I am grateful to Hashem for the opportunity to spend some time in Chicago with Jessica’s family (and cooler temperatures!). The kids had a wonderful time getting to know their new cousin, Ori Lev Abramowitz, the newborn son of Jessica’s brother and sister in law, Scott and Anna Abramowitz, and seeing various sites in and around Chicago. The kids especially enjoyed a day trip to Milwaukee, where we all had a wonderful time at the stunning - and kid-friendly - Milwaukee Art Museum. This museum has one of the largest collections in North America, in particular of paintings from Wisconsin native Georgia O’Keefe. The new wing of the building sits on Lake Michigan and was designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, who also designed the bridge in Jerusalem that has become iconic.
I am also grateful to Rabbi Wolk, who covered my Rabbinic responsibilities while I was gone, and will be doing so this coming week when I will be away again. With God’s help, we are traveling to the Catskill Mountains, known in New York Jewish parlance as “The Mountains” or “The Country,” where we will be celebrating my parents’ 50th anniversary with my extended family. I am looking forward to this trip, which has also presented some fascinating Halachic learning opportunities such constructing Eruvin, and in the realm of techum Shabbat - the distance one is allowed to walk on Shabbat into an uninhabited area - that I look forward to sharing with you in the future.
Last Time’s MSOTW- Tisha B’Av Edition
In the spirit on Tisha B’Av, where we commemorate the destroyed beit hamikdash, it is appropriate to discuss a building that used to be a shul but isn’t any longer. This building was, in its heyday, one of the most vibrant shuls in America, a pathbreaking synagogue that was the first of its kind. Simon Raphael correctly identified the location as New York City’s Harlem neighborhood, which was heavily Jewish in the early 20th Century.
The buiding pictured here was the Institutional Synagogue, the first “Shul With A Pool” (a model also followed by my former shul, The Jewish Center). The Institutional Synagogue was the hub of Jewish life in Harlem and featured constant youth and adult education classes. Approximately 3,000 people a day (!) entered its doors and it had an offering of 67 clubs. It also offered a robust Hebrew School. The Rabbi,Rabbi Herbert Goldstein, son in law of the legendary philanthropist Harry Fischel, was a visionary leader who oversaw it all. The shul is now located on W. 76th Street and is known as the West Side Institutional Synagogue - former President, our own Jacques Ohayon!
In this vein, I read a book while at my in-laws called Chicago’s Forgotten Synagogues - about the many magnificent shuls found throughout the Chicago area, many of which no longer exist- though some still exist in merged and relocated forms. This Week’s MSOTW
This shul appears rather “ordinary” (if any shul could be called that), but it offers an exceptionally “deep” prayer experience. Name the shul (runner up goes to those who can correctly identify which city it is in).
Rabbi’s Resources returns in two weeks.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky
Congregation Shaare Tefilla 6131 Churchill Way Dallas, TX 75230
