} 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 (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, located at 16 South Clark Street, in the Loop precinct of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

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

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

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 The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is the major congregational organization of Conservative Judaism in North America, and the largest Conservative Jewish communal body in the world. USCJ closely works with the Rabbinical Assembly ...

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, ), from the Ashke ...

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, Illinois. The Center's modernist skyscraper primarily houses offic ...

. 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 (), 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 founder of the Department ...

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

Priestly Blessing The Priestly Blessing or priestly benediction (; translit. ''birkat kohanim''), also known in rabbinic literature as raising of the hands (Hebrew ''nesiat kapayim''), rising to the platform (Hebrew ''aliyah ledukhan''), ''dukhenen'' (Yiddish fro ...

''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 A shofar ( ; from , ) is an ancient musical horn, typically a ram's horn, used for Jewish ritual purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the player's embouchure. The ...

and an

etrog Etrog (, plural: ; Ashkenazi Hebrew: , plural: ) is the yellow citron (''Citrus medica'') used by Jews during the weeklong holiday of Sukkot as one of the four species. Together with the ''lulav'', ''hadass'', and ''Aravah (Sukkot), aravah'', th ...

. Additional influences include

kabbalistic Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal (). Jewi ...

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

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External links

*
Buildings: Chicago Loop Synagogue

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

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

Synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

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