Chicago

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The Jewish community of Chicago traces its roots back to the very founding of the city in the 1830s. The first synagogue was founded in the 1840s and was soon followed by several more, including a Reform congregation, over the succeeding decades. The first Jewish residents of Chicago were peddlers and shopkeepers. When immigrants began arriving from Russia and Eastern Europe in the 1880s and 90s, they were primarily involved in factory and sweatshop work. Before WWII, the Jewish community was concentrated on the west side of the city and in the neighborhood of North Lawndale but by the 1940s, the Jewish community had largely relocated to the northern neighborhoods where it remains today.

Today, Chicago is home to approximately 270,000 Jews, making it the fifth-largest Jewish community in the United States. The community supports dozens of synagogues and community organizations as well as several Jewish schools.

SYNAGOGUES

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