Tag Archives: synagogue

(Red & White) Churches & Synagogue (Greenpoint)

Posted on September 25, 2016 by zjb

The other week I stumbled across these red-brick and white brick churches and a synagogue in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. They are well preserved historical structures that are still-functioning religious institutions. The buildings reflect national and religious origins that … Continue reading →

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Cuban-Hebrew Miami Gaudi

Posted on December 21, 2015 by zjb

I don’t think I’ve seen a synagogue exterior quite like this one. Menachem Feuer posted on FB this photo of Temple Beth Shmuel in Miami. It looks like a sand castle, ala Antoni Gaudi, but a bit more restrained. Designed … Continue reading →

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Morality, Religion, Politics (Congressman Jerrold Nadler on Iran Deal, Israel, & Syrian Refugees)

Posted on November 21, 2015 by zjb

It was very moving to hear Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) before a full house this Shabbat at Ansche Chesed explaining his vote in favor of the Iran Deal, his thoughts about Israel and Palestine, and his support for Syrian refugees. Delivered from … Continue reading →

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Paris, Peace, and War (Psalm 120)

Posted on November 14, 2015 by zjb

Today’s Torah reading in the synagogue was parshat Toldot from Genesis.  It’s theme was enmity. It includes the shepherd war between Isaac and the Philistines of Gerar alongside the more famous enmity between Jacob and Esau. Instead of prayers for … Continue reading →

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New Jewish Life (Washington Heights)

Posted on September 29, 2015 by zjb

Interesting article in the Forward, which you can read here, about new Jewish life in the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods in upper Manhattan. Part of what works are: old synagogue infrastructure, neighborhood gentrification, young people, urban style, population-demographic diversity, … Continue reading →

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The Dead Hold Up the Synagogue (Ansche Chesed)

Posted on September 21, 2015 by zjb

Old fashioned and handsome, these large memorial boards that run along the back and back side walls of the main sanctuary at Ansche Chesed do very little to call attention to themselves. But they are an integral part to a certain … Continue reading →

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Stained Glass Skylight (Ansche Chesed)

Posted on September 19, 2015 by zjb

The supporting frames hold the entire ensemble in place while breaking it into pieces. Sunbursts and crowns and lions and wings and hexagrams and warm color and Hebrew letters (for wisdom) and gem like geometries form a halo surrounding the … Continue reading →

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Entrepreneurial Judaism & The Visionary Synagogue

Posted on September 10, 2015 by zjb

I did not know what to expect from Sacred Strategies: Transforming Synagogues From Functional to Visionary written by Isa Aron, Steven Cohen, Lawrence Hoffman, and Ari Kelman –except, of courses, that it was going to be about the American synagogue … Continue reading →

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Brutalist Synagogue (Beersheba)

Posted on August 24, 2015 by zjb

Poking around the internet for more Beersheba Brutalism, I found this and other pictures of this synagogue, which seems to go by two names. The Pyramid Synagogue refers obviously to its external form, whereas the Synagogue of the Babylonian Community … Continue reading →

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Fire Island Synagogue (American Judaism Summer Lab)

Posted on August 4, 2015 by zjb

Maybe a synagogue should be more like a summer camp –open, relaxed, free, intentional, and come-as-you-are-off-the-beach. You can read here about Shaul Magid, Basya Schechter, and the history of the Fire Island Synagogue. Let’s call it aesthetic Judaism for the … Continue reading →

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