USA: Jean-Jacques Duval's Connecticut Synagogue Stained Glass Still Dazzles After 50 Years

Hamden, CT (USA). Congregation Mishkan Israel. Chapel windows by Jean-Jacques Duval (1960). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2011)

Hamden, Connecticut. Congregation Mishkan Israel, Chapel. Fritz Nathan and Betram Bassuk, archs. Jean-Jacques Duval, stained glass artist. Ark design, unidentified.

Woodbridge, CT (USA). Congregation B'nai Jacob. Sanctuary windows by Jean-Jacques Duval (1962). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2011)

Woodbridge, CT (USA). Congregation B'nai Jacob. Sanctuary windows by Jean-Jacques Duval (1962). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2011)

Woodbridge, CT (USA). Congregation B'nai Jacob. Chapel windows by Jean-Jacques Duval (1962). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2011)

USA: Connecticut Synagogue Stained Glass Still Dazzles After 50 Years:
Jean-Jacques Duval Has Helped Change the Look of American Synagogues

In 2009 I wrote an article for Tablet Magazine about Abstract Expressionist artist Adolph Gottlieb's stained glass windows in the Kingsway Jewish Center in Brooklyn (this article has just been republished, without slide show, in a special Shavuot synagogue issue of New York's Jewish Week). I was already long interested in synagogue stained glass, but Gottlieb's work made me more attentive to the innovative techniques, colors and symbols employed by synagogue stained glass artists in the 1950s and 1960s, the honeydew of American abstract art. Gotltieb was able to successfully transform the traditional Jewish use of a limited number of religious and cultural symbols to a larger abstract artistic aesthetic. Gottlieb's program also suggested a nearly-attainable grasp of archetypal highly charged symbols of both personal and cosmic significance, in the tradition of Jewish mysticism.

Brooklyn, New York. Kingsway Jewish Center. Sanctuary window detail, designed by Adolp Gottieb. Photo: Samuel Gruber.

I was therefore delighted when visiting Connecticut earlier this spring to encounter two exemplary stained glass programs by artist Jean-Jacques Duval (b. 1930) in synagogues I was visiting for their architecture. Both Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden and Congregation B'nai Jacob in Woodbridge were designed by Fritz Nathan and Bertram Bassuk (1918-1996), and both include chapels with stained glass by Duval, and Duval did the sanctuary work at B'nai Jacob, too. According to Duval, who remains active as a artist today with more 450 major commissions completed, he and fellow artist Robert Pinart were brought in by the architects for Mishkan Israel.

These synagogues were truly international efforts. Nathan (1891-1960), who had been a prominent modernist in Germany before World War II and arrived in the United States as a refugee in 1940. Duval was born in Strasbourg, France in 1930. After the War he studied at Ecole des Arts Decoratif in Strasbourg, and then in 1950, he accepted an offer to design stained glass in United States. In 1957 he opened his own studio in New York City. Pinart was born in Paris in 1926 and came to America in 1951. Both Duval and Pinart have achieved great success in their long careers). Today Duval lives and maintains Duval Design Studio in the Adirondack Mts. near Saranac, NY.

Pinart made windows for the Mishkan Israel sanctuary, and Duval for the chapel. According to Mishkan Israel Rabbi Herbert Brockman, his predecessor Rabbi Robert E Goldburg disagreed with architect Nathan over the Ark design, and brought in artist Ben Shahn to create a more monumental arrangement (flanked by Pinart's ark-wall windows). When near-by Conservative Congregation B'nai Jacob adapted the then-recent Mishkan Israel design for their new suburban synagogue, Duval was engaged for all the stained glass work.

One of Duval's windows at Mishkan Israel has a similar feel to Gottlieb's - and it immediately drew my attention. But Duval's fractured symbols are much more recognizable than Gottlieb's, (more akin to those Robert Motherwell used in his painted panel in Millburn, New Jersey), and firmly within the Jewish symbolic "canon." One reads the long strip window on one side of the Mishkan Israel chapel as a unrolled scroll, with each "sheet" illustrated by one symbol. There are tablets, a book, kiddish cups, etc. and a domed form that may be a tent, or a priest's hat, or something else (in fact, it look remarkably like the Beth Shalom synagogue designed by Percival Goodman in Miami).

