JRC in the News
Evanston Roundtable: A day of love and worship for the JRC community
It was a day to talk about the Torah, form a prayer circle, teach children about the upcoming Purim holiday, learn how to bake challah, play mahjong, join in meditation and celebrate community at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation. Yet, as Rabbi Rachel...
WBEZ: Evanston Rabbi responds to planned ‘day of hate’
Police are urging Jewish and other religious communities to be cautious this weekend, after an Iowa-based anti-Semitic group declared Saturday a “day of hate.” Reset discusses with a local faith leader about building strength and resilience in the Jewish community...
Evanston Roundtable: Rabbi Weiss Visits the US/Mexico Border with HIAS/T’ruah Rabbinic Delegation
Judaism teaches: “Do not stand idly by while your neighbor’s blood is shed.“ On Sunday, Dec. 11, Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Rabbi Rachel Weiss traveled to El Paso and Ciudad Juárez to join a delegation of 13 multi-denominational rabbis on a four-day...
KRWG: Rabbis from across the country who visited the border discuss their experiences
Last week several rabbis from the Jewish organizations T’ruah and HIAS travelled to El Paso to witness firsthand the immigration crisis at the border. Scott Brocato spoke with four of the rabbis about their experiences there and what they witnessed...
Chicago Tribune: There’s room for every instrument
Evanston's very own klezmer band, based at the Jewish Reconstructionist Synagogue in Evanston, brought its Evanston sound to the community...
Evanston Roundtable: JRC’s house Klezmer band to kick off Hanukkah celebrations, welcomes wider community
Many synagogues hire Klezmer bands to augment their holiday music. In typical trend-setting fashion, members of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (JRC) came together to form their own in 1989. JRC invites the community to join a lively and participatory...
Evanston Roundtable: ‘Our unity and solidarity is a visual and powerful response to hate-filled people.’
They came together on a Sunday night to talk about antisemitism, racism and discrimination. The Rev. Michael Nabors of Second Baptist Church, who organized the event, said there have been nearly 50 antisemitic incidents reported around the country since the start of...
Daily Northwestern: Local religious leaders discuss faith-based efforts to fight racism during ‘Civic Love’ event
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Rabbi Rachel Weiss recalled her time at Evanston’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lab Experimental School during a Tuesday event hosted by Northwestern Leadership Development and Community Engagement and Religious and Spiritual Life. ...
Chicago Tribune: If I can wake a few people up with the shofar, even better
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation holds Erev Rosh Hashanah Shofar Walk...
Evanston Roundtable: JRC’s Erev Rosh Hashanah Shofar Walk
The members of JRC – Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, located at 303 Dodge Ave., have a steadfast ability to face adversity with optimism and ingenuity. Last year, the congregation called for a reimagined experience of the Jewish High Holidays where congregants...
Evanston Roundtable: JRC will celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community with lakefront Shabbat Service on June 24
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, located at 303 Dodge Ave., hired the synagogue’s first openly gay Rabbi, Rachel Weiss, in 2016. At the time, hiring a woman as Senior Rabbi was momentous. JRC continues to be a daring and innovative congregation with a deep...
Evanston Now: Pandemic moves synagogue’s Rosh Hashanah service outdoors
Several hundred members of Evanston’s Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation held a “shofar walk” along the shores of Lake Michigan on Monday, for the evening service of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. COVID-19 has forced congregations around the world to “be...
WBEZ: Passover Will Be Different Because Of COVID-19. Here’s How Chicago’s Jews Will Celebrate.
Rabbi Rachel Weiss leads the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in north suburban Evanston. She’s also been hosting online sessions on preparing for the holiday with the theme Dayenu, or it is enough. She doesn’t want people to feel bad if they can’t pull off that...
WBEZ: New Rabbi Breaking Barriers At Evanston Synagogue
When Rabbi Rachel Weiss was a young girl, she went to Hebrew school and was Bat Mitzvah’d at Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston. After college she ran the Nuestro Center in Highwood, working with new immigrants from Latin America. Most recently she was...
High Performing Buildings: Repairing the World
When the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (JRC) of Evanston, Ill., decided to replace its synagogue, a guiding value was tikkun olam, Hebrew for “repairing the world.” The congregation committed to ethical architecture with the goal of demonstrating the benefits...