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The Chicago Loop Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, located at 16 South Clark Street, in the Loop precinct of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Completed in 1958,[3] the synagogue is renowned for a stained glass artwork by Abraham Rattner.[1]: 72 

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 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.[4][5][6][7]

Architecture and design

The building was designed by architects Loebl, Schlossman & Bennett, who also designed the Richard J. Daley Center.[8][9] Completed in 1958, the synagogue building replaced a synagogue on the same block that had been lost to fire.[2]

A sculpture Hands of Peace by Nehemia Azaz is situated over the entrance doors.[1]: 105  The work depicts "priestly hands raised in benediction" (the Priestly Blessing).[10]

Let There Be Light

Abraham Rattner's 30 ft × 40 ft (9.1 m × 12.2 m) Let There Be Light [a] occupies the entire eastern wall of the second-floor sanctuary. It stands in juxtaposition to the "reserved minimalism" of the rest of the interior.[2] The art depicts images from Genesis 1:3 and Jewish religious symbols including a menorah, a shofar and an etrog. Additional influences include kabbalistic symbolism of "the force and the spirit of the ineffable and unknowable power".[11]: 114–115 

It was described as "[p]erhaps the most beautiful synagogue interior in the United States".[12] 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".[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Also listed as And God Said, Let There Be Light[11]: 112  and The Journey of a Mystic[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c Chiat, Marilyn Joyce (2004). The Spiritual Traveler—Chicago and Illinois: A Guide to Sacred Sites and Peaceful Places. Hidden Spring. ISBN 978-1-58768-010-6 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c "Chicago Loop Synagogue". Open House Chicago. n.d. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  3. ^ Lavine, Eileen (January 13, 2016), "Jewish Routes: Chicago", Moment
  4. ^ Cooper, Alanna E. (April 15, 2021). "Future in question for Chicago Loop Synagogue and its monumental stained-glass window". The Forward. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  5. ^ Chiarito, Bob (May 17, 2021). "Downtown Synagogue Hopes Worshippers Return Soon To Save Building — And Its Famed Stained Glass Window". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  6. ^ "THREATENED: Shrinking Membership Threatens Chicago Loop Synagogue Faces Uncertain Future". Preservation Chicago. May 31, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  7. ^ Smithson, Aaron (June 8, 2021). "With commuter congregation waning, the Chicago Loop Synagogue faces an uncertain future". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  8. ^ Cutler, Irving (1996). The Jews of Chicago: From Shtetl to Suburb. University of Illinois Press. p. 175. ISBN 0252021851 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "Daley Center". Chicago Architecture Foundation.
  10. ^ "Hands of Peace by Henri Azaz", Chicago Loop: A New Walking Tour, WTTW
  11. ^ a b Baigell, Matthew (2007). Jewish Art in America: An Introduction. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0742546417 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ a b de Breffny, Brian (1978). The Synagogue (First American ed.). Macmillan. pp. 199–200. OCLC 1031770403.
  13. ^ "Let There be Light by Abraham Rattner". Chicago Loop: A New Walking Tour. WTTW. Retrieved May 26, 2018.

Further reading

  • Wolfe, Gerard R. (2004). Chicago in and Around the Loop: Walking Tours of Architecture and History (Second ed.). McGraw-Hill. pp. 414–415. ISBN 0071422366. OCLC 951323502.
  • Frystak, Alyssa (207). "Chicago Loop Synagogue" (PDF). Historical American Building Survey: HABS No. IL-343 – via ShulCloud.

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