Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel (Hebrew for: "People of Peace" followed by "Children of Israel") is a

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

congregation located in the Lakeview neighborhood on the north side of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois.

History

The Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation was founded in 1870 as Ohave Sholom (Lovers of Peace) by a group of

Lithuanian Jewish Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent area ...

families primarily from

Marijampolė Marijampolė (; also known by several other names) is a cultural and 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 Mari ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. This congregation is considered to be the oldest Orthodox congregation still existing in Chicago.The Jews of Chicago: From Shtetl to Suburb, Irving Cutler, University of Illinois Press, 1996, p. 283 In the summer of 1870, Duber (Dov Ber) Ginsburg, an immigrant from

, appeared for services at the Bais Medrash Hagodol synagogue wearing a straw hat. The leaders of the shul considered it frivolous and threw him out. Offended, Ginsburg assembled a

minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( he, מניין \ מִנְיָן ''mīnyān'' , lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Jud ...

(congregation) from his old-country friends and founded a competing shul (synagogue), Ohave Sholom Mariampol, at Polk and Dearborn Streets. In 1871 the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

drove many homeless Jewish men and women into the 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 their first rabbi, Abraham Samuel Braude, who served until his death in 1907. It was long known unofficially as "The Mariampoler Shul" and also informally as "The Straw Hat Shul." In 1910 Saul Silber became the rabbi and the congregation moved west into a new domed building by Chicago architect Alexander Levy at Polk and Ashland. However, the Jewish community was moving farther west into the Lawndale district, and so the congregation opened a branch on Homan Avenue and during the 1920s sold the Ashland Avenue structure to a

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

Christian congregation. They soon built another building at Independence and Polk. It was also at this time that Silber helped to establish the

Hebrew Theological College The Hebrew Theological College, known colloquially as "Skokie Yeshiva" or HTC, is a yeshiva in Skokie, Illinois. Although the school's primary focus is the teaching of Torah and Jewish tradition, it is also a private university that is part of t ...

and served without salary as its first president, while continuing at Anshe Sholom until his death in 1946. In 1940, a group of members opened a branch called "Lakeview Anshe Sholom Center" in a converted greystone residence at 540 West Melrose Street on the North Side, where Herman Davis became the rabbi in 1945. Under Davis the congregation constructed a school building directly east of Anshe Sholom. After this a new shul was erected, and dedicated in 1959. In 1960, the last few members of Congregation B'nai Israel in

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

ceased operations in the 1300 block of Sedgwick Street, and the shul became "Lakeview Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel." Two years later the main Anshe Sholom Congregation on Independence Boulevard also merged, creating the present shul's name. After Davis' death in 1975 Joseph Deitcher became the rabbi, and after Deitcher's death in 1994

Asher Lopatin Asher Lopatin (born September 1, 1964) is the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC, a nonprofit Jewish community organization in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He is an American Modern Orthodox rabbi and leader of Kehilla ...

succeeded him. In 2013, David Wolkenfeld succeeded Asher Lopatin and served as the rabbi for 10 years.

References

External links

''Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel'' Congregation Homepage
{{authority control Lithuanian-American culture in Chicago Lithuanian-Jewish culture in the United States Orthodox Judaism in Chicago Synagogues in Chicago Modern Orthodox synagogues in the United States Religious organizations established in 1870 Religious organizations based in Chicago

History

See also

References

External links