Chicago's rich and lengthy Jewish history is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of the city's religious history. But in 1900 Chicago's Jewish population was the third largest in the United States at over 60,000 and nearly equaled the Jewish population of Berlin. This session on Jewish Chicago will continue our focus on the local realities of Chicago's religious history, but will also consider the traumas of international immigration as well as the internal diversity of a specific religious group. The only reading for this week available online is Rabbi Emil G. Hirsch's address "The Concordance of Judaism and Americanism."
A central focus of this meeting will be the Jewish community and market that emerged--partly by choice, partly by force--around Maxwell Street. While the city's Jewish history might be understudied, the Chicago Jewish Historical Society remains a premier repository for Chicago Judaica. And while Maxwell Street is now more known as the birthplace of the blues as opposed to Chicago's earliest Jewish community, the Street's Jewish heritage lives on with the aptly named musical group: the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band! Take a Listen:
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