Hamden, CT (USA). Congregation Mishkan Israel. Chapel windows by Jean-Jacques Duval (1960). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2011)

Duval's greatest success, however, in both chapels, was his ability to create full walls of stained glass that actually helped emphasize and strengthen the shape of the space instead of distracting from it. Duval has demonstrated this talent for making architectural walls that complemented the architecture design in many synagogue and church commissions. Most of his stained glass windows are not to be seen through, or even to be looked at as pictures. Rather, they enclose the viewer to create a container of worship space. Betram Bassuk, writing of Duval in Faith & Form the Interfaith The Journal on Religion, Art and Architecture said “I regard his empathy toward the architectural enclosure of which his work is to be an integral part, to be as fundamental a factor in his creative imagination as is his composing of its symbolic content.” 

At Mishkan Israel Duval created a mosaic like affect of colored glass panels, roughly rectangular in shape, out of which appear across the entire composition - but only a certain angles - large nine-branched menorahs (see above). A similar effect is achieved over the Ark in the main sanctuary at Congregation B'nai Jacob (see above), though there the form of the seven-branch Temple Menorah is used. in the B'nai Jacob Chapel the use of symbols is more overt and I think, therefore, less successful artistically.

Woodbridge, Connecticut. Congregation B'nai Jacob, Chapel. Fritz Nathan and Betram Bassuk, archs. Jean-Jacques Duval, stained glass artist.

Woodbridge, Connecticut. Congregation B'nai Jacob, Sanctuary. Fritz Nathan and Betram Bassuk, archs. Jean-Jacques Duval, stained glass artist.

Jean-Jacques Duval has provided me with a list of the synagogues for which he and his studio designed stained glass. Both Mr. Duval and I encourage readers familiar with these windows - or those who wish to discover them - to send us photos of heir current descriptions. In some cases synagogues have moved and buildings have been sold, and the fate of the Duval stained is unknown.

List of Synagogues with Duval windows (names of congregation may be inexact):

Ahavath Achim, Bronx, NY

Ohav Sholom Congr., Merrick, NY

Jackson Heights Jewish Ct., Jackson Heights, NY

State Hospital Chapel, Orangeburg, NY

Shellbank Jewish Center, Brooklyn, NY

B’Nai Zion, EI Paso, TX

Forest Hills Jewish Center, Forest Hills, NY

Beth Jacob, Newburg, NY

United Syn. of America, New-York, NY

Huntington Jewish Center, Huntington, NY

Mt Sinai, New-York, NY

(Former) Congr. B’nai David, Southfield, MI

Southfield, Michigan. (Former) Congr. B’nai David. Sidney Eisenshtat, arch. Jean-Jacques Duval stained glass artist. Photo: Samuel Gruber.

Temple Israel, Dayton, OR

Temple Beth EI, Stamford, CT

Congr. B’Nai Jacob, Woodbridge, CT

Temple Mishkan Israel, Hampden, CT

Westchester Jewish Center, Mamaroneck, NY

East End Temple New-York, NY

Cong. Etz Chaim, Jacksonville, FL

Temple Israel, Boston, MA

Ohab Emeth, New Brunswick, NJ

Congr. Tifereth Israel, New Bedford MA

Temple Beth Tikuah, Wayne, NJ

Temple B ‘Nai Jeshurun, Short Hills, NJ

Highland Park Temple, Highland Park, NJ

B’Nai Shalom, Long Branch, NJ

Beth Avodah, Westbury, NY

Temple Shalom, Plainfield, NJ

Mt Sinai Congr., Brooklyn, NY

Temple Beth EI. Huntington, NY

Temple Beth EL, Monroe, NY,

Temple Concord, Binghampton. NY

Sephardic Temple. Cedarhurst, NY,

Temple Anshe Emeth, Yougstown, OH,

Temple Beth Sholom Flushing, NY,

Temple Emanu-EI Yonkers, NY,

Midchester Jewish Center Yonkers, NY

North Shore Congregation, Syossett, NY

Beth Torah Temple, Philadelphia, PA

Congregation B’nai Israel, Pittsburgh, P A

Agudath Achim, Savannah, GA

Heska Amuna Synagogue, Knoxville, TN

Beth EI Synagogue, Minneapolis, MN

Beth EI Temple, Steubenville, OH

Temple Sinai, EI Paso, TX

El Paso, Texas. Temple Sinai, chapel. Sidney Eisenshtat, arch. Jean-Jacques Duval stained glass artist. Photo: Paul Rocheleau.

