| Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Reform Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership | Rabbi Marci L. Bellows |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 55 East Kings Highway,Chester,Connecticut 06412 |
| Country | United States |
  Location inConnecticut | |
| Coordinates | 41°25′00″N72°26′24″W / 41.4167°N 72.4401°W /41.4167; -72.4401 |
| Architecture | |
| Architects |
|
| Type | Synagogue |
| Established | 1998(as a merged congregation)
|
| Completed | 1998 |
| Website | |
| cbsrz | |
Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek (transliterated fromHebrew as "House of Peace; Pursuers of Justice"), is aReformJewish congregation andsynagogue, located at 55 East Kings Highway, inChester,Connecticut, in the United States. The congregation is noted for the architecture of its "spectacular" building.[1]
Congregation Rodfe Zedek was founded inMoodus 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 inDeep 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]
The congregation's building was designed by a congregation member, the noted artistSol 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 theWooden 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 includingJane Logemann.[4]
