About Us Alan's most recent work: The Judaism I was never Taught is available for download here. Please feel free to send comments to Alan Turner You will need Acrobat reader to view it. If you don't have Acrobat Reader, you can download it here.   You may also download The Judaism I was never Taught in Microsoft Word version here. Our Windows by Alan Turner
	The stained glass windows in our Putnam building all tell unique stories. Starting in the sanctuary, we see the 'Dove of Peace' at the Sanctuary door. It was the first window commissioned. It's nice, but it becomes special when you know the story behind it. The window was done in remembrance of Norman Rosenfield, who owned a company in town called Metal Mast. His company made metal masts for sailing boats. Nothing special there, other than that he made, of course, the best metal masts for sailboats. It's what he did before that that enlightens us about the window.
During the late 30's and early 40's Norman worked in the war effort, but not in just any war effort. He was part of the Manhattan Project. He helped develop the atomic bomb. Norman was so devastated by what he did that he found it hard to ever set foot in a synagogue again. On the High Holidays, instead of going to synagogue to ask for forgiveness, he went sailing. He needed to be alone with G-d. He didn't feel he had the right to pray with others for forgiveness. He felt that what he helped to create was beyond that. Interestingly, when the window was going to be dedicated, the artist, Denise Noiseux, was distraught. She was bothered by the way the word SHALOM came out. It seemed every time she completed the window and stood it upright, the glass would crack through the word SHALOM. Finally, in order to strengthen the glass, she had to do each letter individually. There was another problem. The window was on the south side. When the sun was shining, you couldn't see the word at all. It bothered her a lot. During the dedication, I pointed out to people that in order for there to be peace in the world, we had to look inside and find peace within before we could find peace without. Yes, now we understood the window. The second window was created in honor of the Tubers. When things started to get rough and it looked like the doors to the synagogue would have to be closed, it was Ben who took on the presidency and kept things going, like the burning bush that was never consumed, neither by flood waters or by difficult times.
Our Holocaust Memorial is the next window. It is the artist's interpretation of a design of mine. Originally thought of as a butterfly garden outside, the synagogue board suggested that the memorial be inside. And so, after much research and consultation, the window was created using one of a kind Tiffany glass and the same kind of barbed wire used in the concentration camps. It won a national Gold Award from United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

The fourth window is Noah's ark. It was created in honor of Paul Rosenfield, Norman's son. When Norman died, Paul took over the business. He died suddenly. I reminded people that even though Paul followed in his father's tradition of sailing on the High Holidays, the ark theme was entirely appropriate, because the Hebrew word for both 'wind' and 'soul' is RUACH. The family felt that the ark with a sail would be ideal. The problem was there wasn't a sail on the ark. The artist solved that problem by using two pieces of pearl white glass to represent the beam of light, but instead of using lead to hold it together, she used the side of Paul's glasses.

The sixth window is next to Paul's. Miriam's Dance at the Sea was created in honor of Pam Sadler. Besides being an instructor at the college, Pam was a musician. The outline of the tambourine was one of her guitar strings. Pam was a strong believer in human rights and that one never knows whose lives will be touched by one's actions. So, behind Miriam, if you catch the light just right, you can see the images of people from your past, present, and future, watching.

The fifth window completed surrounds the entrance door. Israel Kaminsky held a special place in our hearts. He always took care of others, and provided calm counsel when he saw people in distress. He guided the synagogue financially and made sure people were accommodated during the Holidays. He was a gentle soul. In trying to create this window we learned that not only was Israel the name G-d gave Jacob, but that Jacob's ladder had another name. It was called the TREE OF LIFE. So the artists, Denise and her son Matt, decided to use an olive tree, twisting its branches to form the ladder.

In various places on Israel's window are representations of the stones from Aaron's breastplate as well as the symbols for each of the twelve tribes. The Stars of David in each corner were from our old synagogue that was destroyed in the flood in the mid 1950's. And if you look closely at the window in the center at the top, you can see Israel's tie tack that he wore every day to work.