Following the vandalism of Second Unitarian Church, Rabbi Steven spoke at a rally in solidarity with our interfaith partner and in support of abortion rights. Then, at our September 9th service at Second Unitarian, Rabbi Steven delivered a deeply personal drash reflecting on both the rally and the unforeseen course of his life. This sermon also contains a preview of Rabbi Steven's Rosh Hashanah sermon — do you have your ticket yet?

Spiritual Pre-Game: Prepping for the High Holidays
https://www.mishkanchicago.org/event/spiritual-pre-game-prepping-for-the-high-holidays/2022-09-07/

Selichot: Live and Outside!
https://www.mishkanchicago.org/event/selichot-live-and-outdoors-2022/

Get Higher 5783
https://www.mishkanchicago.org/high-holy-days/

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 composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

Thou shalt not let a good thing go to waste! At our September 3rd service, R'Deena delivered a drash on the principle of Bal Tashchit, or, literally, "Do Not Waste." How can we live a life dedicated to conserving our world's resources? You could start by composting with WasteNot!

Spiritual Pre-Game: Prepping for the High Holidays
https://www.mishkanchicago.org/event/spiritual-pre-game-prepping-for-the-high-holidays/2022-09-07/

Selichot: Live and Outside!
https://www.mishkanchicago.org/event/selichot-live-and-outdoors-2022/

Get Higher 5783
https://www.mishkanchicago.org/high-holy-days/

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 composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

Today’s episode is a drash from our Virtual Friday Night Shabbat on August 19th. Rabbi Deena spoke about the difficult task of comforting others the way God comforts us. This episode also features the song Nachamu by Elana Arian, performed by New Moon Rising.

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 composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

On Sunday, August 7th, Rabbi Lizzi led an interfaith Tisha B’Av service with Pastor Jonathan Brooks of Lawndale Community Christian Church. Pastor Jonathan, or Pastah J as he is affectionately known, is a renowned artist and community activist. In recognition of this somber holiday commemorating the many exiles and tragedies of the Jewish people, Rabbi Lizzi and Pastah J spoke passionately on the Jewish history and Black present of North Lawndale.

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 composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

Today’s episode is a discussion between Rabbi Lizzi and Russ Linden, author of “Loss and Discovery: What the Torah Can Teach Us about Leading Change.” The interview was conducted with the active participation of our Morning Minyan crew. Every weekday from 8 - 8:30 am, you can join us to start our day with a spiritual check-in with one of the Mishkan rabbis.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/event/summer-2022-morning-minyan/all/

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 composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

High Holidays are just around the corner, and Mishkan Builders will have early access to tickets. Join or renew today before early access tickets go live next week!

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On July 22nd, the rain held off just long enough for us to get through our climate themed outdoor Friday Night Shabbat Service. Could it have been the work of our old friend Honi the Circle Maker? Listen on to Rabbi Deena’s drash to hear the deets — it starts at [34:34]. This episode is a lightly abbreviated version of our entire service, filled with singing and inspiration. If you’re looking a particular song or message, jump to the time code below.
 
Welcome:
[01:30] — “Today I Almost Killed A Friend’s Plant…” — (R’Steven)
[07:00] — Lechu Neranena L'Adonai — (ft. Davening Team)
[10:36] — Shiru L'Adonai — (Davening Team)
[12:47] — Mizmor L’David — (Davening Team)

Message:
[16:21] — Where Is God In This? — (R’Lizzi)
[22:05] — Lecha Dodi (Leonard Cohen) — (Davening Team)
[27:31] — Psalm 92 / Mah Gad Lu — (Davening Team)
[29:55] — Reflections On Our Israel Trip — (ft. R’Lizzi)
[32:31] — Hashkiveinu (Steven Chaitman) — (Davening Team)

Drash:
[34:34] — Honi The Circle-Maker — (R’Deena)
[46:13] — We Rise (Batya Levine) — (Davening Team)
[49:01] — V'hashevota (Shir Yaakov) — (Davening Team)
[50:58] — Thank you, Jane Charney and Mark Achler! 
[54:14] — Psalm 150 / Kol Haneshamah (Davening Team)

****

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 composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript of Drash

At our Friday Night Shabbat service on July 15th, Rabbi Lizzi spoke about her trip to Israel, gave an impromptu explanation of the role of angels in our tradition, and, of course, sang several songs. Our upcoming July 22nd Friday Night Shabbat service will be outdoors at Francis W Parker, preceded by a Family Shabbat Picnic. We hope to see you there!

Service Highlights:
[00:45] — Angels Are Relentless! — (teaching)
[08:17] — Welcome Angels — (song)
[11:00] — Ana B’Koach — (song)
[14:40] — Holy Interruption — (teaching)
[17:51] — Reflections On Our Israel Trip — (drash)
[44:11] —  Adon Olam — (song and closing statements)

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 composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Shortly before our June 24th Friday Night Shabbat service, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Because we were unable to livestream from our outdoor venue, a number of you in our community reached out to see if we could record the service. Thanks to the hard work of our Shabbat Producer Anna Gelman and our production team, we are able to provide this high quality recording of our June 24th, 2022 service in its entirety.
 
Service highlights:

[06:06] — Processing the news — R'Lizzi
[22:52] — Pride message — R'Steven
[29:50] — Born This Way / Lecha Dodi (Lady Gaga) — Davening Team
[31:01] — Announcements — R'Lizzi
[40:30] — Drash — R'Lizzi
[44:37] — Miriam's Song (Debbie Friedman) — Davening Team
[46:28] — We Will Be Okay — R'Deena
[49:50] — Hashkiveinu (Steven Chaitman) — Davening Team
[52:42] — For The Sake Of Heaven — R'Steven
[1:09:42] — Closing remarks + jam session — R'Deena, Davening Team

Mishkan invites you to our upcoming Pride programming, including a Pre-Shabbat Pride Happy Hour and Pride-Themed Friday Night Shabbat on June 24th. We will also be in the Chicago Pride Parade on June 26th — march with us!

Rabbi Mike Moskowitz is the Scholar-in-Residence for Trans and Queer Jewish Studies at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the world's largest LGBT synagogue. He is the recipient of  three Ultra-Orthodox ordinations while learning in the Mir in Jerusalem and in Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, NJ. Oh, and he's good friends with our very own Rabbi Steven! That picture is of R'Mike laying hands on R'Steven during his ordination.

This sermon was originally delivered during the Saturday Morning Shabbat service on June 10th.  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 composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

Obviously, Judaism is more than a little gay. But that's just modern Judaism, right? Wrong! Rabbi Steven delivered a delightful drash "Judaism Is Kinda Gay" in honor of Pride exploring three queer Jewish stories at the very heart of our tradition. You can watch it on YouTube or read it on our blog.

Mishkan invites you to our upcoming Pride programming, including a Pre-Shabbat Pride Happy Hour and Pride-Themed Friday Night Shabbat on June 24th. We will also be in the Chicago Pride Parade on June 26th — march with us!

This sermon was originally delivered during the Saturday Morning Shabbat service on June 10th.  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 composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.