Minyan Replay with Rabbi Lizzi — Shavuot

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann. You can join in yourself, or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai.

In our May 25th, 2023 session, we prepared for the revelation of the Torah — Shavuot begins tonight! The song featured at the beginning of this episode is עבדו את ה' בשמחה by Yonatan Razel.

https://open.spotify.com/track/1XYAxcBNh1A4NZlu3a6nUj?

****

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

Transcript

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
I'll drop it in the chat later. You can listen to it, it's really a danceable song. And I have to say, I want to thank it's see is Ellen's not on this morning, I want to thank Ellen because like, I don't think I would have been comfortable getting up from my computer and dancing over here. But um, without, without a little bit of encouragement from seeing folks in this Minion, like dancing to me playing guitar in the morning, which, you know, amazing, it's 8am, and you're like, rocking out in your kitchen. And that's been inspiring to me. So thank you, thank you for that. Because this this goes both ways. So I played that. And I wanted to start with the words Eve to attach them to Simha bow the fan of beer and and now this morning, because the holiday of Shabbos is imminent. And as many of you know, there is a tea cooling there's like a an all night learning that we do at MGM it it's an annual thing. It's all the all the Northside synagogues get together. And it always begins with a rabbinic panel. And there's always some kind of a question. And this year, the question has to do with what is a text that has followed you throughout your life? So this is also a good question for you to think about, you know, and so the question is, like, you know, for a bunch of rabbis like my journey with Torah, you know, what, what has been your journey with Torah?

Speaker 2  
And my journey with Torah?

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
Is this song, not like this version of this song? But it's these words, Eve do at at an IBC. Mm hmm. It's like four words in English and Hebrew, actually, Eve do serve at, okay, it's a connector. I don't I God, the Simha joy. Words, serve God with joy. And it's been that way for me as long as I can remember. But and this is what I'm going to talk about tonight. And I'm sharing this with you, because so many of you don't live in Chicago, and the thing tonight won't be live streamed. So I'm giving you a little preview. But the definition of what it means to serve, and how I understand God, and how I understand joy, actually has changed profoundly over the course of my life. And probably it does for all of us as we, you know, the word to serve Eve do is the same word as service in Hebrew worship. Right? It's also the same word as slavery. And so right, like, we have Idema hyena, we were slaves in Egypt. But then again, what is the torah and you know, what is the world rests on? Tora, Ivo dat and give me loads Hasidim, you know, service. And that's understood as like work and it's also understood as like service of the Divine. So, you know, davening can be drudgery can be boring can be sold numbing, or it can be inspiring and soul connecting. You know, what, what makes the difference? And then of course, God, you had, hey, love, hey, I'm going to put up the screen so that you can see these words in front of them in front of you.

