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

Links referenced in today's episode:

Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe's Omer song:
https://soundcloud.com/ariel-root-wolpe/hineni-muchan-umzuman-i-am-ready?

Velveteen Rabbi Omer explanation and image of Kabbalistic Sefirot: https://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/2018/07/seven.html

Taffy Brodesser-Akner's NYT Piece, "The Holocaust Story I Said I Wouldn't Write": https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/06/magazine/holocaust-story-education.html

Aish Omer Meditation:
https://aish.com/daily-omer-meditation/

Kululam: 600 Survivors and their descendants sing Chai - I'm Alive! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuh1-jDi7Qw

Become A Builder!
https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/be-a-builder/

Transcript

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on April 19th when Rabbi Steven drashed on the power and danger of anger. We can get pretty uncomfortable with this emotion these days, with good reason, and it can be awkward how present righteous anger is in the haggadah. How can we harness this potent feeling in a healthy way in pursuit of justice?

This Sunday, April 27th, at 10:00 am, Mishkan is thrilled to once again join our friends at Lawndale Christian Community Church for an interfaith service. Lawndale once held a thriving Jewish community, but racism, predatory contract lending, and white flight left the neighborhood under-resourced and highly segregated. We are honored to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Dr. Dennis Deer Community Justice Center, a new facility providing holistic justice through legal services, career support, and housing for clients of the Lawndale Christian Legal Center.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/event/interfaith-service-and-celebration-with-lawndale-christian-legal-center/

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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

Rabbi Lizzi is joined by her friend Rabbi Sarah Bassin, Rabbi in Residence for HIAS. R’Sarah has developed a curriculum titled “Reading Ezra in an Age of Mass Deportation,” and she shared her insights into this alarming moment with our Morning Minyan crew.

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

Become A Builder!
https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/be-a-builder/

Transcript

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on April 5th. Rabbi Steven drashed on the power of the seder to both ground us in history, reminding us that our people have survived tyranny before, and to uplift our spirits, eating and drinking and remembering the joyful dance of Miriam.

If you are looking for a seder, you’re in luck. We are so excited to announce that thanks to the generosity of Builder volunteers and our partners at OneTable, Mishkan is able to offer Community Hosted Seders this year. If you want to spend an inspired, down-to-earth evening with fellow Mishkanites, we would love to have you. These seders will be hosted in the homes of Builders all over the city (and one virtually). Deadlines to RSVP are fast approaching and tables are filling up, so register now!

https://dinners.onetable.org/partners/mishkan-chicago-seders-2025

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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

Are you looking for a seder? We are so excited to announce that thanks to the generosity of Builder volunteers and our partners at OneTable, Mishkan is able to offer Community Hosted Seders this year. If you want to spend an inspired, down-to-earth evening with fellow Mishkanites, we would love to have you. These seders will be hosted in the homes of Builders all over the city (and one virtually). Deadlines to RSVP are fast approaching and tables are filling up, so register now!

https://dinners.onetable.org/partners/mishkan-chicago-seders-2025

The song in today's episode (Lizzi's greatest idea!) is "Praise You" by Fatboy Slim.

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

Become A Builder!
https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/be-a-builder/

Transcript

Sell your chametz with this handy form!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeogC725eWYVK8mYF6SUuTzvUAQKXBjtU9VTAlmdsK6Cg593g/viewform

Check out our Passover Programs, including "Ugh, I'm Bored!" a workshop with Rachel Mylan on engaging kids at your seder:

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/events/category/holiday/

Join us for services at CJDS this Saturday, April 5th. Come early at 8:45 am to study Pirkei Avot with Rabbi Steven.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/event/saturday-morning-shabbat-040525/

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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 minyan features a new song by former Mishkan Leadership Fellow and current rock sensation Ezra Furman!

"Come Close" by Ezra Furman:

https://open.spotify.com/track/6qUhcvhfcdH2HqeVg9gjdM?si=723e2aa086ee4d7e

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

Become A Builder!
https://www.mishkanchicago.org/support/be-a-builder/

Transcript

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our Friday service on March 21st.Mishkan’s former board chair, Mark Achler, shared his considerable depth of knowledge on artificial intelligence, examining the ethics of this emerging technology from a Jewish lens. What are the positive — even lifesaving — applications of A.I.? How is A.I. already being exploited by the powerful? And is there anything we can do about it?

This Saturday, March 29th, we will gather at Mishkan HQ for an intimate morning service beginning at 9:30 am. We will have our usual children’s programming, but will not have Mishnah Study.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/event/saturday-morning-shabbat-032925/

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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