial Library is located on Main Street in Fleischmanns, New York, United States. It is also used as the village hall. The frame building, combining elements of the Queen Anne and Shingle architectural styles, dates to the early 20th century...
two decades earlier, did the construction. It reflects a number of influences common to Catskill synagogues. Its overall plan and sanctuary layout, and the Stars of David in the windows, are in keeping with the Orthodox traditions of the founders. The gable roofs and combination of Gothic and classical
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
detailing are features borrowed from the Protestant churches abundant in the region. B'nai Israel is unique in the Catskills in having an exposed truss ceiling, a feature suggesting Episcopalian
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
influences.
After 20 years, the sanctuary was partitioned to create the current community room, kitchen and vestibule. Finishings from the original rear wall were saved and reinstalled on the new rear wall of the community room. There have been no other significant modifications to the building.
External links
- Julia Reischel, "The oldest synagogue in Fleischmanns", Watershed Post, July 11, 2010.