Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel
Encyclopedia
Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel (Hebrew for: "People of Peace" followed by "Children of Israel") is a Modern Orthodox congregation located in the Lakeview
neighborhood on the north side of Chicago
, Illinois. Asher Lopatin
is the rabbi.
Its street address is 540 West Melrose, Chicago, Illinois 60657.
, Lithuania
. The congregation is considered to be the oldest still existing Orthodox congregation in Chicago.
Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel Congregation began its long, illustrious record of service to Chicago's Jews with a fight over a hat.
One hot day in the summer of 1870, Duber (Dov Ber) Ginsburg, an immigrant from Mariampol, Lithuania, appeared for services at the Bais Medrash Hagodol synagogue wearing a straw hat, but the leaders of the shul took exception to its frivolity, and threw him out. Offended, Mr. Ginsburg assembled a minyan from his old-country friends, and founded a competing shul called Ohave Sholom Mariampol, at Polk and Dearborn Streets.
Little more than a year later, the Great Chicago Fire
drove many homeless Jews into their neighborhood, and membership grew rapidly. In 1892, the congregation merged with the Anshe Kalvarier shul, whose building had been demolished when 12th Street (now Roosevelt Road) was widened, and adopted the name, "Anshe Sholom Congregation". In 1894, they retained the first of our great Rabbis, Abraham Samuel Braude zt"l, who served until his death in 1907, and the shul took its place in the top rank of Chicago Jewry. All the same, it was long known informally as "the Mariampoler Shul" and also, truth be told, "the Straw Hat Shul".
In 1910, two great events occurred: the congregation brought Rabbi Saul Silber zt"l to Chicago, and moved west into a new shul building at Polk and Ashland, a magnificent, domed Classical building by Chicago architect Alexander Levy. However, the Jewish community was moving farther west into the Lawndale district, and the Ashland neighborhood soon dried up. So they opened a branch on Homan Avenue, and, during the 1920's, sold the Ashland Avenue structure to a Greek Orthodox Christian congregation which still functions to this day. They soon built a grand new edifice at Independence and Polk. In that era, the West Side was called "Little Jerusalem", and Jewish life enjoyed a golden age of growth, vigor and prosperity. It was also at that time that Rabbi Silber helped to establish the Hebrew Theological College
and served without salary as its first President, while continuing his gifted leadership of Anshe Sholom, until his passing in 1946.
In the late 1930's, a group of members saw the potential of bringing their kind of open, welcoming Orthodoxy to the North Side, where congregations of other kinds had been thriving since 1910. They began a branch called "Lakeview Anshe Sholom Center", and opened in 1940 in a converted greystone residence at 540 West Melrose Street. As it grew, they hired a young Hebrew teacher, Rabbi Herman Davis zt"l, and quickly elevated him to the position of Rabbi of the congregation, in 1945. More than anyone else, it was Rabbi Davis who made the Lakeview
experiment a success, and built the shul into a respected center of Orthodox worship, communal life and education.
Although Rabbi Davis began early to raise funds for the construction of a permanent synagogue building, he and the congregation decided to put education first, and instead saw to the construction of the school building which has since become the property of the Florence Heller JCC, directly east of Anshe Sholom. Only after that was the present shul erected and dedicated, in 1959.
Two more mergers brought the congregation to its present status. In 1960, the last few members of Congregation Bnai Israel gave up on Old Town
, ceased operations in the 1300 block of Sedgwick Street, and our shul became "Lakeview Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel". Two years later, the long postwar decline of the Old West Side brought an end to the main Anshe Sholom Congregation on Independence Boulevard, and it, too, merged into ours, creating the present name.
After Rabbi Davis' death in 1975, the Congregation retained Rabbi Joseph Deitcher zt"l, whose able service consolidated Rabbi Davis' achievements, and proved that Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel Congregation is not the work of any one person, but rather the expression of the faith and devotion of a like-minded community which upholds Orthodox belief and practice, while confidently engaging with the modern world. After Rabbi Deitcher's passing in 1994, Rabbi Asher Lopatin
was brought in to be the congregation's spiritual leader.
Lakeview, Chicago
Lake View, or Lakeview, is one of the 77 community area of the Chicago, Illinois, located in the city's North Side. It is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road on the north, North Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and the shore of Lake Michigan on the east...
neighborhood on the north side of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois. Asher Lopatin
Asher Lopatin
Asher Lopatin is an American rabbi. He is rabbi of congregation Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Chicago.Lopatin is a graduate of the Maimonides School, received a B.A. in International Relations and Islamic Studies from Boston University, and was awarded a Master of...
is the rabbi.
Its street address is 540 West Melrose, Chicago, Illinois 60657.
History
The congregation was founded in 1870 as Ohave Sholom (Lovers of Peace) by a group of families primarily from Mariampol, now MarijampolėMarijampole
Marijampolė is an industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Marijampolė is 48,700...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. The congregation is considered to be the oldest still existing Orthodox congregation in Chicago.
Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel Congregation began its long, illustrious record of service to Chicago's Jews with a fight over a hat.
One hot day in the summer of 1870, Duber (Dov Ber) Ginsburg, an immigrant from Mariampol, Lithuania, appeared for services at the Bais Medrash Hagodol synagogue wearing a straw hat, but the leaders of the shul took exception to its frivolity, and threw him out. Offended, Mr. Ginsburg assembled a minyan from his old-country friends, and founded a competing shul called Ohave Sholom Mariampol, at Polk and Dearborn Streets.
Little more than a year later, the Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...
drove many homeless Jews into their neighborhood, and membership grew rapidly. In 1892, the congregation merged with the Anshe Kalvarier shul, whose building had been demolished when 12th Street (now Roosevelt Road) was widened, and adopted the name, "Anshe Sholom Congregation". In 1894, they retained the first of our great Rabbis, Abraham Samuel Braude zt"l, who served until his death in 1907, and the shul took its place in the top rank of Chicago Jewry. All the same, it was long known informally as "the Mariampoler Shul" and also, truth be told, "the Straw Hat Shul".
In 1910, two great events occurred: the congregation brought Rabbi Saul Silber zt"l to Chicago, and moved west into a new shul building at Polk and Ashland, a magnificent, domed Classical building by Chicago architect Alexander Levy. However, the Jewish community was moving farther west into the Lawndale district, and the Ashland neighborhood soon dried up. So they opened a branch on Homan Avenue, and, during the 1920's, sold the Ashland Avenue structure to a Greek Orthodox Christian congregation which still functions to this day. They soon built a grand new edifice at Independence and Polk. In that era, the West Side was called "Little Jerusalem", and Jewish life enjoyed a golden age of growth, vigor and prosperity. It was also at that time that Rabbi Silber helped to establish the Hebrew Theological College
Hebrew Theological College
The Hebrew Theological College, known as "Skokie Yeshiva," is a Yeshiva in Skokie, Illinois which also functions as a private university on campus. The primary focus of the Yeshiva is to teach Torah and Jewish traditions...
and served without salary as its first President, while continuing his gifted leadership of Anshe Sholom, until his passing in 1946.
In the late 1930's, a group of members saw the potential of bringing their kind of open, welcoming Orthodoxy to the North Side, where congregations of other kinds had been thriving since 1910. They began a branch called "Lakeview Anshe Sholom Center", and opened in 1940 in a converted greystone residence at 540 West Melrose Street. As it grew, they hired a young Hebrew teacher, Rabbi Herman Davis zt"l, and quickly elevated him to the position of Rabbi of the congregation, in 1945. More than anyone else, it was Rabbi Davis who made the Lakeview
Lakeview, Chicago
Lake View, or Lakeview, is one of the 77 community area of the Chicago, Illinois, located in the city's North Side. It is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road on the north, North Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and the shore of Lake Michigan on the east...
experiment a success, and built the shul into a respected center of Orthodox worship, communal life and education.
Although Rabbi Davis began early to raise funds for the construction of a permanent synagogue building, he and the congregation decided to put education first, and instead saw to the construction of the school building which has since become the property of the Florence Heller JCC, directly east of Anshe Sholom. Only after that was the present shul erected and dedicated, in 1959.
Two more mergers brought the congregation to its present status. In 1960, the last few members of Congregation Bnai Israel gave up on Old Town
Old Town, Chicago
Old Town is a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, bounded by the Ogden Ave. right-of-way on the northwest, Larrabee Street on the west, Clybourn Avenue on the southwest and Division Street on the south and Clark Street on the east and northeast. It spans across eastern parts of the community areas...
, ceased operations in the 1300 block of Sedgwick Street, and our shul became "Lakeview Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel". Two years later, the long postwar decline of the Old West Side brought an end to the main Anshe Sholom Congregation on Independence Boulevard, and it, too, merged into ours, creating the present name.
After Rabbi Davis' death in 1975, the Congregation retained Rabbi Joseph Deitcher zt"l, whose able service consolidated Rabbi Davis' achievements, and proved that Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel Congregation is not the work of any one person, but rather the expression of the faith and devotion of a like-minded community which upholds Orthodox belief and practice, while confidently engaging with the modern world. After Rabbi Deitcher's passing in 1994, Rabbi Asher Lopatin
Asher Lopatin
Asher Lopatin is an American rabbi. He is rabbi of congregation Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Chicago.Lopatin is a graduate of the Maimonides School, received a B.A. in International Relations and Islamic Studies from Boston University, and was awarded a Master of...
was brought in to be the congregation's spiritual leader.
Well-known members
- Rahm EmanuelRahm EmanuelRahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...
, US poliltician, former US House member and White House Chief of Staff for Barack Obama, Mayor of Chicago