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Adult Brit Mitzvah Cohort
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation’s Adult Brit* Mitzvah Cohort 2025-2026
For anyone who has a different relationship with Judaism than they did at age 13
Engage your Adult Jewish identity with this 1 year program culminating in a special Shabbat Brit Mitzvah ritual on 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.
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 7-8:30pm at JRC in Evanston, will include some group, individual, and hevruta meetings, and will be multi-access/zoom friendly.
Program Dates:
December 9, 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
*Why Brit and not Bnai? Bnai/Bat/Bar Mitzvah literally translates to “Children/Child of the Commandments/Values” and is a gendered term. “Brit Mitzvah” literally translates to “entering a covenant of Jewish Values” and is a non-gendered term. As this is a program for adults, we use this more inclusive language which better represents our values and our relationship to Judaism.
Zoom information for Cohort Participants:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82166673333?pwd=IsdKUsl3cWURqCFkUxVuaDrCsqZUfI.1
Meeting ID: 821 6667 3333
Passcode: 567487