} The Chicago Loop Synagogue is an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

, located at 16 South Clark Street, in the

Loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...

precinct 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 Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, in the United States. Completed in 1958, the synagogue is renowned for a

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

artwork by

Abraham Rattner Abraham Rattner (July 8, 1895 – February 14, 1978) was an American artist, best known for his richly colored paintings, often with religious subject matter. During World War I, he served in France with the U.S. Army as a camouflage artist. Ear ...

. The synagogue was founded in 1929 by the United Synagogue of America to serve the needs of Jewish professionals working in Chicago’s downtown business district, providing

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

food and a place to pray during the workday. Following the COVID-19 global pandemic, there were concerns that, due to the exodus of workers from the city center, the synagogue would be unable to sustain its future operating costs.

Architecture and design

The building was designed by architects Loebl, Schlossman & Bennett, who also designed the

Richard J. Daley Center The Richard J. Daley Center, also known by its open courtyard Daley Plaza and named after longtime mayor Richard J. Daley, is the premier civic center of the City of Chicago in Illinois. The Center's modernist skyscraper primarily houses of ...

. Completed in 1958, the synagogue building replaced a synagogue on the same block that had been lost to fire. A sculpture ''Hands of Peace'' by

Nehemia Azaz Nehemia Azaz ( he, נחמיה עזז), also Nehemiah, Henri or N H Azaz (9 October 1923 – 27 October 2008), was an Israeli sculptor, ceramicist and architectural artist, who spent half of his working life in the UK. Best known in Israel as found ...

is situated over the entrance doors. The work depicts "priestly hands raised in benediction" (the Priestly Blessing).

''Let There Be Light''

Abraham Rattner's ''Let There Be Light'' occupies the entire eastern wall of the second-floor sanctuary. It stands in juxtaposition to the "reserved minimalism" of the rest of the interior. The art depicts images from Genesis 1:3 and Jewish religious symbols including a menorah, a shofar and an

etrog Etrog ( he, אֶתְרוֹג, plural: '; Ashkenazi Hebrew: ', plural: ') is the yellow citron or ''Citrus medica'' used by Jews during the week-long holiday of Sukkot as one of the four species. Together with the ''lulav'', ''hadass'', and '' ...

. Additional influences include

kabbalistic Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

symbolism of "the force and the spirit of the ineffable and unknowable power". It was described as " rhaps the most beautiful synagogue interior in the United States". Another critic said the glass "bathes the sanctuary in a shower of color, artistically consecrating the space as a place apart from the grey concrete scene on the other side of the glass".

Notes

References

External links

*
Buildings: Chicago Loop Synagogue

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

(video clip) {{Chicago 1929 establishments in Illinois 20th-century synagogues in the United States

Synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

Jewish organizations established in 1929 Modernist architecture in Illinois Modernist synagogues Orthodox Judaism in Chicago Orthodox synagogues in Illinois Synagogues completed in 1958 Synagogues in Chicago

Architecture and design

''Let There Be Light''

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links