With more than 270,000 Jews, Chicago has the third largest Jewish population in the U.S. Organized Jewish life dates to the 1830’s when the first Jews arrived from central Europe. Reform temples were founded in the 1840’s and 1850’s, and today Chicago has more than 100 congregations of all three major movements.

Chicago’s institutions of higher learning include the Hebrew Theological College, the Jewish People’s Institute, and the College of Jewish Studies.

One of the most ethnic cities in the U.S., Chicago has absorbed Jewish immigration from many countries. The Skokie suburb is known for its active community of Holocaust survivors.

Chicago’s Jewry has supported many civic and Jewish causes and produced many outstanding personalities who have enriched Jewish and general culture. One example is Julius Rosenwald, who developed the Sears company and contributed millions to general and Jewish causes. Another is Saul Bellow, considered America’s most distinguished writer of the post-World War II era.