Bergenfield Dumont J.C., Bergenfield, NJ

Westville Synagogue, New Haven, CT

Hebrew Tabernacle, New-York, NY

Temple Oheb Shalom, South Orange, NJ

Temple Israel Center, White Plains, NY

Temple Israel, New York, NY

USA: Three Synagogues in Queens Added to National Register

USA: Three Synagogues in Queens Added to National Register

Three 20th century synagogues in Queens, New York, were recently surveyed by the New York Landmarks Conservancy and then successfully nominated to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The synagogues are the Astoria Center of Israel (1925-26), the Free Synagogue of Flushing (1927) and the Rego Park Jewish Center (1948).

According to the Conservancy, architectural historian Tony Robins was hired to complete 10 National Register nominations, "building on the Conservancy’s survey research and outreach to each congregation. Funding for this project was provided by the Preserve New York grant program of the Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the Arts."

The following article of a recent tour of the synagogues gives some description of the buildings.

Conservancy holds exclusive tour of historic Queens Synagogues

From Crete to Minnesota we Read Psalm 118: 20 “This is the Gate of the Lord into Which the Righteous Shall Enter”

Virginia, Minnesota. B'nai Abraham Synagogue. Inscription on Entrance Stained Glass:

זֶה-הַשַּׁעַר לַיהוָה; צַדִּיקִים, יָבֹאוּ בוֹ.

Psalm 118: 20 “This is gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter”

Recently ISJM member Marilyn Chiat wrote to report continuing progress on the restoration of small but elegant Iron Range synagogue of B'nai Abraham in Virginia, Minnesota, which will celebrate its centennial this year (there will be major event in July 2010), and which has been saved from destruction after its closure in the 1990s by a band of dedicated volunteers in the town and statewide. The synagogue is the last intact Jewish house of worship in this part of Minnesota – where once there were several small and hardy Jewish communities serving the intense Iron Ore industry and its related services. The Friends of B'nai Abraham have recently received about $50,000 in new grants which will go a long way toward completing the project which has been in progress for many years.

(See earlier blogpost about this building)

Perhaps the most notable feature of the B’nai Abraham is its remarkable set of stained glass windows. Gradually these windows have been cleaned and are being restored. The process is now more than halfway complete. As cleaning progresses, more window details are revealed, as well their original vibrant colors.

Marilyn wrote to say that cleaning window panels in the entrance doors has shown the original Hebrew inscription in glass: זֶה-הַשַּׁעַר לַיהוָה; צַדִּיקִים, יָבֹאוּ בוֹ (see photo above) – a well known passage from Psalm 118 sung during the Hallel service. Marilyn was familiar with the Verse 20 "This is God's gate into which the righteous shall enter," but asked how frequently it is used to adorn synagogue.

In fact, Psalm 118:20 is one of the most common passages found on synagogues, and it has adorned synagogues for centuries, and can be found from Iran to Greece to Poland to Minnesota. There is no compendium that I know of the tracks the use of particular scriptural passages and other texts in synagogues – but a quick look through my notes and a Google search turned up many diverse examples of Psalm 118:20 (I’ll soon post of a list of these).

Hania, Crete (Greece). Entrance gate to Etz Hayyim Synagogue courtyard (after restoration).
Photo courtesy of Nikos Stavroulakis

Coincidentally, the instance with which I am most familiar is on the gateway into the synagogue enclosure of Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Crete, the very building that was attacked twice by arsonists last month, and for which this ISJM and this blog are helping by raising sums for repair. The before and after photos of this gateway are emblematic of the success of the 1990s synagogue restoration project. Thinking of these two synagogues thousands of miles apart, but each greeting the worshipper and visitor with the same words, made me consider their different historic circumstances (on the inscriptions of Etz Hayyim click here).

