What can each of us do to repair the world during this year of Shmita? Rabbi Lizzi welcomes Jakir Manela, CEO of Hazon: The Jewish Lab for Sustainability, for a conversation about how we can create a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable world for all.

Today's episode is sponsored by Broadway In Chicago. Tickets to The Prom are available now! Use Mishkan's special offer code PARTY49 for $49 tickets, valid for April 19 and 20 (evening only), and April 21, in the Orchestra, Dress Circle and Loge seating area.

This episode is the sermon from Mishkan's Friday night  service on March 18th. You can watch this interview on our YouTube channel. 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

The Shabbat before Purim is Shabbat Zachor — the Shabbat of Remembering. Specifically, we remember the pain inflicted on our people by Amalek, ancestral line of Purim villain Haman (boo!). But why are we commanded to simultaneously remember and forget this traumatic memory? In this drash, Rabbi Lizzi teases out how the story and mitzvot of Purim can inspire us to live with life's contradictions and make blessings out of our pain.

This episode is the sermon from Mishkan's Friday night  service on February 25th. For full recordings of Friday services, click here. For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar, and see our Accessibility & Inclusion page for information about our venues. Learn more about Mishkan Chicago. Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Music composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

"History may repeat itself, but it doesn't have to. The story isn’t finished, and we get to choose the role we want to play in this unfolding drama."

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Rabbi Lizzi connects current events to ancient ones, and Rashi’s retelling of the building of the Mishkan to a more modern retelling of a cinematic classic.

This episode is the sermon from Mishkan's Friday night  service on February 25th. For full recordings of Friday services, click here. For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar, and see our Accessibility & Inclusion page for information about our venues. Learn more about Mishkan Chicago. Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Music composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

"I had a big gap from age 7 until 21 doing anything Jewish — except for coming home and watching Sanford And Son for Yom Kippur."

Jared Jackson shares how his multi-heritage African American and Ashkenazi upbringing led him to found Jews in ALL Hues over a decade ago.

This episode is abbreviated from a conversation during Mishkan's Friday night  service on February 18th. For full recordings of Friday services, click here. For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar, and see our Accessibility & Inclusion page for information about our venues. Learn more about Mishkan Chicago. Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Music composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

"I don’t think it’s accidental that Whoopi Goldberg, both Black and female, was punished with silence when many people, generally White and male, have said much worse with no consequence. And I am grateful for those who, despite all of this, sought dialogue with her: remembering that conversation, not censure, is what helps us find and act upon our ability to grow."

Rabbi Steven meditates on Whoopi Goldberg's controversial statements in light of Black History Month and Adar.

This episode is a drash given at Mishkan's Friday night  service on February 11th. For full recordings of Friday services, click here. For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar, and see our Accessibility & Inclusion page for information about our venues. Learn more about Mishkan Chicago. Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Music composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

What is God's love language? Here's a hint: it isn't receiving gifts — at least, not according to  Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. Rabbi Deena explores how God's clear instructions for building the sanctuary can inspire us to ask for the love we need.

This episode is a drash given at Mishkan's Saturday morning  service on February 5th. For full recordings of Friday services, click here. For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar, and see our Accessibility & Inclusion page for information about our venues. Learn more about Mishkan Chicago. Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Music composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

"...Halfway through the presidency of George W. Bush,  I stood on the Washington Mall and I held my sign. It said: Another Jewish woman who loves life and kids for choice."

In a time when abortion access is being restricted under the guise of "religious liberty," Rabbi Lizzi reminds us that our religious tradition upholds the right to choose.

This episode is a drash given at Mishkan's Friday night service on January 28th, as we celebrated Repro Shabbat. Repro Shabbat is an initiative by the National Council of Jewish Women, an opportunity for congregations, organizations, and communities to celebrate the critical importance of reproductive health. For full recordings of Friday services, click here. For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar. Learn more about Mishkan Chicago. Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Music composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

Ruben Shimonov is the National Director of Sephardi House and Young Leadership at the American Sephardi Federation. He is also the founder of the Sephardic Mizrahi Q Network, a space for queer Jews of Sephardic and Mizrahi backgrounds, as well as a talented calligrapher whose art reflects his multicultural upbringing. He joined Mishkan's Rabbi Steven fascinating conversation with Rabbi Steven about queer identities, Ashkenormativity, and how Sephardic and Mizrahi communities have contributed to Jewish history and liturgy in often unsung ways.

This episode is an excerpt from our Friday Night Shabbat on January 21st, 2022. For full recordings of Friday services, click here. For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar.

Learn more about Mishkan Chicago. Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Be sure to like and subscribe to our podcast for updates on new episodes, and please leave a review. We want to hear from you!

Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Music composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

Just as Martin Luther King Jr.'s struggle for voting rights didn't end with the passage of the Voting Rights Act, Moshe's fight for liberation didn't end when the Israelites packed their bags full of Egyptian gold and hit the road. It's a long way to freedom, and boy are Moshe's arms tired!

This episode is Rabbi Deena's sermon from Mishkan's Friday night service on January 14th, 2022. For full recordings of Friday services, click here. For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar.

Learn more about Mishkan Chicago. Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Be sure to like and subscribe to our podcast for updates on new episodes, and please leave a review. We want to hear from you!

Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Music composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

After Pharaoh loses his firstborn son, he finally lets the Israelites leave. But not before asking Moses and Aaron: "Bless me, too." It's a strange little moment — just three words! — so, of course, the rabbis have written pages about it. Their takeaway? Even pharaohs can change.

This episode is an extended excerpt  from a Torah study led by Rabbi Steven following the Saturday morning service on January 8th. For full Friday services, click here. For upcoming Shabbat services and programs, check our event calendar.

Learn more about Mishkan Chicago. Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Be sure to like and subscribe to our podcast for updates on new episodes, and please leave a review. We want to hear from you!

Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Music composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript