Our membership includes more than 180 rabbis from all streams of Jewish life. Our members serve the community in many different settings. We work in congregations, Jewish day schools, Jewish camps, Hillels, Great Lakes Naval Base, hospitals, hospice, advocacy and human service organizations, and entrepreneurial initiatives.
The Chicago Board of Rabbis supports an inter-denominational community of Chicago area rabbis for camaraderie, professional development, Torah study/learning, chesed, and ongoing dialogue and represents the rabbinate in the broader Jewish community.
Executive Director
Rabbi Reni Dickman is the Executive Director of the Chicago Board of Rabbis and Senior Jewish Educator at JUF. Rabbi Dickman was ordained from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City in 2003.
She has also studied at the Hebrew University and the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education.
From 2004-2017, she served as he rabbi of Sinai Temple in Michigan City, Indiana. She has also served on the faculty of the Rochelle Zell Jewish High School and the Chicago Jewish Day School. From 2017-2019, Rabbi Dickman was the director of InterfaithFamily Chicago (now 18Doors).
Rabbi Dickman is a member of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago and serves on its Executive Committee. She is also one of the rabbis who serves the recruits at Great Lakes Naval Base where CBR members lead Shabbat and holiday services and teach a class on Sunday mornings fifty-two weeks/year. She also participates in a number of interfaith dialogue groups with other clergy.
Rabbi Dickman graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Government and Near Eastern Studies. She also studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. She is honored to be the first person to fill this dual role serving the Board of Rabbis and the staff at JUF.
For 20 years, CBR rabbis have served the recruits at Great Lakes Naval Base in North Chicago, IL. On a rotating basis, CBR rabbis lead Shabbat services and teach on Sunday mornings throughout the year. We also lead high holiday services and a Passover seder for recruits. We take great pride in our commitment to the recruits at Great Lakes.
Meaningful ways people can support this effort include:
If you would like to donate to this program, please click here.
The Rabbi Mordecai Simon Memorial Award is given to a rabbinic colleague who has exhibited an ongoing commitment to working on behalf of the rabbinate and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, has contributed greatly to interfaith activities, and has been a model to colleagues for a rabbinate devoted to K’lal Yisrael.
2008 Rabbi Vernon Kurtz
2009 Rabbi Peter Knobel z”l
2010 Rabbi Victor Mirelman
2011 Rabbi Ellen Dreyfus
2012 Rabbi Hermann Schaalman z”l
2013 Rabbi Michael Siegel
2014 Rabbi Joe Ozarowsky
2015 Rabbi Steven Bob
2016 Rabbi Carl Wolkin z”l
2017 Rabbi Shoshanah Conover
2019 Rabbi Michael Balinsky
2020 Rabbi Michael Weinberg
2023 Rabbi Sidney Helbraun
Chicago Board of Rabbis
30 South Wells Street
Suite 5007
Chicago, IL 60606
Tel: 312-444-2896
Email: cbr@juf.org
The Chicago Board of Rabbis is a partner in serving our community, supported by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