Etz Hayyim was built as a (Saint Catherine's) church, but centuries ago it was given to Hania’s Jews for a synagogue, when Venetian (Christian) rule of the island ended. Much later, it‘s congregation perished when they were deported by the Nazis, and their transport ship was subsequently sunk – all lives lost. The building fell into ruin and by the 1990s was home only to chickens and trash. The hard work and devotion of Nikos Stavoulakis and scores of local and international supporters brought life – Jewish life – to this ruin once again, but Etz Hayyim has also served since it restoration as a center of religious and philosophical contact and discussion for people of many faiths. Nikos has choosen to interpret “righteousness” broadly – something the arsonists clearly could not tolerate or understand.

B’nai Abraham’s history and its transformations are less dramatic, and it is witness mostly to stories of tolerance and success. Its demise as a synagogue was due to voluntary migration of Jews to bigger and generally more prosperous centers, not forced deportation. Still, as a place of memory and history it plays similar role on Iron Range to Etz Hayyim in Hania. In Virginia, Minnesota, the righteous will also be broadly defined and I think those many Jews and Christians who have labored to save this place can enter through the newly restored doors with pride and confidence.

Unfortunately, in America, too, they must be vigilant and learn from Hania’s experience. Every restoration budget needs to include stained glass window restoration – but sadly – also an up-to-date security system.

USA: Adolph Gottlieb Stained Glass Windows at Kingsway Jewish Center

USA: Adolph Gottlieb Stained Glass Windows at Kingsway Jewish Center
You can read my latest article in Tablet: Magazine: A New Read on Jewish Life here:

Paned Expressions

Though a bit tarnished, the Abstract Expressionist windows at Brooklyn’s Kingsway Jewish Center still glimmer

By Samuel D. Gruber

There is no shortage of synagogues in Brooklyn. Many are beautiful and some are unusual, but most are unknown except to their congregants. In order to help protect this heritage of often aging religious buildings, the New York Landmarks Conservancy embarked in 2006 on a project to survey them.

As a result, several synagogues have been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, and among these is one special for its place in modern art: the Kingsway Jewish Center, an Orthodox synagogue in the borough’s Flatbush section. Built from 1951 to 1957, the sanctuary was decorated with a suite of stained glass windows designed by Adolph Gottlieb. These little known windows are precious examples of the position of New York’s abstract art outside the world of galleries and museums. They also provide positive evidence of a Jewish component in Gottlieb’s work. The windows are in poor condition, but the Kingsway congregation and the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation anticipate that National Register designation would help spur fund raising for their conservation. Ann Friedman, director of the Sacred Sites Program of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, says that it was when viewing Kingsway in 2004 that she realized “the great but under-recognized synagogue architecture in New York.”

read the full article and see more pictures here

Conference: Association for Canadian Jewish Studies

Conference: Association for Canadian Jewish Studies

(ISJM) The annual conference of the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies will be held this week in Ottawa, from May 24th to 26th. The preliminary program is available online here.

Two ISJM members will be giving papers of interest on Tuesday May 26th. Barbara Weiser, an independent researcher from Montreal who has been indefatigably documenting art in Canadian synagogues will speak on “The Narratives In the Stained Glass Windows at the Sephardic Kehillah Centre (Abir Yacov Congregation),” The new, lavish and monumental Spanish-inspired Centre is located on Steeles Ave. on Bathurst St. in Thornhill, within greater metropolitan Toronto. Click here for a virtual view of the facilities and sanctuary.

Dr. Barry Stiefel of the College of Charleston, who has recently joined the Board of ISJM, will speak on “Three New World Synagogues: Preserved Symbols of Toleration, Pride and Continuity.” His talk will compare historic preservation efforts of synagogues in the United States and Canada. Barry received his Ph.D. from Tulane University in 2008. His dissertation about the forty plus synagogues erected by the Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English-American Jewish communities of the Atlantic basin from the 17th through 19th centuries will be published as Jewish Sanctuary in the Atlantic World: A Social and Architectural History by the University of South Carolina Press.

