Evanston Native to Become First Female and First Gay Rabbi at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation

EVANSTON, IL - Rabbi Rachel Weiss will be installed as the first female rabbi and the first gay rabbi of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation during an erev Shabbat service planned for Friday, Dec. 16 from 7-9 p.m.

Three peers who have led similar paths as Weiss - Rabbi Deborah Waxman, PhD, the first woman Rabbi to head a Jewish congregational union and lead a Jewish seminary, and as President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC), the first openly gay leader of a Rabbinical school; Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, Senior Rabbi at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST), New York City’s LGBTQS synagogue; and Rabbi Darby Leigh, a pioneering deaf Rabbi leading a hearing congregation, Kerem Shalom in Concord, MA - will preside over the ceremony.

“When a rabbi takes over leadership of a congregation, there is a sacred opportunity for the community and the rabbi to formalize our commitment to each other," Weiss said. "I am so honored to have these prominent peers affirm and bless this partnership, as each has played a big part in my journey back to JRC. Rabbi Waxman has served as my teacher and advisor at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College where I studied; Rabbi Leigh was a confidant andhevruta (religious study partner) at the College and beyond; and Rabbi Kleinbaum was my mentor at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, when I had the privilege of serving with her as Associate Rabbi for 6 years.”

Weiss is a native of Evanston who grew up as a member of JRC.

photo provided