Held Indoors at JRC, no tickets required but please register here

Join JRC members Julia Tauber, Rick Kulp and Dan Mendelson for a Challah Baking Workshop! No experience necessary and just in time for the High Holidays. Learn dough, braiding, and baking tips from accomplished home bakers. Learn long or round challah, your choice! Start the day with raw ingredients, go home with a fresh-baked loaf, delicious for enjoying on Rosh Hashanah! Please register here so we can plan to have enough ingredients.

Held Indoors at JRC and via Zoom, no tickets required

How do we prepare ourselves for the New Year?  What Jewish spiritual resources does our tradition have to help us let go, build capacity, and open our hearts to the year that is to come? How might we be more gentle with ourselves, and still experience the essence of the holidays?  How can we help those in our community who are grieving and feeling this suffering in deep ways? How will we prepare ourselves to do meaningful spiritual work this year in ways that also feels celebratory and proud?

Join Rabbi Rachel Weiss and our sacred JRC Community in conversation, learning, and singing together.

Held Indoors at JRC, no tickets required

Interested in learning about shofar sounding? New to blowing shofar? Want to learn the notes of the shofar calls? Interested in becoming one of our High Holiday bleaters? Stan Cohn will be leading a shofar blowing workshop on September 13 right after the Community Oneg. He’ll help you become a shofar blower in no time! If you want to try blowing, please bring your own shofar if possible, as extra shofars might be limited. Come and join us, all ages welcome, we’ll have a blast!

Held Outdoors at JRC and Facebook Live, no tickets required

Outdoors at Dawes Park & via Facebook Live, no tickets required

From Shofar to Shofar: We celebrate our gathering and the joy of the New Year! Greet friends and community of all ages as we walk a loop along the lakefront with 7 shofar stations. Sing with our clergy and the JRC Choir and sound the shofar across the community – bring a shofar and bring friends! – Note: this will be JRC’s only Erev Rosh Hashanah observance. Let us know if you have any accessibility needs at info@jrctogether.org.

JRC-shofar-walk-map

Indoors at First United Methodist Church of Evanston and live streamed, Tickets Required

We gather at “our church” for our JRC High Holiday Traditions. Connect with your community for Teshuvah (personal reflection and accountability), Tefillah (prayer and spiritual connection) and Tzedakah (commitment to repairing brokenness through justice). Our services will be led by Rabbi Rachel Weiss, guest cantorial soloist Rabbi Barbara Penzner, the JRC Choir, and JRC musicians.

Indoors at First United Methodist Church of Evanston, Tickets and Separate Signup Required (for all participants, including members)

Kindergarten–6th grade: Children will participate in our Hofshi festival, a semi-structured space supervised by adults and teens where children will participate in themed activities, games, and crafts. 7th–12th grade: During one hour, teens will explore the Jewish New Year’s effects on their lives through discussion, art, and reflection. During the rest of the program, teens can support the Hofshi festival, join services, or relax with friends.

In order to help us adequately staff and plan, please fill out this two-minute form to let us know your children will be participating. Thank you!

Children 4 years and younger: We will have a space available for collaborative childcare for young children. Caregivers should sign up for time to help out with their and other children. Sign up here.

Held outdoors at Dawes Park by the lakefront and Facebook Live, no ticket required. Immediately followed by Tashlich

Bring the family and join Rabbi Rachel Weiss and JRC songleader, Megan Gendelman for our camp-style, child-centered service, where children can be exactly who they are, filled with energy and curiosity. This multi-aged celebration of the New Year is open to all! Bring a picnic blanket or lawn chairs. Children must be accompanied by their grown up.

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Held outdoors at Dawes Park by the lakefront, no tickets required.

Gather with our community at Dawes Park on the pier. This ritual of casting out sins, and the things we’re ready to let go of in the new year, is a ritual of release and renewal. In keeping with our Jewish value of caring for our climate and earth, rather than throwing bread we invite you to cast off birdseed, small stones, frozen corn and peas, or other bird-and-fish and environmentally friendly items.

Yes! We are so happy to welcome you to join our community for High Holidays. Guest tickets may be ordered online.

• Children of Members Ages 0-26: No Charge (please fill out this form for any 18-26 year old children of members who may be attending High Holidays so we can print name tags for them. Thank you)
• Children of Non-Members Ages 0-17: No Charge
• Non-Members Ages 18-36: $18
• Non-Member Guests of JRC Members Ages 37 & Older: $270
• Non-Members Ages 37 & Older: $396

If you would like to explore the possibility of becoming a member, Micky Baer, our Executive Director, would be happy to connect and answer any questions. Guests who purchase tickets and join JRC before December 1, 2025, will receive full credit for the cost of their individual tickets toward membership fees. Click here to learn more about joining JRC.

Please pick up your Guest High Holiday Tickets (nametags) at JRC, 303 Dodge Ave. Evanston, during the following times between September 2-18

• September 2-18: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays from 9:00 am-4:00 pm
• September 5, 5:30 pm-7:00 pm at the final Lakefront Shabbat, Elliot Park, Evanston
• September 7, 11:00 am-11:30 am prior to the Senior Schmooze & Nosh
• September 9, 6:00 pm-7:00 pm prior to Rabbi Rachel’s Spiritual Preparation for the High Holidays
• September 13, 12:00 pm-1:00 pm at Kehillah Opening Day

If none of these times work for you, please email our office to arrange another pickup time. Nametags that are not picked up will be available in the church lobby, but we are hoping to avoid long lines and wait times, so we would be very grateful if you are able to pick them up in advance. Thank you!

*Once you complete this form, we still need to print your nametags so please allow a few days. Feel free to check with the office before coming to JRC to ensure they have been printed. Thank you!

Remote services are accessible to all and do not require tickets or registration. Click on the service or event above and it will indicate whether it is livestreamed on JRC’s website homepage, Zoom (link can be found in JRC’s calendar), or Facebook Live.

Participants will enter the First United Methodist Church of Evanston on Hinman. Parking is available at the Church Street Self Park at 525 Church Street in Evanston and there may also be street parking. The Evanston Police Department has waived the 2 hour parking limit surrounding the church during our services and programs.

JRC’s Executive Director, Micky Baer is a great place to start! She would be happy to talk with you and answer any questions you have about JRC. And you should feel welcome to attend any program or event on our calendar. That’s the best way to get a feel for our wonderful community and clergy. If you would like to learn more about Kehillah, our religious school for tots through teens, reach out to Soreh Rosenblum, JRC’s Director of Education.