Nachi and Chani Stein
We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Nachum Stein whose wife, Chani, was unavailable at the time of the interview.
Q: Where are you from originally?
Reb Nachi: I am from Chicago, born at Mt. Sinai Hosptial, and attended Albany Park Hebrew Day School. My father was from Chicago, too. Chani is from Detroit.
Q: How did you meet?
Reb Nachi: We were introduced by Chani’s friend Mrs. Keller.
Q: Tell us about your family.
Reb Nachi: We have 5 kids, 3 are in Chicago, 1 is in Baltimore and 1 in Detroit.
Q: What are your hobbies?
Reb Nachi: My hobbies include Pirchei and fishing! As for Chani, she is an avid reader. Together, we enjoy traveling, including winter trips to Orlando and to South Haven in the summer.
Q: How did you get involved with Pirchei?
Reb Nachi: After returning home from Telshe Yeshiva in Wickliffe (Cleveland), I discussed with Rabbi Levin (current Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe Chicago) the lack of learning programs for boys on Shabbos, and with his support, Pirchei Chicago was born.
Q: What attracts you to Adas Yeshurun?
Reb Nachi: We moved closer to Touhy when we became empty nesters and thought we would try the various shuls in our area. Yeshurun was the first shul we tried, and once I heard Rabbi Cohen’s dvar Torah, we were done searching for a shul – Yeshurun was it!
Author's note: You may be familiar with Reb Nachi as he is the Chicago powerhouse behind Pirchei. For those unfamiliar, Pirchei provides many learning opportunities for boys. You may have seen the Thursday night bus in front of Yeshurun which transports boys to Telshe Chicago to learn with Chevrusas arranged by Reb Nachi. Pirchei also encourages learning through Shabbos learning programs (at Yeshurun and other area shuls) and also at various times throughout the year, incenting boys with an enjoyable learning experience and often with prizes, too. If that’s not enough, there is also the Midwest Siyum Mishnayos held once per year in rotating cities, including Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and Indiana. An enormous number of families have been beneficiaries of these programs (ours included), and some even remember having Reb Nachi himself as their Pirchei group leader.
