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Chicago's Only Partnership Minyan
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About Us

What Makes Us Unique

Kol Sasson is an independent, lay-led partnership minyan that gathers for prayer, learning, and fellowship. We offer traditional halakhic Jewish tefilla that expands the roles for participation - regardless of gender - to the fullest extent allowed by traditional halakha. As a community, we want everyone to feel welcomed to share their strengths, participate in communal life, and engage critically with Jewish texts and issues.

The partnership minyan framework allows the participation of all halakhic adults in any part of the service where there is no clear halakhic reason not to. Kol Sasson is both committed to maintaining halakhic standards and practices and also to including all halakhic adults in ritual leadership roles to the fullest extent possible within the boundaries of Jewish Law.

We currently have nearly 65 member families; our members come from all streams of Judaism and from all types of backgrounds. Adults & teens are encouraged to learn new skills including layning, haftarah, writing a d’var Torah, and leading davening.  Free individual and group lessons are provided by shul members upon request.

Our kehillah meets every Shabbat morning and on all chagim in Israel Hall of Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob (SVAJ). We are financially and operationally independent from SVAJ, but we share many programs and activities, including children’s programming.

Through regular shared meals, chesed opportunities, and communal learning, we continue to build a strong, welcoming, and cohesive community.

Our History

In December 2003, a few Skokie families gathered together in a private home for a Friday night service based upon the Shira Hadashah service they had experienced in Yerushalayim. The goal was to capture the spirituality and enthusiasm they found in Israel. Since then, this group of individuals plus so many more have not missed joining together for Shabbat. While we began meeting on Friday nights, we soon moved to include Shabbat morning tefillah.

In 2006, buoyed by a rapid increase in membership, we began to meet on the High Holidays. Temple Beth Israel (TBI) in Skokie opened their doors to us and soon became our home for Shabbat and High Holiday services for many years. We are grateful for the partnership of Rabbi Michael Weinberg and the entire TBI community for housing us for many years! As we grew, so did our space needs.  

And so, in December of 2016, we found a new home in Israel Hall at Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue to create a more permanent address for our community. Creating and participating in this minyan has generated a heightened consciousness of our collective Jewish beliefs, which makes all of our lay-led work worthwhile and meaningful. What began as a small group of a handful of families meeting on Friday nights has now grown to become an influential part of the greater Chicago Jewish community.

Sat, December 21 2024 20 Kislev 5785