Adult Brit Mitzvah
JRC’s Adult Brit Mitzvah Cohort
JRC welcomes you to engage your Adult Jewish identity with our 2025-2026 Adult Brit Mitzvah Cohort. This 11-month program culminates in a special Brit Mitzvah ritual on Shabbat (November 21, 2026).
Our JRC Adult Brit Mitzvah program combines group study, hevruta/partner learning, Torah Trope, Spiritual Autobiography, and topics such as Liturgy and Prayer, God and Theology, Reconstructionism, Bodies, Eating and Daily Living, Shabbat, Halacha and Traditions, Tikkun Olam, Gender and Identities, the Jewish Library, and Jewish History.
Both JRC members and non-members are welcome! We welcome non-members to join our Adult Brit Mitzvah cohort for the first 3 class sessions before making a commitment. If you choose to continue, we ask that you become a member of JRC at that time.
This program is for you if you:
- Have a different relationship to Judaism now than you did when you were a child
- Never became Bar/Bat Mitzvah as a teen or are looking for a different experience
- Want to deepen your knowledge, skills and engagement with Jewish traditions
- Have been part of a Jewish community for a while, but are exploring formal conversion and learning
When and Where:
Classes meet Tuesday evenings from 7:00 – 8:30 pm at JRC in Evanston, will include some group, individual and hevruta meetings, and will be multi-access/Zoom friendly.
Program Dates:
December 2, 2025 – May 26, 2026: Classes
Summer 2026: Independent Work: Spiritual Autobiography and Torah Trope
October 2026: Sharing Spiritual Autobiographies
November 21, 2026: Shabbat Adult Brit Mitzvah Ritual
Faculty:
Rabbi Rachel Weiss and Cantor Howard Friedland
Any questions? Please email info@jrctogether.org
Will I have time and space in my life for this program?
As adults, we have busy lives and many different things compete for our time. This program is designed to be flexible enough for each member to do the best they can, integrating Judaism and Jewish learning into their real lives, rather than waiting for the time to be right. Some participants may need to attend online, some may not be able to attend each session. We ask that you make a commitment to yourself that is feasible and manageable for you, and that you make a commitment to being part of the class community in the ways that are possible for you.
After all, Judaism should be something that supports our busy lives, filling us as we live.
Why B'nai/B'rit Mitzvot?
Hebrew is a gendered language that doesn't always speak for the varied gender identities in our community. We use this language as many use pronouns: Bar Mitzvah for he/him, Bat Mitzvah for she/her, B'nai Mitzvah for they/them, and B'rit Mitzvah (entering the covenant of the mitzvot) for those for whom gender isn't an essential part of this ritual.