An Orthodox Shul on North California Avenue
Congregation Anshe Motele sits at 6520 North California Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The shul is an Orthodox synagogue serving the Chicago North Side community, with Rabbi Alan M. Abramson at the rabbinical helm and Rabbi Hillel Meyers serving as chazan on the Yamim Noraim. Members and visitors know the shul for its two parallel Shabbos morning minyanim, an active adult beis medrash, a sturdy tradition of weekly Shabbos kiddushim, and the A.M. Online e-bulletin that keeps the community informed from week to week.
Across the Jewish year Anshe Motele follows the full Orthodox calendar. The shul holds daily Orthodox prayer services, two parallel Shabbos morning minyanim, a calendar of weekday and Shabbos shiurim for men and women, the Yamim Noraim with the traditional Slichos, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkos, Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah cycle, Pesach preparations that include the sale of chametz through the rabbi, and the regalim and bein hazmanim seasons in between. The shul building houses the Main Sanctuary upstairs, a downstairs beis medrash for the Hashkama Minyan and adult learning, and Hoffman Hall for simchos and kiddushim. Each Shabbos morning ends with a community kiddush.
Two Shabbos Morning Minyanim
Shabbos mornings at Anshe Motele run on a deliberate two track rhythm that gives the shul much of its character. The Hashkama Minyan meets in the downstairs beis medrash at 7:00 AM, offering a nice paced and meaningful tefillah for those who prefer to start davening early and finish at a relaxed clip. Upstairs, the Main Sanctuary Minyan gathers at 8:00 AM during the Yamim Noraim and at 8:45 AM through the rest of the year, with Rabbi Hillel Meyers serving as chazan on the Yamim Noraim for a longer paced davening. Members are actively encouraged to support both minyanim so that the shul can keep an active Shabbos morning regardless of how many people are in the building.
The rest of Shabbos follows the standard Orthodox pattern. Mincha is scheduled in the late afternoon and is followed by Shabbos Maariv after dark. On most weeks Rabbi Abramson teaches a Shabbos afternoon Gemora and halacha shiur about forty five minutes before Mincha. Special Shabbosos such as Shabbos Shuvah, Shabbos Hagadol, Shabbos Chol HaMoed Pesach, and Shabbos Chol HaMoed Sukkos each carry their own adjusted davening schedule, which is published in the A.M. Online bulletin in advance.
On Shabbos Shuvah Rabbi Abramson delivers his annual Shabbos Shuvah drasha during seudas shlishis, an address the shul opens to both men and women. The drasha draws on the themes of teshuva and the Yamim Noraim, and the shul encourages broad attendance across the membership.
A Week of Daily Davening
Across the week Anshe Motele keeps a daily schedule of three tefillos a day, following the Orthodox practice. Sunday morning Shacharis is at 8:00 AM. From Monday through Friday Shacharis is generally at 7:00 AM, with some weekdays moving up to 6:45 AM around Rosh Chodesh and during the Yamim Noraim. Mincha is held in the late afternoon, with the exact time set by the seasonal candle lighting schedule; over the course of a year the published Mincha time ranges from about 5:15 PM in the depths of winter to about 7:45 PM at the height of summer. Maariv runs in the evening, most often between 7:00 and 8:30 PM depending on the season.
Friday evenings open with Mincha followed by Maariv and candle lighting. The two Shabbos morning minyanim are described above, with Shabbos day Shacharis, Mincha in the afternoon, and Shabbos Maariv after dark. The shul publishes the precise daily schedule in each weekly bulletin; members can plan a full week at a glance from a single email. The summer schedule runs on a noticeably later clock than the late summer and Tishrei schedule, as the candle lighting time shifts.
The Yamim Noraim and the Annual Membership Drive
The High Holidays are the centerpiece of the shul year. Each year, in the weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah, the congregation runs its annual High Holiday Membership Drive. The campaign is the shul's one major annual fundraising event, and the funds raised sustain the congregation as a community throughout the rest of the year. Members fill out a seat form that can be mailed in or paid for online, with priority seating reserved for dues paying members in either of the two services. A kiddush sponsorship and Maaser offering are part of the same High Holiday package.
