Contact Chai is Mishkan Chicago’s podcast feed, where you can hear our Shabbat sermons, Morning Minyans, interviews with Jewish thought leaders, and more.
Today is Tu B'Shevat, the New Year of the Trees when we celebrate the bounty of our leafy friends. But in a place like Chicago, there isn't a lot of greenery to go around. So how can we hold onto hop…
We've all wondered why G-d hardened Pharaoh's heart. But have you ever wonder why G-d didn't harden Pharaoh's courtiers' hearts after saying G-d would? And what does "harden" really mean? We got into…
Today’s episode is from our service on January 12th when Rabbi Steven delivered a powerful sermon processing the rising death toll in Gaza amidst the ongoing war. As we grapple with our own loss, how…
Today's episode is from our Morning Minyan on Thursday, January 11th when we discussed Parashat Va'era. G-d steps in to save the Hebrews from bondage, but Rabbi Steven is left with a big question — w…
Today's episode is from our lively Morning Minyan discussion on Thursday, January 4th about Parashat Shemot. Who is this new pharaoh in the opening of Exodus? Just some fallible, faulty figurehead pu…
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…
How did astrology guide our ancestors? And how can astrology help us reexamine our calendar today? At our December 15th Virtual Friday Night Shabbat, Rabbi Steven dove into the surprisingly mystical …
At our December 8th service, Rabbi Steven connected the ancient themes of Hanukkah to the present-day realities of antisemitism and hatred which we must overcome together.
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For upcoming Shabbat ser…
In honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance, we were honored to welcome special guest drasher Avery Komlofske to our Virtual Friday Night Shabbat service on November 17th. Avery is a graduate of Mishk…
"Empathy is not endorsement. Empathizing with someone you profoundly disagree with does not suddenly compromise your own deeply held beliefs and endorse theirs.”
-Dylan Marron
This episode is a Shabba…
Big programming note — Rabbi Lizzi is taking a well deserved sabbatical beginning next week! This means that while we will continue with our Morning Minyans every weekday and you'll still see service…
When the world tries to rob us of our humanity, our response is to be more human.
This episode is a Shabbat Replay from our October 27th Friday Night Shabbat.
Big programming note — Rabbi Lizzi is ta…
What do Abraham and Debbie Friedman have in common? Find out in this episode taken from our October 26th minyan!
Big programming note — Rabbi Lizzi is taking a well deserved sabbatical. This means tha…
At our October 21st Saturday morning Shabbat service, we welcomed community member Joel Braunold to give a talk on the present crisis in Israel in Gaza. Joel is the Managing Director of the S. Daniel…
Don't tap that screen — tap into your best self! At our October 20th virtual service, Rabbi Lizzi delivered a drash connecting the themes of Parashat Noach to our own present catastrophe. Sometimes, …
In this morning's virtual minyan, Rabbi Lizzi read from How Lovely the Ruins: Inspirational Poems and Words for Difficult Times, a poetry collection she has been turning to during this painful time. …
Content Warning: This episode contents rocket sirens and frank discussions of war.
Today's episode is our virtual Morning Minyan from October 16th. Rabbi Lizzi led us in a celebration of Rosh Chodesh …
Our October 13th service was something to behold. This was our first Friday Night Shabbat post High Holidays, and our community has been reaching out looking for a space to grieve and pray following …
At our Virtual Morning Minyan on October 12th, Rabbi Lizzi welcomed dozens of community members to pray for those impacted by the ongoing violence in Israel and Gaza, and to hold space for one anothe…
On October 9th, just two days after the terror attack on Israeli civilians by Hamas, our regularly scheduled Monday Morning Minyan with Rachel Goldberg became a space for our community to process the…