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Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our Pride Shabbat service on June 26th. We held an auf ruf for Team Mishkan’s own Michael Palmer and Jane Mintz. Then, we heard a special Pride guest drash from teen Daniel Kutcher and their parents (Matt Kutcher & Rebecca Richards). From all of us at Mishkan Chicago — happy Pride. 01:09 — Auf Ruf of Michael Palmer & Jane Mintz 09:35 — Lecha Dodi to H...

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen If you value this down-to-earth Jewish wisdom, help us create more inspiration and community by becoming a Builder. Mishkan Chicago relies on Builders, peo...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on June 20th. Rabbi Steven reflected on Juneteenth and America’s history of slavery through the lens of Exodus. Moses is portrayed as exceptionally bold in making demands of those in power in his fight to liberate his people. Moses even stood up to God! Maybe we’re not quite up to that level of chutzpah. But how can we boldly speak up for the dign...

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen If you value this down-to-earth Jewish wisdom, help us create more inspiration and community by becoming a Builder. Mishkan Chicago relies on Builders, peo...

Hello and welcome to Contact Chai. Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on June 12th when Rabbi Steven delivered a sermon deflating the naive notion that progress is inevitable rather than the product of hard fought victories, like our spiritual ancestors setting out to vanquish Canaan who we read about in the parsha or our queer ancestors who struggled against bigotry who we honor d...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on June 6th. If you somehow missed the news, Rabbi Lizzi met the pope. The Vatican is not short supply of lavish iconography, and it got her thinking about the different relationships our traditions have with religious imagery. Because while Judaism is on guard against anything that smacks of idolatry, we have sacred symbols of our own. Can our re...

Today’s sermon is a Shabbat Replay of our Shavuot Shabbat service. We were joined by acclaimed author Rodger Kamenetz who served as our scholar-in-residence during Shavuot. Rodger delivered a sermon on the poetry of Torah. What sacred meaning can we uncover when we appreciate the artistic flourishes in the TaNaKh? *** For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar , and see o...

Today's episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on May 16th in which Rabbi Lizzi drashed on the Counting of the Omer and the lead-up to Shavuot. Unfortunately, we had some technical problems at the service, but R' Lizzi was kind enough to re-record! *** For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar , and see our Accessibility & Inclusion page for information...

Following Morning Minyan, Rabbi Lizzi sat down with Nigel Savage to discuss Jewish Climate Trust, a new initiative to organize the resources of the Jewish community toward meeting the moment on climate change. Nigel is the founding CEO of Jewish Climate Trust, a “think-and-do tank” working to catalyze the Jewish community’s response to the climate crisis; he was previously the founder of Hazon (no...

Rabbi Lizzi sits down with Alan Morinis, author of the enormously popular and profound "Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar." Read more about Alan and purchase his latest book "The Shabbat Effect" at the link below. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/shabbat-effect-9798881807870/ **** For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar , and see o...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on May 8th when we heard a guest drash from Builder Ricky Halle-Podell. As part of our Sober Shabbat in which we had a sober kiddush, Ricky spoke on his own sobriety journey, offering insights into the spiritual practices of recovery programs which we can all learn from. *** For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar , an...

Rodger Kamenetz is the award-winning author of The Jew In The Lotus, and he will be joining us in two weeks for Shavuot to teach several programs on spirituality, creativity, and encountering the divine in our daily lives. Rabbi Lizzi spoke with Rodger during Morning Minyan — this is your chance to get to know him before he joins us in-person May 21st - 23rd! Read more about and purchase Rodger&ap...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on May 2nd. Rabbi Lizzi delivered a drash on a criminal trial recorded in the Torah. The judgment was capital punishment, but new light is shed on the accused’s motivation and state of mind by later Rabbinic commentary, reminding us to interrogate our assumptions and seek a second opinion. We could use your judgment, commentary, and opinion. Leave...

In this special Morning Minyan, Rabbi Lizzi is joined by Jerusalem-based thought leader, spiritual activist, and author Yiscah Smith for a discussion of her new book, Planting Seeds of the Divine: Torah Commentaries . Yiscah will be returning to Chicago for Pride Weekend in June and doing an in-person talk at Mishkan, so this minyan is a teaser for that visit, as well as a spiritual boost to enliv...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on April 24th. We had not one but two guest drashers: Alana Sindelar and Gabi Finkelstein, MishTeens about to graduate high school and Mishkan's Cohen Kadima Program! Let them know you enjoyed their sermon in your five star review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. You can learn more about the Cohen Kadima for middle and high schoolers...

Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld made Jewish anxiety funny for a broad audience, but for many Jews, it’s just reality. Why? How did this happen? And what if we don’t actually want that anxious inheritance? In a special Morning Minyan, Rabbi Lizzi was joined by Rabbi Dr. Caryn Aviv for a discussion of her new book, "Unlearning Jewish Anxiety." Caryn is Rabbinic Director at Judaism Your Way...

In this special Yom haAtzma'ut episode of Contact Chai, Rabbi Lizzi interviews Orly Erez Likhovski, Executive Director of the Israeli Religious Action Center, which fights for religious freedom and pluralism, equality in gender and sexuality, and ending legal and systemic racism in Israel. https://www.irac.org/our-work To get on IRAC's newsletter: https://www.irac.org/sign-up IRAC Podcas...

Today's episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on April 18th when Rabbi Steven gave a sermon on our tradition's treatment of those with so-called leprosy. At first glance, the Torah's attitude toward people with skin disease is exclusionary, but commentator have found deep wisdom about rest and healing under the epidermis. If this podcast has helped you find rest or healing, we...

In honor of Yom HaShoah, Rabbi Lizzi spoke with author and Mishkanite Rob Don about his book In the Midst of Darkness, a memoir exploring intergenerational trauma, Holocaust survival, racism, and mental health. https://inthemidstofdarkness.com/ For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar , and see our Accessibility & Inclusion page for information about our venues. Fol...

Today's episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on April 10th which featured a fascinating conversation between Rabbi Lizzi and special guest Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street. Rabbi Lizzi sits on the Rabbinic Cabinet of J Street, which works in the American political system and in the Jewish community to advocate for diplomacy-first American leadership and policies that advance ju...

The audio in this sermon starts out rough, but it gets way better after two minutes — we promise! Hello, and welcome to Contact Chai. Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on Friday, March 27th, when Rabbi Steven delivered a drash on the power of hope embedded in the Exodus story. And yes, he does reference Prince of Egypt. If you’re still looking for a First Night Seder, Rabbi Steven...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on March 21st, 2026, when Rabbi Lizzi led a conversation on the connection between the Passover practice of letting go of bread, pasta, and other wheaty, yeasty treats and the sacrifices described in our parshah in Leviticus. *** For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar , and see our Accessibility & Inclusion page f...

Josh Cynamon, Mishkanite and PhD candidate in cognitive science at Indiana University studying cognitive science and artificial intelligence, joins Rabbi Lizzi in a nuanced conversation about the impacts of artificial intelligence on all of us. Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration ri...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on March 13th when we heard a special guest drash on the lifelong spiritual and communal impact of divorce from Rabbi Ezra Weinberg. Rabbi Ezra is the founder of the divorce support network Jews Get Divorce. Get divorce. Get it?  If you find our content helpful in your life, we hope we *get* your five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wh...

You’re traveling through another dimension, beyond both time and space. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s a signpost up ahead: your next stop: Shabbat! Heschel famously likened Shabbat to a cathedral in time. But in his sermon on March 7th, Rabbi Steven shared wisdom he has received which emphasizes Shabbat’s spatial dimension. How does this ancient pr...