Wonderful welcoming with amazing clergy and terrific community…read more You will feel right at home

A welcoming and inclusive Jewish community. I am a member and an active volunteer here so please…read morecome by and say hello if you see me here. This community is diverse in its age appeal with a great Hebrew school and preschool program. If you are looking to connect with a Jewish community in the western suburbs, CBS is happy to have you!

Such a great synagogue! Had my conversion here, took Intro to Judaism, and currently taking a…read moreHebrew class. We love their Friday night service and go to the tot Shabbat programs with our toddler. Love how family friendly this place is; everyone is super kind and we feel right at home. Amazing clergy and staff.

A new year, a new rabbi: time for an update. Since I was on the search committee that found her,…read more(yes, a her!) I'm a little biased, but two months into her tenure, I'm quite pleased. Rabbi Robin (her last name is Damsky, but she likes to be called this) has injected new energy and excitement into our little suburban shul. She is great with kids of all ages, and gives exactly the kind of sermons I enjoy -- taking the lessons of the Torah and applying them to modern life. I expect we will see an uptick in social action and "green" projects as a way to build community and serve others.

Rabbi Mendy and Alta Mendy invited my son into Chabad when he was going through a very difficult…read moretime. They welcomed him like he was family, but with no judgment. My son asked me to join him for Shabbas. I'm glad I did. They were very hospitable. I immediately felt comfortable. They continue to teach us about Judaism without pushing their observances on us. They accept us where we are on our journeys. My friend is not Jewish and they are just as warm and open with him. He isn't a fan of a lot of people, but he likes them so much that he comes and helps out with events. They are truly genuine loving open-hearted people. Their children are awesome - they are just a beautiful family. I would recommend this Chabad to anyone looking for a warm loving community with so many resources, meaningful holidays, and fun events for the entire family!

Please come make lifelong friends at Abrams Center for…read moreJewish Life, a welcoming gathering spot for Kids' Camps, Adult Torah classes, Women's Events, Holiday parties, and so much more. Everyone is welcome

This is not my temple, but I hang out there a bit because their delightful Cantor, Julie Green, is…read morekind enough to let me participate in their singing groups (we don't have any at my synagogue). Anyway -- it's reform, so the main services are Friday nights. No Saturday torah service at all unless there is a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. They have a new rabbi, Max Weiss, who seems well liked, and Cantor Green is worth her weight in "zahav" (gold). A pretty good preschool and religious school for the kiddies, and active adult education programs for the rest.

I joined this temple when we first moved to Oak Park, when we had just married, 30 years ago…read more Being a part of this community, I have grown tremendously, mind, heart, and soul. Clergy, staff, members are inspired and inspiring.

My son is currently enrolled in the preschool at CBS. We are so happy to be able to offer him this…read moreearly education experience that incorporates his Judaism and a learn through play methodology. Sarah and Marilyn and Jan are amazing people that I've come to know over the last few months. I'm told there is a waiting list forming for some days but I think there were some openings for the 17-18 year on other days. I am a member of the congregation and I'm on the committee that helps organize the preschool so that bears mentioning. It's also worth mentioning that the preschool is open to all kids of an appropriate age (2-4). Registration isn't limited to congregants or even to Jews. There are other families that have joined of a variety of religious backgrounds.

My family has been members for 10 years here and we really feel like it's our second home. The…read moreSunday school is amazing. My youngest graduated from the preschool, which went over and above to prepare him for kindergarten. The clergy are welcoming and I'm proud to be a part of this community.

I write as someone who has volunteered for PADS many times over ther past several years. I am sorry…read morethat this one well-meaning family had a negative experience. My experience has been that the religious congregations involved do a very intense and well-thought-out program. I belong to a small congregation, an Episcopal church, Church of the Holy Nativity in Clarendon Hills. We do not have the physical facility to have the overnight visits so we cooperate with larger churches, such as Redeemer Lutheran in Hinsdale. I will estimate that at least 30 people, or more, from our small congregation (130-150?) sign up ahead of time to buy food for the upcoming event, some cook, others come in the evening to set up the sleeping facilities, others stay overnight to monito the location and another group appears about 5 - 6AM to make breakfast, pass out the bag lunches then clean up the downstairs rooms so the church has a clean basement when they come in the next day. Oh, and another group takes all the linens from the overnight, 30 to 60 sets of linens, and takes them to the laundry, then returns it all clean. It is a major enterprise every weekend when a church/synagogue/mosque participates. Sorry for the Fogler R. family that they meant well but did not understand the system. Of course, every organization has its issues and failures, but PADS consistently does a wonderful and largely unsung job of helping the homeless.

Winchester D should know better to write such a sad review of the guest's here. Sure, there are…read morethose types, but there are a lot of people who can't get a job for the time being that provides them with a living wage. We have entire families, parents with little babies, even. People like Winchester D. are fortunate that God is merciful & doesn't give him what he deserves vs. what he doesn't deserve.

I have taken several courses from LMPC ... they are especially excellent at their clergy family…read moresystems programming. Grateful for their work.

I have to say ~ I have been in a lot of temples, synagogues, and churches in my time, but this is…read moreby far the most unusual lay-out. None of the other reviews have addressed this issue. Despite the Prairie Street address, what is probably the main entrance to the church (I will explain in a bit) faces Douglas Road which is a rather busy street. The parking lot for the church is accessible off Prairie. We saw a few people, who looked like they knew where they were going, enter via a small door. We figured there would be some type of signage to get us where we needed to go if we entered this door. Directly to the left of this door as you enter is the sacristy. We took a few more steps and found ourselves next to the altar. Directly in front of the altar there were about 5 pews and then the piano and choir area. All other seating was positioned diagonally from the altar or directly to the side. Therefore, about 97% of the congregation is not directly facing the altar. Now, we were there for a funeral, and the family and casket entered via that main entrance on Douglas and walked up the side to the altar. The family sat facing the altar. After the service, everyone exited via this Douglas Road door. The hearse was not parked on the street but in the parking lot. Therefore, we had to walk around the corner to get to the parking lot. What happens in inclement weather? A whole new experience for me.

I went to middle school here and go to Sunday mass here as well. Noon mass on Sundays is not very…read morecrowded at all, which I like. However, they will often have a priest who is not a native English speaker, and it can be very difficult to understand his homily. Overall though, a good community and nice people. This particular church has a choir sometimes, but it's not the traditional music you hear in cathedrals, which is more traditional.

Friendly church with a food pantry that is open every Wednesday from 9:30 to 11:30. Services at…read more10:30 each Sunday in person and online.