On January 4,1962, the Board of Directors of North Suburban Synagogue Beth El established the Kol Ami Museum. It was the dream of Maurice and Badona Spertus who donated many works that form the core of the collection. On March 8, 2002, the museum was dedicated by Ellen and Arnold Rissman as the Arnold Rissman Family Kol Ami Museum, in honor of their children, Lauren, Aron and Jacob, "with hope for the future."

Today, the Rissman Family Kol Ami Museum Collection includes the many art works and ritual objects displayed throughout the building and used by the congregation. Its mission is "to accept, collect and preserve objects of Jewish ceremonial art, articles of folklore, manuscripts and documents of historical value, in order to illustrate the biography and demography of the Jewish people from a spiritual and artistic point of view, reflecting the religious and cultural mode of life in the past and present.”

The diverse collection encompasses works from the 18th century to modern times that come from many countries around the world. The collection consists of paintings, sculptures, prints, rare books and Judaic ritual objects such as menorahs, spice boxes, crowns, rimmonim (Torah finials), pointers, breast plates and a unique tik.

The collection is featured in several temporary exhibits assembled over the years by Myrna K. Schwartz. Past exhibits have included retrospectives on the history of Beth El, women of the Bible, haggadot from around the world, rare Judaic artifacts, and the first Jews of Chicago. The museum has also loaned works to the Spertus Museum in Chicago for special exhibitions.  Currently the museum is curated by Ilana Segal.

Visit the Rissman Family Kol Ami Museum and see our new exhibit, curated by Ilana Segal, entitled "The Ballad of East and West -- Ashkenazic and Sephardic cultures."