Unknown Speaker  
We've talked about this, God,

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
many people and this always happens with 13 year olds who I study Torah with. I don't believe in God, I don't believe in some man in the sky, who tells us what to do. And I I'm like, Yeah, me neither, you know, but there's this. There's this maturation process that I feel like every human goes through, you know, that is actually pretty well described by that Midrash about Abraham, you know, where Abraham is in his father's idle shop. And he sort of has this reckoning with I don't think that God is a thing. I think that God is bigger than a thing. I think that God is all things I think that God is what creates the wind and the sun in the sky and everything that everything that has power that we think of as powerful, there's something more powerful, and I think whatever that power is, is God. And, you know, I would love it would be very fun in this minion to actually hear how every every single one of you came to your understanding of a higher power of what you like, hey, Above, hey, this word that is a stand in for that higher power, that more pervasive connecting unity that we call God as choose. And then finally the Simha the same high joy. So, as you'll hear, for those of you who come tonight, Joy, I feel like when you're a teenager, if you're lucky, Joy is, you know, raucous fun, might even be dangerous. You know, when in a Jewish context for me it was like banging on tables on Friday night and singing lots of songs and you know, just like all kinds of, oh, still coming into the understanding of God. But we'll talk about joy. All right, we're gonna talk more about that. We'll talk more about it. In college, it was it was literally it was, you know, the sound of people making harmony, banging on tables, and then singing together as Judaism and realizing like that, in fact, it was a great Friday night experience that was joyful. And then I was I was sharing this with a friend, and he reminded me that a davening leader, so says the tradition shouldn't be minimum 30 years old. Which then, of course, others among others in the tradition, other rabbis say why 30? And one might say, Oh, well, because by 30, you're gonna have a really good beard going, you know, what kind of credibility Are you going to have as a service leader without like, a good strong beard? You know, but but the mission abre says, and this is like a, this is a commentary on Jewish law from the 1800s. He says, because by 30, your heart will have been broken. By 30, your heart will have been broken, and then you have credibility as a prayer leader. You know, and that almost makes me cry every time I think about it. Because to be a prayer leader to serve God, on behalf of the community is because called a Shelly yatse bore somebody who is a messenger on behalf of the community. And in order to serve that in that way. You have to know what heartbreak feels like you have to know what pain and sadness feels like because folks in your community are praying from that place. And you can't expect everybody every single day to be feeling that feeling of table banging, you know, raucous joy. That's not realistic. You can't push people that way. And so when we read these words, Eve do attach Shimba Simha. Sup from Psalm 100. That same high is like a layered, Complex, deep open. Yearning, pain informed trauma informed heartbroken joy. Right, exactly, Cassandra, that's Robbie Nachman of Breslov. There's nothing so hold on. So Holy is a broken heart. So so I'm going to play this again. But I'm going to invite us to sit up a little bit straighter. This is like our this is this is our extended mo Danny this morning, our extended waking up and connecting with our ourselves, our body, our connectedness to what is greater than us. We'll go from this into Barco and Shema, but to allow breath to just infuse your lungs and your belly and ask yourself where were in your body this morning. Are you feeling a little bit of C Mm hmm. Or could you breathe in a little bit of C Mm hmm. Knowing that Simha does not need to mean simple joy or happiness. It can mean complex layered, heartbroken, but love filled joy.

Speaker 3  
If you add Tasha Amber Simha Boly fine now, Fernanda, if you add Tasha Simha Ebola phenom Oh O, if you at Tasha Amber Simcha Bowie fan Averna if the letter Shama seem happy to Hashem who Elohim who is the law and afternoon? Oh, look, yeah, Sham. Ooh, well, he knew I'm over it so if you let go the fan if you attach Samsung Farbod if you do add a sham if you add a shadow to leukemia sham less

Unknown Speaker  
than a moment soon, Marita. If you do add a shadow but if you do add a shadow if you add a shadow to key a sham while he was sad to kiya sham then

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
to stand if you're able

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
to facing east

Unknown Speaker  
Oh

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
as we face these this morning, think about receiving Torah tonight, all facing the same direction, thinking about the Jewish people standing at Sinai. And it wasn't just the Jewish people. By the way, it was everyone who left Egypt, everyone who hoped for a better tomorrow. And I imagined that joining their story with the Jewish story might actually yield a better tomorrow. Just Just incredible faith, because they had no idea they had no idea what tomorrow would hold, they just imagined that something could be better. And so we all face the same direction. And when we stood at Sinai together, we all face towards Sinai, but everybody had a different view, you know, depending on where you were relative to the mountain and what you saw. And so when everyone got at Sinai, it was a different experience. A different view of this same truth Have you had Hey, Vav Hey, God. And actually, it was scary for those Israelites, they didn't know what to do with the power of that experience. And so for the rest of time, here, we are trying to make sense, trying to make sense of it ourselves. And so we have all these different words and ways to try to connect. But Simha joy is a really good one to try to find our way in. So imagine your heart center is facing Jerusalem, but as also we're all facing the same direction toward Sinai and trying to bring trying to bring the joy that maybe our ancestors had a hard time finding because this was new and it was even a little scary. But we don't have to be afraid to open our heart

Unknown Speaker  
very cool as I don't I have before I

Speaker 3  
nail them via head by row. Atta I don't I don't no matter how old you are, there are over a fellow chef Jose Shannon before Ray attacco I met you read the article and I remember having like a meme to refer to him to meet my savory sheet or Hadash Schutze on to any scan hula Mahira little row by row cutout on a metal road. I have a rubber tire? No, I don't know. I'm like a dually viterra metallic Lane who? Me and my family knew.

