Temple Builds Understanding By Opening Its Doors to Neighbors

by Sarah Fentem

In a recent event at Chicago Sinai congregation on the Near North side of Chicago, Rabbi Michael Sternfield spoke to a packed congregation about the importance of interreligious understanding. However, the audience was not his usual Jewish family. Instead, he spoke to Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, and Buddhists. The importance of the event was not lost on him.

“We’re all part of one human family”, said Sternfield. “We’re not just here to cheer for our own team, so to speak.”

The philosophy falls perfectly in line with that of the Council for the Parliament of World Religions, the organization behind the “Sharing Sacred Spaces” project. The global organization, located in Chicago, strives to promote interreligious harmony “to achieve a just, peaceful, and sustainable world.”

“Sharing Sacred Spaces” brings together different religious and spiritual communities in the Chicago area. One of eight participating congregations opens its doors on one afternoon during their designated month to showcase their sacred space and share their beliefs and traditions.

Guests at Chicago Sinai found themselves in the light-filled, octagonal sanctuary on the second floor of the congregation’s home on the Near North Side. For Christian visitors, the scene was surprisingly familiar: an organist, rows of pews, a pulpit, and a small choir.

The similarities are not merely a coincidence. Reform Judaism evolved from the desire of 19^th-century Jews to integrate into more mainstream society. For worship, this meant adopting more commonly-used liturgical practices, and in North America, that meant mirroring Protestant Christianity. For many of those attending the event at Chicago Sinai, their experience was different than what they expected. In contrast to traditional Orthodox Judaism, the men did not wear yarmulkes, and women and men were not separated.  In addition, the Sinai community has services on Sunday as well as Friday night. The Reform approach have proved immensely popular among the Chicago community: Sinai’s services for the Jewish High Holy Days draw such a large crowd that they hold their services at Fourth Presbyterian church, a wonderful example of collaboration between faith communities sharing their sacred spaces.

The experience resonated with Muhammed Hussain, a member of the Downtown Islamic Center.

“I thought it was really interesting to see how the Reform faith came with a desire to become integrated,” he said, mentioning that Muslims also experience difficulties assimilating into a dominant American culture while still striving to stay true to their faith’s traditions. “It really makes me feel good there is an example to follow.”

Reform Judaism emphasizes ethical commandments over the more traditional ritual commandments, such as keeping kosher and not using electricity on the Sabbath.  Perhaps the most important commandment for Reform Jews is written on the wall of the sanctuary: Rabbi Hillel’s famous declaration, “Do not do unto others what you would not have done to yourself.”

Practically every physical aspect of the temple has a symbolic meaning. During the program, Tom Samuels, a member of the congregation, described the painstaking thoughtfulness that went into designing and building the temple, which was completed in1997. The congregation worked closely with Chicago architect Dirk Lohan, to make sure every part of the building had a purpose and a meaning.

“For me, the initial impression was of the actual space itself,” said Kwang Oh, a member of the First United Methodist Church and a student at Garrett-Evangelical Theogical Seminary. “I’ve never been to a synagogue before…everything had a purpose for the design.”

For example, the three main parts of the temple parallel the three main tenets of Judaism: worship, individual prayer, and “learning the book”. The sanctuary, a smaller chapel, and a library and study space, correspond to these three parts, respectively.

The unusual placement of the sanctuary on the second floor has a theological meaning as well, explained Samuels. “You come up to Temple, you want to distance yourself from everyday life,” he explained. “But then you come back down to earth to re-engage in the community.”

One of the most visually striking elements of the sanctuary is a huge stained glass window above the ark holding the Torah scrolls. The window, designed by the artist Brian Clarke, serves a decorative as well as a symbolic purpose: a reminder there is a world outside, waiting.

We’re never supposed to think what we do is isolated from the rest of our lives,” explained Rabbi Sternfield. “We cannot pray in a vacuum.”

“The more we understand each other, the broader our own lives are,” said Shirley Paulson, the Head of Ecumenical Affairs for the Church of Christ, Scientist.  “We find what’s beautiful in ourselves when we see what’s beautiful in others.” By highlighting similarities and dissolving preconceptions, the “Sharing Sacred Spaces” project puts Paulson’s sentiment into practice.

Click here for more information on the Sharing Sacred Spaces project