CHICAGO TRIBUNE
by Gregory Trotter
June 22, 2014
B’nai Torah, a Reform synagogue in Highland Park, will be closing June 30 because of insurmountable debt and declining membership, according to members and past rabbis
….B’nai Torah, a Reform synagogue that is perched on a lakefront bluff and that was once one of the centers of Jewish life on the North Shore, will close at the end of the month after almost 60 years.
What necessitated the move is debatable. Debt from recent borrowing for a new building, declining membership and a succession of rabbis in recent years were cited among the factors cited by those who have worked and worshipped at the temple.
“They were unable to sustain themselves,” the congregation’s current and last rabbi, Sharon Sobel, said last week as she packed for her move to a new synagogue in Stony Brook, N.Y. “When a synagogue closes its doors, it’s very sad for the entire community.”
In part, the Highland Park temple seems to have suffered from bad timing. In 2007, just before the economic recession, B’nai Torah took on almost $6 million of debt through a municipal bond sale to finance an education center, according to public documents about the transaction. Some say that burden ultimately sank the synagogue.
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