Left Image: Burlington’s original synagogue, Ohavi Zedek (“Lovers of Justice”) was built in 1887 by a group of itinerant peddlers from Cekiske, Lithuania (outside Kovno). This 1903 photograph, from Simhat Torah, shows the newly bricked exterior.

Right Image: In 1889, the tiny Jewish community (150 residents) built a second synagogue, Chai Adam (“Life of Man”), within 500’ of the first. The wooden synagogue included a unique second story Victorian turret (seen on left, pitched slate roof), situated above the ark. In 1910, this interior space would house the mural.

Ben Zion Black was born Ben Zion Joseph Bloch, in Kovno, Lithuania, in 1886.

The youthful artist and theatrical producer arrived in Burlington in 1910, in search of Rachel Saiger, with whom he’d fallen in love in Kovno while casting her in one of his productions.

On his arrival, Burlington’s second Orthodox synagogue, Chai Adam (“Life of Man” was undergoing renovation and remodeling. He was offered $200, equivalent to $5,314 today, to paint the interior of the sanctuary including the mural and ceiling.

During the next six decades of his life in Burlington, Black would distinguish himself as a gifted commercial sign maker and indefatigable champion of Yiddish culture as a poet, playwright, mandolin orchestra leader, and impresario.

Learn more about Ben Zion Black

Ben Zion Black’s mural depicted the Tent of the Tabernacles as described in the Book of Numbers, including the Decalogue flanked by rampant lions and surmounted by a floating crown, all bathed with the rays of the sun, and framed by architectural elements and elaborate curtains.

Chai Adam synagogue closed in 1939, its congregation merging with Ohavi Zedek.

With the subsequent sale of the building and its conversion for commercial use, all aspects of its religious past were lost, with the exception of the mural. While long-term carpet warehouse owner Harry Wheel was a devout Catholic, his son-in-law recalled, “the mural spoke to him.” With the almost complete decimation of European treasures in the Holocaust, this piece serendipitously survived.

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In 1986, the former Chai Adam synagogue was purchased with plans to renovate the building into multiple apartments.

Recognizing that the future of the mural was in jeopardy, Aaron Goldberg, the archivist for Ohavi Zedek Synagogue and descendant of the founding immigrants, convinced the new owner to seal the mural behind a wall, hoping it might be reclaimed at some later date.

Before being hidden, archival quality photographs of the mural were taken and paid for by Ben Zion Black’s daughters, including Leicia, then an accomplished architect and personal assistant to I. M. Pei. 

Between 1986, when the Chai Adam Synagogue mural was hidden and “lost,” and the year 2005, international scholars published books, academic papers and pictures about Eastern European Jewish folk art and wooden synagogues documenting the almost complete loss of this once flourishing genre.

As money is raised, conservator Connie Silver is hired to evaluate the condition of the mural and determine necessary steps to protect it.

Over the next two years, Silver would painstakingly stabilize the mural by reattaching flaking paint onto the plaster, selectively remove multiple coats of shellac, grime, and particulate ash (both proving the authenticity of the mural and revealing a very different color palette than what anyone imagined. The rediscovered colors are consistent with those in the Book of Numbers (4:6-12) describing the Tent of the Tabernacles.

In the months following Connie Silver’s discoveries, additional conservators, engineers, and contractors undertake a series of steps, constructing a temporary structure with which to remove the exterior slate roof, assess and strengthen the mural lathe from the back and encase it in a protective metal frame.

Madeleine’s personal appeal during the 2014 campaign (2 minutes 30 seconds)  

The project received support from hundreds of individuals.

The pictures below illustrate these different processes involved.

On May 6, 2015, the long-awaited plan to move the mural to its new home, four-tenths of a mile away at Ohavi Zedek synagogue, begins.

Beginning with the removal of the roof on the temporary structure, crane crews attach the necessary cables with which to pick up and deposit the mural on a flatbed truck. Once arriving at Ohavi Zedek, the crane once again lifts the mural and delivers it onto a wooden pad, where wheels are attached and the mural is delivered into the lobby. Shortly thereafter, the mural is lifted and secured to its final home (11’ above the floor, the same height it was positioned before).

Watch The Lifting of the Mural 

(Short version is a 3:14 second video of the second phase of the process, involving the final lifting of the mural into place. )

Along with providing guided tours of the Lost Mural, we are partnering with local schools, education groups, and organizations to teach about the importance of the mural and its legacy.

In 2023, we began the tradition of partnering with high school and college students to teach about the history of the mural and the stories of immigrants in our community. 

Learn more.