) JN Digest

Selected news and feature stories
from the Detroit Jewish News.
wwvv.cletroitjewislinews.cominevvs

GEMS from page 79

Back In Time

Look for Alexis P. Rubin's
"This Month in Jewish History"
for October.
wvvw.detroitjewishnews.com

What's Eating
Harry Hirsbaum?

wvvw.detroitjevvishnews.00mlopinion

jewishicorn

Sez and the City for the
Family Values Set

Read Jewish.com's review of
Ruchama King's first novel
which explores the world of
religious matchmaking in
Jerusalem.
www.jewish.com

Jewish Charities Rate
Well

A new analysis of 2,500
non-profits show that Jewish
charities compare well to
non-Jewish ones. Learn more
about it on
www.jewish.com

German-born architect and Holocaust survivor Werner Seligmann designed Temple Brith Sholom in
Cortland,. NY, for a congregation of 30-40 families.

The cover photograph was chosen as
Rocheleau's favorite because of the
way changing light affected the
appearance of the building.
Among the other structures includ-
ed are Arnold Brunner's Temple
Society of Concord in Syracuse, which
the author attends and describes as
older, quiet and dignified; Eric
Mendelsohn's Park Synagogue in
Cleveland, which is explained as
showcasing early modern design; and
Kenneth Triester's Gumenick Chapel
at Temple Israel of Greater Miami,
which is depicted as an example of
distinctive appearance.
Gruber's descriptions delve into
building materials, the effects of light
on the façades, use segments, furnish-
ings and decorations.
"I wanted to provide a varied
overview of the architectural expres-

sion of Jewish communities in
America over the last century and
break certain stereotypes of what a
synagogue is," Gruber explains.
"I also wanted to make the point that
in every period of 20th-century
American architectural design, there
were synagogues designed of the highest
architectural quality comparable in
innovation and expressiveness to any
other type of building in America."
Gruber, involved with the protection
and preservation of historic synagogues
around the world for more than a
decade, began working on this book two
years ago after teaching a course on the
American synagogue at Syracuse
University.
Preparation challenged him to learn
about the American legacy in reli-
gious buildings, and he made calls,
developed correspondence and trav-

eled to find them.
The choices of buildings to include
were based on the author's studied
impressions, variances in building times,
geographic spread and current usage.
The structures often suggest the nature
of the people using them.
"We can look at the history of the
synagogue as a textbook of Jewish taste
and aspirations over a whole century of
American life," Gruber says. The 20th
century is interesting in America, he
notes, because it's the first time Jews
have the political freedom, economic
means and will to experiment with
design and come up with new solutions.
"Bigness, expensive materials and
prominent locations — and this is true
for churches — tell us something about
what congregations want to think they
are or what they want to be," he says.
"Intimate buildings tell about a desire to

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AO

10/10

2003

80

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Temple Beth El in Providence, R.I., designed by architect Percival Goodman, is reminiscent of
Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak Park; the architect was responsible for an early renovation of
Beth Shalom. He also designed Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.