Obama's Chicago Jewish Neighborhood

Obama's Chicago Jewish Neighborhood
by Samuel D. Gruber

On election day I wrote about presidents and synagogues, but at the time I didn't realize that then candidate and now president-elect lives in a former Jewish Day School, and lives immediately across the street from one of my favorite synagogues, Temple Isaiah - K.A.M. in Chicago, the quintessential Byzantine Revival synagogue designed by Chicago Jewish architect Alfred Alschuler in 1924. I featured this synagogue in my 2003 book (American Synagogues: A Century of Architecture and Jewish Community), but I never realized when I stood facing and photographing the facade that I had my back to the Obama home. I'm thinking that since the synagogue has a chimney disguised as a minaret, maybe that's where the story of Barack being a Muslim started. But its not the Muslim call to prayer one hears on Greenwood Ave., and certainly now not "Barack Who?," but rather the Baruch hu.

Charles B. Bernstein and Stuart L. Cohen have researched the history of the Hyde Park house which could become the Chicago White House (unless they sell when they move to DC, as many speculate they will), and presented their findings in the Chicago Jewish News. They write that " Indeed, the title history of the Obama house shows it has a rich Jewish history, one that encompasses both of Chicago's rival communities, the Reform Hyde Park German Jews and the Orthodox West Side Russian Jews." The house was built around 1908, and was bought by the Hungary-born Max Goldstine, its first Jewish owner in 1919. By the 1940s, a small but active group of Orthodox Jews were living in Hyde Park in 1947 they established the Hebrew Theological College (a yeshiva) in the former Goldstine House. In the late 1940s, the house was also the home of the South Side Jewish Day School. When Hyde Park's Orthodox population dwindled, the Yeshiva sold the property to the Hyde Park Lutheran Church in 1954.

Click here for the full and highly detailed story

Another story ran in the Forward about the affect of the Obama election congregation KAM-Isaiah Israel, which has found itself in the middle of a high-security zone. Marissa Brostoff writes that the congregation seems to be taking it all in stride - they have long been familiar with the Obamas for many years. Most congregants find that the excitement of Obama's victory far outweigh the security hassles. The following account of Temple Isaiah is adapted from American Synagogues:

Temple Isaiah dedicated in 1924 was inspired by the 6th-century Byzantine churches of San Vitale in Ravenna and Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. The octagonal plan synagogue is topped by a low tile dome. According to the architect, “We have not designed a Byzantine building but have endeavored to produce in concrete, stone, brick and steel, the mental picture developed by the study of this style modified by its contemporary influences and co-ordinated with the proper spirit and functioning of modern Jewish synagogues.”

Alschuler maintained, in much the manner of Arnold Brunner, that his style was more truthful to early synagogue architecture than other forms. There is some basis for this claim, as there were synagogues throughout the Byzantine Empire. Alschuler wrote of how he incorporated motifs of “fragments form an ancient Hebrew Temple recently unearth in Palestine.”

Alschuler was somewhat disingenuous, however, as no known central plan synagogues like Temple Isaiah had ever been found. The inclusion of a tall thin minaret-like tower next to the main sanctuary to mask the facility’s tall chimney is a particularly unusual, albeit picturesque, addition. One critic, obviously unfamiliar with Jewish tradition, but full of love for the exotic, wrote:

"It is a beauty and a joy, surrounded by a spacious lawn, trees and a dwelling house environment. Its low, flat dome and horizontal lines are delightfully accentuated by the tall slender chimney, reminiscent of a minaret from which the faint, intoned voice of the musessin would complete the picture of beauty. It is one of those structures that we return to, always eager to get our feel of its beauty of form and color."

Others found the mosque analogy puzzling, and even offensive. But preoccupation with the mosque detracts from the real elegance Alschuler’s geometric solution – an octagonal space surmounted by a high dome supported on vaults that spring from eight massive free standing piers. There is a semicircular balcony included to increase seating in close proximity to the bimah and Ark. The supporting piers are close to the walls to keep the sanctuary space uncluttered. The dome was made of Guastavino tile, like that of Rodeph Shalom in Pittsburgh. The tile was both structural, but also covered wall areas to improve acoustics. The use of Guastavino tiles allows other attractive details, such as the sinuous stairs the twist up to the balcony from either side of the vestibule.