Slichos begins at midnight after the Shabbos that falls before Rosh Hashanah. During the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, Slichos are added to the day's davening starting thirty minutes before Shacharis. On Erev Rosh Hashanah, Slichos begin an hour before Shacharis. Both days of Rosh Hashanah carry the parallel 7:00 AM Hashkama Minyan in the downstairs beis medrash and the 8:00 AM Main Sanctuary Minyan upstairs, with shofar sounding at 10:30 in the second minyan. Mincha, Maariv, and an evening candle lighting close out each day.
After Rosh Hashanah the focus shifts almost immediately to Yom Kippur. Tzom Gedalyah is observed as a fast day with Slichos before Shacharis. Erev Yom Kippur brings Slichos at 7:45 AM, Shacharis at 8:00 AM, Mincha in the early afternoon, and Kol Nidrei at 6:40 PM. Yom Kippur itself opens with Shacharis at 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM in the two parallel minyanim, with Yizkor at 11:30 AM, Mincha at 5:00 PM, Neila at 6:30 PM, and the closing shofar and Maariv at 7:30 PM. A Shabbos Shuvah drasha and a steady call to support both minyanim are central to the davening of the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah.
Sukkos, Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah
When Sukkos arrives, the shul erects its own sukkah on the premises. The shul sukkah is available for those in need, and the congregation has lulavim and esrogim available during davening for those who do not have their own. Chol HaMoed davening during Sukkos follows a scaled down weekday pattern of Shacharis at 6:30 AM, Mincha in the late afternoon, and Maariv in the evening.
The sukkah season culminates in Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah. In past years the shul has hosted a Simchas Bais Hashoava gathering in the sukkah on a Chol HaMoed evening, sponsored by member families and featuring a parve meal and a dairy ice cream bar dessert. On Simchas Torah the community gathers for the evening hakafos followed by a fleishig dinner for members and hakafos attendees, traditionally sponsored by member families. Hakafos on Shemini Atzeres are held in the main sanctuary.
Pesach and Mechiras Chametz
In the weeks before Pesach the bulletin turns its attention to chametz. Mechiras Chametz is handled personally by Rabbi Abramson, who makes himself available after each weekday and Sunday Shacharis from mid March through the eve of Pesach. Members who cannot appear in person may use a proxy form, available through a link in the A.M. Online bulletin, to authorize the rabbi to sell their chametz on their behalf through a formal halachic arrangement. The bulletin prints the precise deadlines for the last time to consume chametz and the latest time to burn it before Pesach begins.
On Erev Pesach the shul holds Taanis Bechor with a siyum Bechor following the morning Shacharis. Bedikas Chametz is held the night before. The first days of Yom Tov bring Shacharis, Mincha, and Maariv in the shul, with families gathering at home for the sedarim. Chol HaMoed Pesach resumes a daily Shacharis, Mincha, and Maariv schedule through to the concluding days and the final Yom Tov day.
Shiurim and the Beis Medrash
The shul runs an active adult education program whose schedule is a regular feature of the A.M. Online bulletin. On Sunday afternoons Rabbi Abramson teaches a fifteen minute Chumash class between Mincha and Maariv. From Mondays through Fridays a brief fifteen minute shiur on Kitzur Shulchan Aruch and the weekly parsha is given between Mincha and Maariv.
Monday evenings feature Sheldon Kirshner's Chumash with Malbim class. Wednesday evenings are devoted to Rabbi Abramson's Rambam and Mishnayos shiur. On Shabbos afternoons the rabbi gives a forty five minute Gemora and halacha shiur about three quarters of an hour before Mincha. Each weekly bulletin also links to Likutei Pshatim, the parsha sheet published by Hebrew Theological College that serves as a study companion for the parsha at home and at the Shabbos table.
The women's programming includes a Shabbos afternoon Women's Tehillim group that meets at rotating member homes on North Sacramento Avenue. The shul's traditional hosts for the Tehillim group have included the Wolper home and the Aaronson home.
