1st Lakefront Shabbat Service & Potluck with Rabbi Rachel Weiss, Cantor Howard Friedland with Musical Accompaniment by Fred Weinstein & Eddie Stone, & Scholar in Residence Rabbi Deborah Waxman

All summer long, JRC moves our sanctuary to the Evanston lakefront, with outdoor services surrounded by nature and the beauty of Lake Michigan. This spiritually uplifting (and child and dog-friendly) service feels a bit like summer camp, a bit like Ravinia, and entirely like JRC. Bring your family and friends. Lakefront Shabbat is a wonderful opportunity to learn about JRC. Services will be livestreamed on the JRC Facebook Page for those preferring to join us virtually. Click here to access our digital Lakefront Shabbat Siddur.

We meet Fridays at Elliot Park with a few exceptions. Check our our evolving Lakefront Shabbat calendar. We’ll be adding details about musical accompanists and member d’var Torah teachers throughout the summer.

This Friday we kick off our summer tradition with a Community Potluck! Bring something vegetarian or fish (nut-free) to share! We are also thrilled to welcome Scholar in Residence Rabbi Deborah Waxman. Rabbi Deborah will give our D’var Torah and will also present the Reconstructing Judaism President’s Award to JRC member Jonathan Markowitz.

5:30 pm | Young Family Shabbat at the Lake with Morah Debbie
6:00 pm | Community Potluck Picnic for the 1st Lakefront Shabbat of the summer with Scholar in Residence Rabbi Deborah Waxman offering a D’var Torah and presenting the Reconstructing Judaism President’s Award to Jonathan Markowitz
7:00 pm | Service led by Rabbi Rachel and Cantor Howard with musical accompaniment by Fred Weinstein & Eddie Stone

In the case of inclement weather, check this calendar listing after 4pm on the day of Lakefront Shabbat for updated information.

Our Scholar-In-Residence Weekend with Rabbi Deborah includes:

Friday, June 5, 7:00 pm: Rabbi Deborah joins Lakefront Shabbat to give our D’var Torah and will present JRC member Jonathan Markowitz with the Reconstructing Judaism President’s Award

Saturday, June 6, 10:00 am: Rabbi Deborah will join JRC’s Multi-Access Lay Led Minyan service and will lead an interactive D’var Torah Discussion on Parshat Beha’alotcha

Saturday, June 6, 12:30 pm: Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Deborah: Dancing with Particularism and Universalism in Jewish Peoplehood

Sunday, June 7, 10:00 am: Rabbi Deborah joins our Pride Kickoff Brunch

Rabbi Deborah Waxman is THE FIRST WOMAN RABBI to head a Jewish congregational union and a Jewish seminary, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., has served as president and chief executive officer of Reconstructing Judaism in 2014. Since then, she has drawn on her training as a rabbi and historian to be the Reconstructionist movement’s leading voice in the public square. Waxman is a cum laude graduate of Columbia College, Columbia University, and was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She earned a Ph.D. in American Jewish history from Temple University.