B'nai Israel is an architecturally notable

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

synagogue in

Millburn, New Jersey Millburn is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 20,149, reflecting an increase of 384 (+1.9%) from the 19,765 counted in the 2000 Census, which had ...

. It was founded in 1924, and 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 ...

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

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

when it was destroyed during the

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation fro ...

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

of 1938. In 1950, two stones from the Haupt Synagogue were retrieved and placed in the walls of the sanctuary.Mike Rispoli
"Renovations to Percival Goodman-designed synagogue raises ire"
''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...

'', March 24, 2009. 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, and Jerusalem that are devoted to the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry. Baeck was its first intern ...

s in New York, London, and Jerusalem.

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.""New Exhibition at the Jewish Museum Focuses on Abstract Art and Modern Synagogue Architecture"
,

The Jewish Museum The Jewish Museum is an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in the former Felix M. Warburg House, along Museum Mile on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The first Jewish museum in the Unit ...

website, March 1, 2010, accessed March 19, 2010.John Zeaman
"Jewish Museum exhibits modern art commissioned by Millburn congregation nearly 60 years ago"
''The Star-Ledger'', March 18, 2010. Goodman became known for his integration of modern sculpture and art into modernist buildings.Michael Z. Wise
"America's Most Prolific Synagogue Architect
," ''

The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ...

'', March 9, 2001.

Adolph Gottlieb Adolph Gottlieb (March 14, 1903 – March 4, 1974) was an American abstract expressionist painter, sculptor and printmaker. Early life and education Adolph Gottlieb, one of the "first generation" of Abstract Expressionists, was born in New York ...

designed the curtain for the

Torah Ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

Robert Motherwell Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American abstract expressionist painter, printmaker, and editor of ''The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology''. He was one of the youngest of the New York School, which also inc ...

designed a mural, and

Herbert Ferber Herbert Ferber (1906 – 1991) was an American Abstract Expressionist, sculptor and painter, and a "driving force of the New York School." Background Herbert Ferber Silvers was born on April 30, 1906, in New York City. In 1923, he be ...

created an exterior sculpture for the new building.Jewish art in America: an introduction, Matthew Baigell, Rowman & Littlefield, 2006, p. 108. 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

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 Ari Isenberg and the

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

is Lorna Wallach.Congregation B'nai Israel website
accessed November 21, 2010. Steven Bayar is Rabbi Emeritus.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:B'nai Israel (Millburn, New Jersey) Ashkenazi Jewish culture in New Jersey German-Jewish culture in the United States Reform synagogues in New Jersey Millburn, New Jersey Religious buildings and structures in Essex County, New Jersey Synagogues completed in 1951 1951 establishments in New Jersey Percival Goodman synagogues