"My House Shall Be a House of Prayer for All People."
For directions please click here
Sabbath Eve Services (Friday, 6:15 p.m.)
Every Friday evening throughout the year, Sabbath Eve Services are held at 6:15 p.m., with Kiddush and Oneg immediately following services. Our choir provides beautiful music drawn from a wide variety of composers. Members and visitors who reside in or are visiting the Near North Side find this Sabbath Eve Service to be an uplifting and spiritual experience.
Sunday Services (Sunday, 11:00 a.m.)
Many people new to Sinai are unfamiliar with the idea of a Sunday morning worship service at a synagogue. The Sunday Service is one of Sinai's oldest and most distinctive traditions, and remains a foundation of our Temple life.
Why hold a Sunday Service?
In the 1870's, a decade after Sinai's founding, the Congregation was forced to face a problem affecting all American Jews at the time. The majority being recently arrived immigrants from Europe, most Jews were working hard to build new lives for their families. These were the days before the five-day work week, and few Jews were able to leave work on Saturday to observe the traditional Sabbath. In most synagogues, Reform and Orthodox, Sabbath morning worship attendance declined rapidly, and a whole generation of American Jews were becoming strangers to regular worship.
The Rabbis and leaders of Sinai sought to respond to this challenge in a positive and creative way. The Sunday Service was first instituted at Sinai in 1874 as a supplement to the Saturday Sabbath Service. However, it became so popular and evidently filled such a need, that by the early 20th Century it had become the major service of the week. Frequently, hundreds and thousands of people gathered in the congregation for the services, music and sermon. Today, Sunday services have the additional advantage allowing parents of Sunday school students an opportunity to worship while their children are in class.
Family Services
One Sunday morning service each month is devoted to family worship. In addition, during the school year, one Friday evening each month is devoted to family worship, and is typically followed by a family Shabbat dinner. Children of all ages join their families and the entire Sinai Congregation for a warm and informal experience of communal worship. Each family service is based on a special theme taken from Jewish and societal events, including the High Holy Days, Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim and Passover, as well as Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and Mothers Day.
Our 2012 Family Service dates are: January 22, February 12, March 11 (Purim), May 13 (Mothers' Day), June 3 (Confirmation)
Tot Shabbat
Popular "Tot Shabbat" services are held periodically for families with preschool age children. These services, filled with music and joyful participation by parents and young children alike, are followed by kid-friendly Shabbat dinners.
Tot Shabbat dates for 2012: January 13, February 10, March 9, April 27
Temple Location and Directions
CHICAGO SINAI CONGREGATION is located at 15 West Delaware, between State Street (east) and Dearborn Street (west) on the south side of Delaware. Delaware is a one-way street, eastbound.
From the North via Lake Shore Drive:
Exit Lake Shore Drive at North Avenue/LaSalle Street.
North Avenue to Clark Street.
Turn LEFT on Clark Street.
Take Clark Street to Delaware Place - the second street on the left
south of Oak Street (stoplight)
Turn left on to Delaware.
At the stop sign (Dearborn) turn left to the first street on the right,
which is Delaware.
Turn right onto Delaware Place - the temple is 1/2 block from the
corner on your right.
From the North and South via the Kennedy Expressway:
Exit the Kennedy Expressway at Ohio Street - East.
Take Ohio to Dearborn Street.
Turn left on Dearborn.
Take Dearborn to Delaware Place (Delaware is on the Right/East side
about 3 blocks north of Chicago Avenue)
Turn right on Delaware - the temple is 1/2 block from the corner on
your right.
Chicago Sinai Congregation validates parking for a reduced rate for the Potash Self-Park Garage. From the Temple, continue east on Delaware to the stop light, which is at Wabash Avenue. Turn right onto Wabash (going south); go one block to Chestnut. Turn right (west) on to Chestnut, and enter the Potash Self-Park garage which is on your right at the west end of the block (just east of State Street).
We also have validated parking at One West Superior and 900 North Michigan Ave.
Potash Garage
Rate: $12 for 12 hours
One West Superior
Rate: $9 for 3 hours
900 North Michigan Avenue (Bloomingdales Building)
Rate: Monday to Saturday until 5 p.m.,
$12 for 3 hours only
Sundays from 6 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., $7.75
When you enter the Temple, please pick-up a validation card for your parking ticket at the receptionist's desk.