Contact Chai

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 would love to have you at our annual Learner’s Seder this Wednesday, April 1st. While created for our BluePrint students, this evening is open to all who looking to dine and learn in community.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/event/blueprint-learners-seder/

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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. To support Mishkan's important work of creating radically inclusive, down-to-earth, inspired Judaism, we invite you to join as a Builder or donate today.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/be-a-builder/

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/makeyourgift/

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

Transcript

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.

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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. To support Mishkan's important work of creating radically inclusive, down-to-earth, inspired Judaism, we invite you to join as a Builder or donate today.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/be-a-builder/

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/makeyourgift/

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

Transcript

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 right here on Contact Chai. Today's Morning Minyan features "Kedusha" by Amy Robinson.

https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen

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

Transcript

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 wherever you listen.

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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. To support Mishkan's important work of creating radically inclusive, down-to-earth, inspired Judaism, we invite you to join as a Builder or donate today.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/be-a-builder/

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/makeyourgift/

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

Transcript

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 practice connect us across generations, restoring our very souls?

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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. To support Mishkan's important work of creating radically inclusive, down-to-earth, inspired Judaism, we invite you to join as a Builder or donate today.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/be-a-builder/

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/makeyourgift/

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

Transcript

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. Today's Morning Minyan features "Kedusha" by Amy Robinson.

https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen

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

Transcript

What does our tradition have to teach us about honoring the diversity of human bodies? We sat down with Rabbi Minna Bromberg, fat liberation activist and founder of Fat Torah, to discuss her new book, "Every Body Beloved."

https://bookshop.org/lists/every-body-beloved

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. Today's Morning Minyan features "Kedusha" by Amy Robinson.

https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen

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

Join us for Purim on March 2nd! Don't miss out on the zaniest spiel in town — register at the link below.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/event/adult-purim-2026/

This drash was delivered at our virtual service on February 27th, 2026.

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

Transcript

Join us for Purim on March 2nd! Don't miss out on the zaniest spiel in town — register at the link below.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/event/adult-purim-2026/

The Megillah is satire. But deciphering the intended message of ancient literature is hard enough without a layer of irony and hidden meaning. In our Reading Esther As Literature class, Rabbi Lizzi taught us how to unlock some of that meaning using the Jewish hermeneutic tool Pardes. 

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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. To support Mishkan's important work of creating radically inclusive, down-to-earth, inspired Judaism, we invite you to join as a Builder or donate today.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/be-a-builder/

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/makeyourgift/

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

Transcript

Booo Mordechai! Wait, did I get that wrong? As Rabbi Lizzi taught in her sermon on Saturday, February 21st, on Purim, we are to get so mentally mixed up that we can’t remember the difference between “Blessed is Mordechi” and “Cursed is Haman.” Why? Find out at Mishkan’s Purim Party on March 2nd. Our spiel and full Megillah reading is always the best party in town, no exaggeration.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/event/adult-purim-2026/

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

Transcript