Overall, the building maintains two levels of decoration. The first derives solely from the careful mix of materials and combination of soft earthy colors in the tile and brick. The seconds is an extensive overlay of explicit Jewish symbols, which crescendo as one progresses through the building. The stylized Decalogue is set over the main entrance, and a more traditional Decalogue sits within the arch above the Ark, designed as a large Syrian arch – a motif known from Byzantine Palestine. In the ornate vestibule there are Emblems of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The Star of David of prominently depicted in inlaid brick in each of the four great pendentives of the interior vault and in a large roundel at the apex of the dome. The six-pointed star also stands out in a roundel at the apex of the architectural composition of the Ark wall. Stars are embedded throughout the building, including on the impost blocks set above ornate capitals in the Byzantine manner. Large freestanding menorahs flank the Ark.

Perhaps the most remarkable decorative element in Temple Isaiah is not architectural. It is a large figurative stained glass window representing Moses. This tall image of the Prophet holding the tablets of the law is set in the balcony level, and is not easily visible form the sanctuary below. The depiction of figures, even of Moses, was still unusual in synagogue art, but by the 1920s not entirely uncommon in Reform Temple.

For those visitors to the Chicago’s south Side who cannot pass the congregation KAM – Isaiah Israel security cordon, there are still other opportunities to visit historic and architectural distinctive synagogues. I’ll be writing about two of these soon – one designed by Dankmar Adler and the other by Alschuler. Both are now churches, and are well-maintained and welcoming to visitors.

Photos: Congregation KAM - Isaiah Israel, Samuel D. Gruber

Jenna Joselit Essay on 19th-century Depiction of Ten Commandments Draws Attention to Life of Symbols

On-Line Essay by Jenna Weissman Joselit on 19th-century Depiction of Ten Commandments is an important contribution (and an easy read)

I recommend a recent essay "History: The Symbol the Split the Synagogue," in the summer issue of Reform Judaism magazine by Princeton historian Jenna Weissman Joselit about the reception and dispute over the stained glass depiction of the Ten Commandments in the 1850 Gothic-style Congregation Anshi Chesed on Norfolk street in New York City.

Joselit's remembrance of this episode reminds us to consider the life of symbols - how their meaning can change, or be shaded, depending on time and place and expectations. This is especially true of the major Jewish symbols - Menorah, Magen David, Decalogue...and we see it happening in the contemporary world with the popularity of traditionally esoteric mystical and Kabbalistic amulet symbols (now ubiquitous as jewelry & tattoos), and the transference of traditional ritual objects (such as the mezuzah) into similar portable symbols.

Historically, debates over symbols have been most-often sparked by synagogue decorations. The stained glass dispute at Anshi Chesed is part of a continuum of debate that goes back at least to the responsa of Rabbis Elyakim ben Joseph of Mainz and Rabbi Isaac ben Moses of Vienna in the 13th century. In this century there have been all sorts of controversies over the inclusion of figural art, narrative art and modern abstract art into synagogues.

I'd like to hear from my readers of disputes over synagogue art that they are aware of (or perhaps have even participated in). But please, no need to repeat episodes already documented in Vivian Mann's essential Jewish Texts on the Visual Arts (Cambridge Univ Press, 2000).

My favorite reaction to novelty in stained glass decoration is the responsum - or at least the verbal retort - of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise when asked whether figural memorial windows installed in the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation in 1899 were appropriate for a synagogue. According to memoir of Rabbi Morris Feuerlicht, Wise said "he could see no present danger of such a window tempting even the most indifferent of Reform Jews to idolatry." Wise dedicated the new synagogue in 1900, his last such act before his death.

USA: New Synagogue by Alfred Jacoby dedicated in Park City, Utah

USA: New Synagogue by Alfred Jacoby dedicated in Park City, Utah

by Samuel D. Gruber

[n.b. the following is based on many sources, but NOT a personal visit to the new synagogue. Friends have described it and shown me pictures, I hope to visit when the opportunity arises]

German-Jewish Architect Alfred Jacoby has built his first synagogue in the United States, an elegant structure in the ski-resort town of Park City, Utah, home of the U.S. Ski team and the Sundance Film Festival. Temple Har Shalom was dedicated on June 27, 2008. Jacoby is the most prominent post-war synagogue architect in Germany. He achieved notice in America in 2002 at the time of a traveling exhibition of his work, which included a stop at the University of Utah. In the past two decades has designed synagogues in Darmstadt (1988), Heidelberg (1994), Aachen (1996), Offenbach (1998), Kassel (2000), and Chemnitz (2002).

Jacoby, a professor and director at the Dessau Institute of Architecture, has a reputation as a synagogue designer in Germany today similar to Percival Goodman’s in America in the 1950s to 1970s – he’s the go-to guy for new community-based synagogues (as opposed to the more politically-motivated monumental “show” synagogues, like those in Dresden and Munich. Jacoby’s designs are always interesting and sometimes innovative, but they are also always easy to understand and mostly comfortable to use. He is known as a synagogue architect with whom communities can work. Jacoby’s buildings are known for their use of contemporary architectural forms and materials, but unlike Goodman, until now his designs are in adherence to traditional Orthodox spatial and liturgical requirements. But though Jacoby creates synagogues that are nominally Orthodox, most congregants are Russian-Jewish immigrants not well trained in traditional Judaism, let alone the rudiments of Orthodox worship. His buildings, therefore, support a comfortable Orthodoxy that emphasizes community building as much as punctilious prayer. While Temple Har Shalom is his first design for a Reform congregation, his aesthetic is easily adapted in this new situation.

Temple Har Shalom invited a large number of distinguished and up-and-coming architects to submit RFP’s for the synagogue project, and after review chose Jacoby over several more unconventional architects. Jacoby’s designs in general, and at Park City, tend to be accessible, elegant and non-confrontational. They combine some of the best (and most tranquil) qualities of rationalism and simple geometry (Jacoby studied with Aldo Rossi in Zurich in the 1970s), with an expressive use of light that derives in large part from American modern synagogues designed by Eric Mendelsohn and Percival Goodman during the post-War period. Jacoby likes to mix up materials, and is especially fond of dark wood veneers, white walls and occasionally limestone accents. At Temple Har Shalom, as in Jacoby’s recent work in Kassel and Chemnitz, there is an abundance of wood, recalling perhaps, some of the work of Alvar Aalto and synagogues of Pietro Belluschi. The complex also has a vestibule/common room with a fireplace set in a brick wall, perhaps a nod to a ski lodge aesthetic.

In many of his previous synagogues Jacoby has shown a penchant for circular or elliptical forms (Aachen, Heidelberg, Chemnitz), something he avoids at Park City, where the sanctuary has a more traditional rectangular plan, and can be expanded. Until now, Jacoby's best previous designs have mostly been for city synagogues – where they often help to heal the urban form, carefully weaving the new architectural forms, spaces and processionals into older urban fabric. At Park City he works to integrate the building to the striking landscape. Following popular trends in American synagogue design (which go back to the 1960s), Jacoby opens up the building to the landscape with large floor-to-ceiling windows that reveal big vistas from two floors. The sanctuary, however, remains a more sheltered space, its large east wall windows filled with stained glass designed by Jun Kaneko of Omaha, Nebraska. Overhead, a wood ceiling, something like a stretched out sine wave, undulates upward to its high point above the Ark (this is almost the reverse arrangement used by Mendelsohn at B’nai Amoona in St. Louis). Jacoby likens the ceiling profile to that of the nearby mountains. More than any element it energizes the space.

Not everything about Temple Har Shalom is new. The congregation owns a Torah scroll, now restored and made kosher, that was once in Zamosc, Poland, and managed to survive the Holocaust. Coincidentally, the 17^th-century synagogue in Zamosc also survived, and after years of use as a library, is now receiving the restoration it deserves (more on that important building and project another time)..

“Jewish synagogue to be dedicated in Park City tonight”
June 27th, 2008 (with photos)
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3635541

Temple Har Shalom website

On Alfred Jacoby see: In Einem Neuen Geiste / In a New Spirit: The Synagogues of Alfred Jacoby (Frankfurt am Main: Deutsches Architektur Museum – Aktuelle Galarie, 2002).