New Haven Independent

The star was born in the central window of the old “Rose Street Shul.” That was a synagogue on a little street near what’s now Yale-New Haven Hospital. The entire street, including the synagogue, perished in the mid-20th century bulldozer-driven assault on New Haven known as “urban renewal.”

The old synagogue spawned two successors across town in Westville, where much of the Jewish community was moving: the conservative egalitarian Beth El Keser Israel (BEKI) on Harrison Street and the Orthodox Westville Synagogue on West Prospect Street. Both congregations are still going strong in the 21st century.

The image of the star from Rose Street’s window inspired the design of a colorful new work of stained-glass installed above the Harrison Street entrance to BEKI. An official dedication of the window is planned for this Sunday. Esther and Irwin Nash donated the money for the stained-glass window. New Haven-based artist Cynthia Rubin designed and put it together, working with a committee of congregants.

In a press release, Rubin described the concept behind her work:

“The BEKI window is built on a symmetrical structure, but also incorporates asymmetry, a kind of chaos of playful colors and forms. It is both tightly organized and loosely bound. While much of the design is visually symbolic, parts of the window are simply lively, moving, and captivating. They serve to keep the imagery dancing, beckoning, and engaging. It is reflective of a progressive, egalitarian congregation
with a strong tie to history, community, and our natural environment…

“The arches and the tips of the stars are the aqua blue of infinitely deep waters of lakes and oceans-just translucent enough to reveal bits of what lies on the other side: they invite us to sink into them.

“BEKI sits in view of New Haven’s dramatic West Rock, where layers of rocks push up against each other. In the BEKI window, this drama is found in the interspersed panels of cascading purples and whites. A wide variety of rich greens make up the posts and shadow arches in the window, reminding us of the greens of leaves, forests, and everything that grows. Touches of red and orange swirl through the greens, as flowers would swirl throughout gardens and fields.”