Congregation Kol Israel is a historic Modern Orthodox

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 603 St. John's Place in the Crown Heights neighborhood of

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, in the United States.

History

The congregation was established in 1924 as an Orthodox congregation. The synagogue was built in 1928 and is a vernacular "tenement synagogue." It is a small, two story rectangular building faced in random laid

fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...

. It was designed by Brooklyn architect Tobias Goldstone. ''See also:'' The western side of its midblock lot overlooks the open cut of the Franklin Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. The synagogue building was listed on 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 2009.

Eruv

In 2015, "after several failed attempts to bring in new members," the board hired Rabbi Sam Reinstein to "transform his ailing Modern Orthodox synagogue into a place young people consider cool." In addition to adding monthly art shows and after-parties to its programming, the synagogue in 2016 hosted "the first Jewish Comic Con," which featured comics artists Isaac Goodheart of Postal and Jordan B. Gorfinkel. In June 2016, an

eruv An ''eruv'' (; , , also transliterated as ''eiruv'' or ''erub'', plural: ''eruvin'' or ''eruvim'') is a ritual ''halakhic'' enclosure made for the purpose of allowing activities which are normally Activities prohibited on Shabbat, prohibited ...

built to benefit the Kol Israel congregation "increased sixfold the area in which observant Jews can carry items, and, most importantly, push strollers during Shabbat," but was opposed by

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

neighbors who believed the neighborhood was geographically and halakhically impossible to enclose in an eruv. Chabad's Crown Heights beth din rabbinical court issued a ruling rejecting the eruv as a "devastation of the Shabbat." A few months after the eruv was repeatedly vandalized and its organizers allegedly harassed, two Chabad members were arrested and charged with criminal mischief, although the New York City Police Department had previously said that they would be charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime and criminal tampering.

References

External links

* * 1924 establishments in New York City 1920s architecture in the United States 20th-century synagogues in the United States Jewish organizations established in 1924 Modern Orthodox synagogues in New York (state) Moorish Revival architecture in New York City Moorish Revival synagogues Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Brooklyn Synagogues completed in 1928 Synagogues in Brooklyn Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City {{NYC-religious-struct-stub