Rabbi Abramson at the Pulpit
Rabbi Alan M. Abramson is the congregational rabbi. The "From the Rabbi's Study" notes that appear in each A.M. Online bulletin trace the rhythm of the year, from the Slichos season through the Yamim Noraim, from the autumn festivals into Chanukah and the winter months, with short drashos tied to the weekly parsha. He makes himself available to members for halachic questions, telling them that no question is too small or irrelevant when it comes to halacha. He signs each drasha with a customary closing such as "Good Shabbos" or the appropriate greeting for the chag at hand.
The pulpit on the Yamim Noraim is shared with Rabbi Hillel Meyers, who serves as chazan for the Main Sanctuary Minyan. Meyer's role on those days is to lead the longer paced davening in the upstairs sanctuary for those who join the main minyan.
Members who are ill or in need of a misheberach are listed in the weekly Refuah Sh'laymah section of the bulletin and named at each Torah reading. Family members can email the shul office to add a name to the list.
Hoffman Hall for Simchos and Kiddushim
Below the Main Sanctuary sits Hoffman Hall, the shul's venue for lifecycle events. The hall offers comfortable seating for up to 200 people, with a kosher kitchen under the supervision of the rabbi. It is available for rent for simchos, as well as for in house kiddushim. The shul office takes reservations and provides information about pricing and scheduling. The hall gives the community a flexible space for bar mitzvahs, weddings, and other family celebrations as well as for ongoing shul programming throughout the year.
The Shabbos Kiddush Tradition
Each Shabbos at Anshe Motele includes a community kiddush after davening. The weekly bulletin runs a thank you to Michael Kirshner of Starr Kosher Catering for supplementing the Shabbos kiddushim each week with extra catering. Individual weeks are sponsored by the shul or by member families, sometimes in memory of a loved one and sometimes in honor of a simcha. Recent sponsorships have included the Castle family in memory of Mirel's mother, the Wortman family in honor of Jake's enlistment into Tzahal, the Galster and Hubscher families, and the Castle and Stein families, alongside the shul sponsored weeks. Members who wish to dedicate an upcoming kiddush can do so by emailing the shul office with the week, the reason, and a contact number; the office responds with available dates and prices. A separate Kiddush Fund supports the ongoing weekly kiddush, and donations can be made online at tinyurl.com/paymotele.
Lifecycle Notes and the Members Corner
Each A.M. Online bulletin carries a Members Corner that gathers mazel tovs, birthdays, and anniversaries from across the congregation. Birthdays and anniversaries are regularly acknowledged from member families across the shul. Announcements of simchos include engagements, births of grandchildren, and aliyahs, alongside levaya notices and shiva information.
When members sit shiva, the shul helps coordinate minyanim at the shiva home during the week of mourning, while regular daily minyanim continue at the shul. The Refuah Sh'laymah list runs in every bulletin, with cholim named at each Torah reading, and family members can email the shul office to add a name to the list. The shul also announces bris and bar mitzvah news, aufruf honors for chatanim and kallos, and other lifecycle milestones in the weekly bulletin.
The A.M. Online E-Bulletin
Community news at Anshe Motele travels by way of A.M. Online, the shul's weekly e-bulletin. Each issue lists the davening schedule for the coming week, candle lighting times, the upcoming parsha, and the Members Corner. The bulletin also prints the Refuah Sh'laymah list and gives updates on shul fundraising and events. Back issues are kept online as a community archive that goes back many years. To subscribe, members email shulbulletin@att.net with "subscribe" in the subject line; to unsubscribe they email with "remove" in the subject line. Members are encouraged to forward the bulletin to family and friends.
The Wider Orthodox World
The A.M. Online bulletin links to a small set of broader Orthodox resources. The Chicago Rabbinical Council (crcweb.org) provides the local rabbinical context for the community. The Orthodox Union (oukosher.org) ties the shul into national kosher supervision and Orthodox communal life. Hebrew Theological College publishes Likutei Pshatim, the parsha sheet that is included in each A.M. Online bulletin as a study companion. Together these three links mark the congregation's place in Chicago and in the wider Orthodox Jewish world, where Anshe Motele continues as a small, busy community shul on the North Side.