Dear Administrators and Teachers,

For more than two decades, the Chicago Rabbinical Council has sponsored an annual essay contest open to seniors in local high schools and yeshivot who plan to continue their Torah studies during the following year in Israel. For many years the contest was sponsored through the generosity of our Chaver Rabbi Harold Karp, z”l. In more recent years, the contest has borne the names of our revered Rosh Bais Din, HaRav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, z”l and his Rebbetzin, Shoshana Schwartz, z”l.

The contest has a three-fold objective. Firstly, cRc wishes to maintain an institutional bond with those schools that train future leaders of the Jewish people. Secondly, we hope to encourage students to use their critical thinking skills, Torah research and writing skills to address important topics that affect the Jewish people. Finally, we wish to reinforce the importance of continuing Jewish education in Torah institutions in Israel.

The recent years have seen profound changes in societies in America, Israel and around the world. The world of 2026 is radically different from the world that existed in 2019. Many of the changes have come about due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Expectations in the workplace have changed. In fact, the workplace, itself, has changed. Breakthroughs in medicine prolong lives but, in the process, they create new dilemmas regarding end-of-life issues. The Halachic attitude on abortion is misrepresented in the press and on talk shows by misinformed or malevolent pop-theologians.

Once considered an oxymoron or the punchline of a joke, Artificial Intelligence plays a dominant role in human behavior in everything from college essays to political advertisements to scriptwriters of plays. In many circles, climate change is considered reality, not a distant threat. New innovations such as those in the processing of food, and the creation of “meat” in the laboratory pose serious questions for Poskim.

The cRc currently addresses many of these challenges directly and indirectly. The education committee has restructured our annual essay contest to reflect the fast-emerging changes in our society. The annual essay has been replaced by the Chicago Rabbinical Council Torah Research Project.

Our new project is designed to encourage our youth to address some of the issues mentioned above and to explore their Halachic ramifications. We hope to assist serious students acquire research skills using legitimate Halachic and TaNaCH sources.  We plan to present the cRc Torah Research Project in detail to the seniors in our schools by the end of January 2026 IY”H.