Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek

Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek
Religion
AffiliationReform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusSynagogue
LeadershipRabbi Marci L. Bellows
StatusActive
Location
Location55 East Kings Highway, Chester, Connecticut 06412
CountryUnited States
Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek is located in Connecticut
Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek
Location in Connecticut
Geographic coordinates41°25′00″N 72°26′24″W / 41.4167°N 72.4401°W / 41.4167; -72.4401
Architecture
Architect(s)
TypeSynagogue
Date established1998 (as a merged congregation)
  • 1915 (Rodfe Zedek)
  • c. 1930s (Beth Israel)
Completed1998
Website
cbsrz.org

Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek (transliterated from Hebrew as "House of Peace; Pursuers of Justice"), is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 55 East Kings Highway, in Chester, Connecticut, in the United States. The congregation is noted for the architecture of its "spectacular" building.[1]

History

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Congregation Rodfe Zedek was founded in Moodus in 1905. The fledgling congregation purchased and worshipped in a small, eighteenth-century house before building its first, modest synagogue in 1915.

Congregation Beth Shalom was founded in the 1930s. Calling itself the Jewish Community Center of Middlesex County, it worshipped at first in the home of chicken farmer and founder Isadore Romanof, then in a room in the Deep River Public Library in Deep River. In 1942 the congregation purchased a former church building for use as a synagogue.

The two congregations merged in the 1990s and in 1998 began plans to build a new synagogue.[2]

Building

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The congregation's building was designed by a congregation member, the noted artist Sol LeWitt in close collaboration with architect Stephen Lloyd. LeWitt conceived the "airy" synagogue building, with its shallow dome supported by "exuberant wooden roof beams" an homage to the Wooden synagogues of eastern Europe.[3][4][5] The spacious foyer is designed to be used as an art gallery, and has hosted exhibits by contemporary artists including Jane Logemann.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sweeney, Ginia (April 10, 2007). "Small-town Artist With a Big-time Legacy". Columbia Daily Spectator. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  2. ^ "History". Congregation Rodfe Zedek. Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2009.[self-published source?]
  3. ^ Ivry, Benjamin (May 8, 2009). "Sol LeWitt: A Jewish Artist's Leap Into the Unknown". The Forward.
  4. ^ a b Zimmer, William (December 9, 2001). "ART; Art Takes a Prominent Spot In Chester's New Synagogue". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Stolzman, Henry; Stolzman, Daniel; Hausman, Tami (2004). Synagogue architecture in America: faith, spirit & identity. Images Publishing. pp. 241–3.
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