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Oak Park Temple B’nai Abraham Zion, one of the oldest Reform Jewish Congregations in the Chicago area, will celebrate its 150th Anniversary this year with a series of major events including concerts, speakers, parties and family programs starting this upcoming Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, on September 25, 2014, and running throughout the Hebrew Year 5775.

Major events include: 
  • A concert by international recording artist David Broza on November 1, 2014 (see photos and video)
  • A visit by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), on November 21, 2014
  • Scholar-in-Residence Weekend with Rabbi Gary Zola,  Executive Director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives (AJA) and Professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati, December 5-7, 2014
  • A “Pajama Havdalah” for kids, followed by a morning meditation for adults, by “Jewish Kiddie Rocker” ShirLaLa on January 10-11, 2015
  • Remembering Jewish Lawndale - a short film, preceded by a dinner catered by Manny's deli
  • The Adult Purim Party and Oy Vey Café - Saturday, March 7, 2015, 7:30 to 10:00 pm.
  • Catherine Kautsky in Concert on Piano - Saturday, April 25, at 2:00 pm. 
  • A Cantors Concert on May 2, 2015
  • 150th Anniversary Gala - Saturday, June 27
  • Plus many more speakers, parties, and celebrations.

Oak Park Temple B’nai Abraham Zion was formed by the 1918 merger of Zion Congregation—Chicago’s 4th synagogue, which held its first service in 1864—and B’nai Abraham Congregation at Washington and Karlov on Chicago’s west side.  The congregation moved to its present location at 1235 N. Harlem Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1957.

“There are precious few congregations, indeed precious few Jewish communities, that are not only existing after 150 years, but thriving,” says Oak Park Temple Rabbi Max Weiss.  “We have been blessed to serve Oak Park and its surrounding community for so long, and we look forward to an exciting year of celebrations for our community and everyone who wishes to join us.”

What's Next?

150th Anniversary Gala:
Saturday, June 27, 6:00 to 10:30 pm


1957 Time Capsule audio

Attendees at our Time Capsule event saw Rabbi Weiss and Rabbi Gerson pull out a reel-to-reel audio tape from the 1957 capsule.  Wondering what's on it?

Thanks to the miracles of digital conversion technology, you can click the play button below to hear the audio from that reel-to-reel tape.

The audio is more than 1 hour and 15 minutes long, so your ability to play it may depend on the speed of your Internet connection.


In the News

Picture
  • WGN Time Capsule Coverage
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014


click here for a complete list
of sesquicentennial events

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  • Home
  • Stories
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Bios
    • David Broza
    • Rick Jacobs
    • Gary Zola
    • ShirLaLa
    • Remembering Jewish Lawndale
    • Oy Vey Café
    • Piano Concert
    • Cantors Concert
    • 150th Anniversary Gala
    • Gallery Project
  • Archives
    • Architecture
    • Documents
    • History
  • Blog
  • Donate