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At our Virtual Morning Minyan on September 28th, Rabbi Lizzi  puzzled over the plight of Moshe at the end of the Torah. Why does the man who delivered us from bondage (and received the Torah itself!) not live to see culmination of that labor? Why does the narrative of the Torah leave off with Moshe dying before making it into the Promised Land? Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks may have some insight into...

Today’s episode is composed of two memorable moments from our 5784 High Holiday services in which lay leaders took to the bima. In the first excerpt from our Kol Nidre service, Tim Graves delivered a drash about his own personal, painful journey of teshuvah as he embraces sobriety. In the second from our Yom Kippur service,  Jackie Rassner delivered a drash about the Bring Chicago Home campaign to...

At our Virtual Morning Minyan on September 21st, Rabbi Lizzi  helped us fill in that sometimes awkwardly normal between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. How can we use this time intentionally as an opportunity to experience the divine? The song featured in today's episode is "Seder Ha'Avoda" by Ishay Ribo, which is a setting of the high priest's ritual at Yom Kippur. Give it...

At our Rosh Hashanah service, Rabbi Lizzi delivered a moving drash about how acting out of fear has led to seemingly endless cycle of violence. How can we advocate for coexistence and peace in Israel without getting caught in this ancient trap? Mishkan Chicago's High Holiday tickets are now on sale to the general public! For scheduling, pricing, venue information, and tickets, follow this lin...

At our Erev Rosh Hashanah service, Rabbi Steven shared a story of his own personal Moses — his uncle Bill, a family friend living with HIV who would not live to see the Promised Land of further gains in LGBTQIA+ rights, but who did leave a lasting impression on young Steven. What are the legacies we will leave behind? What Promised Lands are beyond our lifetimes which we can nonetheless fight for...

At our Virtual Morning Minyan on September 14th, Rabbi Lizzi  rang in the day before the night of the beginning of the first holiday of the Days of Awe! Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here...

At our Virtual Morning Minyan on September 7th, Rabbi Lizzi  prepared us for the High Holidays by teaching us about Selichot. Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. https://w...

At our Virtual Morning Minyan on August 31st, Rabbi Lizzi advocates Veganism. Well, not exactly — you'll have to listen to find out what this week's Torah portion has to say about G_d's original dietary prescription for humans. Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann....

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay from last Friday’s service on August 25th, our “Back to Shul” Shabbat when we blessed learners of all ages from families sending children off to school to college students leaving to our cohort of Exploring Judaism students, some of whom recently took a momentous dip in the mikvah. As you will hear, we welcomed these new Jews to our community, and were greatly i...

At our Virtual Morning Minyan on August 24th, Rabbi Lizzi urged us to be gentle with ourselves as we reckon with the past year's shortcomings. The song featured in the opening of this episode is "awaken" by Marni Loffman (@singingjewess) off their new album "the long short path". Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday session...

Moshe's generation who led the Israelites out of Egypt did not lead the people all the way into the Promised Land. In fact, they messed things up so badly that they didn't get to go at all! That daunting journey was left for the next generation. Our Friday, August 19th service was focused on exciting celebrations for our families — BMitzvahs, a baby naming, and more! Rabbi Lizzi took thi...

Feeling stuck? Exhausted? Overwhelmed? Wish you could start everything all over again? Then you have something in common with Moshe after he smashed the first draft of those tablets. During our virtual service on August 18th, Rabbi Steven encouraged us to take the first step toward spiritually preparing ourselves for the High Holy Days. Mishkan Chicago's High Holiday tickets are now on sale t...

Rabbi Lizzi and the Thursday Morning Minyan crew are joined by Rabbi Shefa Gold who leads us in meditative, musical chanting. Plus, we blow the first Shofar blast of Elul! Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and ins...

At our August 11th service, Rabbi Steven reflected on a moral conundrum that hits extremely close to home — the effort to build shelter for 500 asylum seekers in his neighborhood. Mishkan Chicago's High Holiday tickets are now on sale to the general public! For scheduling, pricing, venue information, and tickets, follow this link : https://www.mishkanchicago.org/high-holy-days/ **** For upcom...

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. In our August 10th  session, Rabbi Lizzi led us through Parashat Re'eh meditating on the theme of choice. The opening song in this...

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. In our August 3rd session, Rabbi Lizzi schooled (shul'ed?) us on Parashat Eikev. **** For upcoming Shabbat services and programs,...

At our August 5th service, Rabbi Lizzi unpacked the news that the Tree of Life shooter is set to receive the death penalty. What does Jewish tradition have to say about murder, capital punishment, and true justice? **** For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar , and see our Accessibility & Inclusion page for information about our venues. Follow us on Instagram and l...

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. Our July 27th session fell on Tisha B'Av, so Rabbi Lizzi took some time to make space for people to grieve the latest tragedy to b...

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. In our July 20th session, Rabbi Lizzi taught us about Parashat Devarim, wherein Moses breaks the bad news that his followers' 11 d...

Today's episode is Rabbi Steven's sermon at Rosh Hashanah 5783. This July, we are giving our Shababat Production Team a summer break, so this month’s Replays are from our 5783 High Holiday services. We hope it’s pleasant company on your summer travels. July 1st also marks the beginning of our Builder Renewal cycle. Shabbat, High Holidays, Pride programming, inspirational sermons — everyt...

Today's episode is Rabbi Lizzi's sermon at Erev Rosh 5783. This July, we are giving our Shababat Production Team a summer break, so this month’s Replays are from our 5783 High Holiday services. We hope it’s pleasant company on your summer travels. July 1st also marks the beginning of our Builder Renewal cycle. Shabbat, High Holidays, Pride programming, inspirational sermons — everything...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service last night, June 23rd, which marked our annual Pride Shabbat! If you are looking for the powerful drash delivered by Builder Ronan Goforth or our "Born This Way" rendition of Lecha Dodi, check out the timecodes below.   Timecodes: [00:00] Intro + Shalom Aleichem [05:03] Welcome from R’Lizzi, Roe v. Wade Yahrzeit [08:42] L’chu Neranena [1...

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. In our June 22nd, 2023 session, Rabbi Lizzi taught us about Parashat Korach, and Adira had a lot of questions. **** For upcoming Shabba...

At our Virtual Friday Night Shabbat service on June 16th, Rabbi Lizzi explored how our self-doubt can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. **** For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar , and see our Accessibility & Inclusion page for information about our venues. Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook for more updates. Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Music compos...

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. In our June 15th, 2023 session, Rabbi Lizzi taught us about Parashat Shelach Lecha which contains the stories of the twelves spies who...