Advertise on podcast: Contact Chai

Today's episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service from October 16th when Rabbi Julie delivered a drash on the story of Noah. Scholars allege that the biblical flood may have taken inspiration from the Epic of Gilgamesh, but its intended message appears to be quite distinct from other ancient deluge tales. What does the unfolding saga of Genesis teach us about humanity's relationship with our Creator? We have appreciated your flood of ratings and reviews — keep 'em coming! Although preferably not by twos...We'll take five stars, please. Those reviews really help people find these doses of Jewish inspiration and learning, so please do take a moment to rate us wherever you listen. Do you appreciate this dose of Jewish inspiration? Support Mishkan's 5787 Tzedakah Campaign! https://secure.givelively.org/donate/mishkan-chicago/mishkan-high-holidays-2026-5787-tzedakah-campaign *** 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

Rabbi Lizzi is joined by Alex Sinclair, noted Israeli academic and celebrated author who was detained for wearing a kippah with both Israeli and Palestinian flags. Do you appreciate this dose of Jewish inspiration? Support Mishkan's 5787 Tzedakah Campaign! https://secure.givelively.org/donate/mishkan-chicago/mishkan-high-holidays-2026-5787-tzedakah-campaign *** 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 October 10th, when Rabbi Steven delivered a drash reflecting on the polarized reception to an October 7th vigil attended by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.  Did the mayor's statements downplay the suffering of Israelis or did they dismiss the oppression Palestinians? Both? Neither? The answer may lie in the very first chapter of Genesis. Do you appreciate this dose of Jewish inspiration? Support Mishkan's 5787 Tzedakah Campaign! https://secure.givelively.org/donate/mishkan-chicago/mishkan-high-holidays-2026-5787-tzedakah-campaign *** 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

On the anniversary of October 7th, we gathered to reflect on poetry and prayers written about the evil endured on this day, the cruelties inflicted afterward, and our undying hope for peace. Donate to Hersch's Fridge, the first kosher community fridge in the country: https://www.solu.us/fridgedonate"If I Must Die, Let It Be a Tale" by Refaat Alareer: https://poets.org/poem/if-i-must-die-let-it-be-tale"One Tiny Seed" by Rachel Goldberg-Polin: https://forward.com/fast-forward/573260/one-tiny-seed-rachel-goldberg-poem-hersh-goldberg-polin/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. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen Support inspired, down-to-earth Judaism by donating to our 5787 Tzedakah campaign. https://secure.givelively.org/donate/mishkan-chicago/mishkan-high-holidays-2026-5787-tzedakah-campaign Produced by Mishkan Chicago. 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. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen Support inspired, down-to-earth Judaism by donating to our 5787 Tzedakah campaign. https://secure.givelively.org/donate/mishkan-chicago/mishkan-high-holidays-2026-5787-tzedakah-campaign Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Transcript

You can watch our Yizkor service and slideshow from Yom Kippur 5787 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlcUpDVahWE 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. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen Support inspired, down-to-earth Judaism by donating to our 5787 Tzedakah campaign. https://secure.givelively.org/donate/mishkan-chicago/mishkan-high-holidays-2026-5787-tzedakah-campaign Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Transcript

The year is new but the problems are ancient! At Yom Kippur 5787, Rabbi Lizzi looked to Torah and tradition for precedent and prescriptions for our modern woes. Do you appreciate this dose of Jewish inspiration? Support Mishkan's 5787 Tzedakah Campaign! https://secure.givelively.org/donate/mishkan-chicago/mishkan-high-holidays-2026-5787-tzedakah-campaign *** 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

At our Kol Nidre service, Rabbi Steven examined the growing divisions tearing the Jewish people apart and drew from history to offer a path forward. Do you appreciate this dose of Jewish inspiration? Support Mishkan's 5787 Tzedakah Campaign! https://secure.givelively.org/donate/mishkan-chicago/mishkan-high-holidays-2026-5787-tzedakah-campaign *** 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. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen Today's episode features "Ki Anu Amecha" by RAZA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=linLj6DW8LM Registration is open for High Holidays at Mishkan! Whether you attend in-person or via our affordable, state-of-the-art livestream, you can count on Mishkan’s High Holiday services to strengthen and inspire you as we face a new year of challenges and opportunities. Tickets go fast, so save your seat today! https://www.mishkanchicago.org/high-holy-days-5787/ Support inspired, down-to-earth Judaism by donating to our 5787 Tzedakah campaign. https://secure.givelively.org/donate/mishkan-chicago/mishkan-high-holidays-2026-5787-tzedakah-campaign Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Transcript

At our Rosh Hashanah 5787 service, Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann delivered a sermon on the lessons our ancestors provide us in this fraught political moment. Join us for the High Holy Days! Whether you attend in-person or via our affordable, state-of-the-art livestream, you can count on Mishkan’s High Holiday services to strengthen and inspire you as we face a new year of challenges and opportunities. Tickets go fast, so save your seat today! https://www.mishkanchicago.org/high-holy-days-5787/ Transcript

In her inaugural High Holiday sermon at Mishkan, Rabbi Julie Fishbach delivered a surprising drash on the history of prayer. Join us for the High Holy Days! Whether you attend in-person or via our affordable, state-of-the-art livestream, you can count on Mishkan’s High Holiday services to strengthen and inspire you as we face a new year of challenges and opportunities. Tickets go fast, so save your seat today! https://www.mishkanchicago.org/high-holy-days-5787/ Transcript

In this special episode recovered from The Mishkan Vault, Rabbi Lizzi speaks with renowned tech entrepreneur Harry Gottlieb about the spiritual technology of teshuvah and the power of the High Holidays in our modern world.  **** Rosh Hashanah is this Saturday, September 12th! Whether you attend in-person or via our affordable, state-of-the-art livestream, you can count on Mishkan’s High Holiday services to strengthen and inspire you as we face a new year of challenges and opportunities. Tickets go fast, so save your seat today! https://www.mishkanchicago.org/high-holy-days-5787/ Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Transcript

Rabbi Lizzi read a passage on Selichot from Rabbi Alan Lew's classic This is Real And You Are Completely Unprepared, prompting a vulnerable discussion on how hard it feels to enter the High Holidays this year. 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. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen Registration is open for High Holidays at Mishkan! Whether you attend in-person or via our affordable, state-of-the-art livestream, you can count on Mishkan’s High Holiday services to strengthen and inspire you as we face a new year of challenges and opportunities. Tickets go fast, so save your seat today! https://www.mishkanchicago.org/high-holy-days-5787/ Produced by Mishkan Chicago. 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. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen Registration is open for High Holidays at Mishkan! Whether you attend in-person or via our affordable, state-of-the-art livestream, you can count on Mishkan’s High Holiday services to strengthen and inspire you as we face a new year of challenges and opportunities. Tickets go fast, so save your seat today! https://www.mishkanchicago.org/high-holy-days-5787/ Produced by Mishkan Chicago. 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. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen This episode features Achat Sha'alti (A Setting of Psalm 27) by Chava Mirel. youtube.com/watch?v=olqBdmrwkhQ If you value this down-to-earth Jewish wisdom, help us create more inspiration and community by becoming a Builder. Mishkan Chicago relies on Builders, people who have chosen to invest in the longterm sustainability of our community. If you’ve been checking out the community, we invite you to take the next step and become a Builder to help us welcome even more people into a space to bring their whole selves and be part of something larger than themselves. https://www.mishkanchicago.org/builder-drive-2026/ Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Transcript