In honor of its 100th anniversary year, Congregation Adath Israel hosted a special Shabbat Sabbath service on Friday, September 13; it was an evening that conjured memories of Newtown’s history and gathered loved ones and friends, including State Representative Mitch Bolinsky and First Selectman Dan Rosenthal in attendance.

“I’m very happy to welcome you all to this very special Shabbat Service,” said Rabbi Barukh Schectman, who led the gathering in prayer throughout the evening.

Congregation Adath Israel President Benjamin Glazer added, “Welcome friends, family, members of our congregation, [and] community leaders.”

“Congratulations for an incredible milestone,” Rep Bolinsky said, adding that Congregation Adath Israel was “sort of an outpost for Jewish life” at its start, and it has since grown “into much more.” He presented a citation honoring the last 100 years and well wishes for its next 100 years.

Before Mr Rosenthal spoke, Mr Glazer shared his appreciation for the town’s support and for Mr Rosenthal’s commitment and genuine concern for the community.

Mr Rosenthal presented a proclamation in honor of the 100th anniversary. Saying he thought a lot about what it was like for the founding families when the congregation was first started, Mr Rosenthal noted the work ethic and sense of family. Through faith and community commitment, Mr Rosenthal said, Congregation Adath Israel has helped to make Newtown more inclusive of all faiths. Newtown is stronger and more resilient because Congregation Adath Israel has been “embedded in its bedrock.”

Members of the congregation’s founding families spoke at the event, as well.

Brother and sister Joel Nezvesky and Janis Nezvesky-Schertzer shared memories and the story of their ancestors, Israel and Rose Nezvesky, who donated the land for the synagogue in the early 1900s.

According to an announcement for the special service, Congregation Adath Israel was founded in the early 1900s by Orthodox Jews fleeing poverty and persecution in Eastern Europe. After settling in Newtown as farmers, they worshiped for several years without a synagogue or rabbi.

Mr Nezvesky and Ms Nezvesky-Schertzer spoke about how their relatives fled Russia, where oppression and anti-Semitism were prevalent. Israel and Rose Nezvesky first sent two of their sons ahead of them to New York. Then they followed with their youngest child, Abraham, Mr Nezvesky and Ms Nezvesky-Schertzer’s grandfather. Later, they purchased 100 acres of land on Huntingtown Road. As the Jewish community began to grow, Ms Nezvesky-Schertzer said, it became clear they needed a building.

The ground was broken in 1914 for the original synagogue. In 1919, it opened its doors “to serve this small farming community. There was no heat or water. The building was warmed by a pot-belly stove. The first religious leader arrived in 1923. He was an Orthodox Rabbi named Samuel Steinfeld,” a program from the event reads.

“Israel also purchased the first Torah,” the program continues. “In gratitude to Israel Nezvesky, the synagogue was named Adath Israel, meaning ‘House of Israel,’ in his honor.”

“It was quite different,” Mr Nezvesky said of his early memories of the synagogue. The wood stove was in the back of the original building. Kerosene lamps and candles were used. The road was narrower then. As a reminder of the past, Mr Nezvesky said members of his family walked to the special Shabbat Sabbath service, just as their relatives had for years. Huntingtown Road is no longer a narrow dirt road, but trees planted by their family, specifically by Israel, still stand.

“You stop and you try to rebuild and imagine what life was like in the United States,” Mr Nezvesky said. The community made their own clothes, there were cider mills, and there were ice houses.

“Appreciate your freedom. Appreciate this celebration,” said Mr Nezvesky.

Standing Tall And Proud

In 2005, ground was broken for the new building, “just two lots away from the original Adath Israel on land donated by the Nezvesky family. Many descendants of the original farmers participated in the groundbreaking ceremony, many of whom are still members today,” the program reads. “In September 2007, we opened this building. With great joy, we paraded our Torahs down the street to our new spiritual home. We are proud to continue our Jewish heritage as a progressive conservative congregation. We continue to offer a strong, yet flexible, religious framework deeply rooted in faith, history, family, and community.”

After Ms Nezvesky-Schertzer asked all descendents of Rose and Israel to “rise,” members of the audience stood, and the congregation celebrated them. Rosalie Newman spoke, sharing that she was named after her great-grandmother, Rose Nezvesky. Charles Newman then shared memories of his family, including his grandfather, Rabbi Samuel Steinfeld. His father eventually took over the services.

“I was a farmer then, and I am a farmer now,” Mr Newman said. One of his cousins, he added, recently shared a memory of a pail being put outside the synagogue on holidays so people could wash their hands after using the outhouse. He has fond memories of cake being served, and he spoke of a community that learned Hebrew from his grandfather. It stayed together through everything. The Jewish community, he shared, was tight-knit.

Later, Susan Morse, Jessica Gerrish, and Kim Danzinger all spoke about their memories of the synagogue. Mr Danzinger oversaw the new building’s construction. For Ms Morse, who said she joined 34 years ago, the congregation has been a source of strength, solace, and comfort. Congregation members have healed together as a community following tragedies, and after being the target of a hate crime a few weeks ago, the community is together again.

“We didn’t cancel this celebration. We did not act out of fear,” Ms Morse said.

Speaking about the hate crime involving anti-Semitic graffiti spray-painted onto the front and side walls of the Congregation Adath Israel synagogue sometime overnight on August 23-24, Mr Glazer said while the “unconscionable acts” happened, that “this moment” is about joy. Before him he said he saw friends and family, standing tall and proud.

Later — before Mr Danzinger spoke about placing a plaque for his grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, on the congregation’s new building — Mr Glazer read from that plaque. It expresses gratefulness for those that fight tyranny, gratefulness “for this community,” and gratefulness for those that allow “us to practice our faith in peace.”

Participants gathered for refreshments and continued the celebration following the September 13 service.

For additional information about Congregation Adath Israel, go to congadathisrael.org or e-mail office@congadathisrael.org.