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
Trying to think for a moment as we go into the Shema. Why might have have been? Why was it necessary for God at Sinai? To feel scary to those Israelites? Did it have to be that way? Is there a way to get to the higher power, connectedness of the universe that infuses our hearts and connects everything be honest, without being a little bit terrified? I don't know. You know what I mean? Like I'm thinking about, you know, my kids about to put their hands in a fire and I'm gonna yell in a way that's actually going to scare them. But hopefully they'll now understand the truth which is you put your hand on a fire you get burned. And they'll know that there is a higher power me in this case, who cares deeply about them and their physical safety and their health and their wellness. And that I will always call out if I can to try to help them and that's some times I'm not going to be able to do that. And that might be a different kind of scary, but hopefully that's scary actually that shout that like waking up will communicate love, and they'll know that. And so I have read that I have Daniel, there's this deep, deep, powerful love that as we go into the Shema, God feels like a lot of things in a lot of moments. Like sadness, like pain, like heartbreak, like recovery, like joy. So we say, the hot air a native Vittoria tefa with the Beckley bannable mitzvah Taha enlighten our eyes through your words of Torah Let our hearts cleave to your meats vote yes, I live a venue that I have earlier. Hmm. Help us find love even amid the Euro even amid the awe and even fear when we encounter you below devotion to love and we will not be ashamed therefore, we will not be ashamed

Speaker 3  
All right, Baruch atah Adonai haobo, HERBIE, Moe, ISRO al b i have

Speaker 3  
Shema Israel don't die. Hello Hey, no don't die asked

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
the I have to I don't know

Speaker 3  
the whole about the whole male DESA there how you who had to bury him I share I know he meets up ha ha yo Melissa. But she Nanta hum they're gonna have the bar to bomb Burj Khalifa hub of a Tahoe overlap to cover Dara shoutbox out with Kuma short term the O word Alia Dafa the EULA totalboat been a net we'll get to have time is it was oh it would be tough. Ah we Shara hair okay,

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
as we go into me Hello, hi. Let's use this as our healing prayer. The energy of crossing the sea going towards something towards Sinai toward revelation toward new learning. Praying for everybody on Iran's list obviously very Robinson Molly Johnson. Sarah roots Barbara Massara praying for all the minion moms all the people in this room Todd, Kristen and Pat CeCe Donahue Samantha Danna virgins are praying for recovery for Susan Morrow recovering from back surgery feel free to continue to drop names into the chat or even say them as Sing me humble

Unknown Speaker  
me

Unknown Speaker  
Vailima me Yuka mo Madaba Nora

Unknown Speaker  
Nora to Hilo

Unknown Speaker  
Shira she me

Unknown Speaker  
yeah

Unknown Speaker  
oh

Unknown Speaker  
nice to him

Unknown Speaker  
I don't nine

Unknown Speaker  
use

Unknown Speaker  
the main roof wash Lima,

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
healing of body and spirit to everybody in this room and everyone you're praying for

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
I am going to stand I'm conscious of the metaphor of standing at Sinai, but the possibility of actually also standing at Sinai every day multiple times a day. There's this dating site. I feel like I've talked to you guys about standing, standing again it's not not standing again at sign I saw you at Sinai standing again at Sinai is a beautiful book of poetry by Merle Feld, highly recommend saw you at Sinai is this dating website. The idea is if you know someone, and you don't know why you know them a Jewish person, and you're like, I know, I know you but I don't know why. And you can't figure it out. Maybe you saw them at Sinai, because we were all there. And I was long time ago, but you know, something in our soul remembers and knows, you know, when and when we encounter truth, it's like we know it. And sometimes we find that in another person and we you know, like my kids do a quiet connection in school like this with their hand like I know you that's what that is. So you know, we all face the same direction as we go into the army me Dad standing prayer, we say the same words, we acknowledge the same ancestors. We all came from the same people fundamentally. So we'll begin this out loud together, connecting with each other and with Jews around the world and throughout time and space. And then we'll have a moment for personal prayer. And then we'll go into Kathy chateau. Three steps backward. Three steps forward.

Speaker 3  
mero Hello. Hey, new habits. And though Hey, after hamilo he talked a little Hey, Jaco. Now he Sarado Erica l hagadol. huggy Borba Honora ll your own Gmail Hasidim to them for Konerko was a clear last day of autonomy Vigo le mavenir him the man schmo via have medical zero Moshe mcgain Baraka Tara and I'm again Abraham okay and Sarah. Tiny Boileau that I'm going on? I'm in my game a team at Arabba who Shia marine atoll mahal Cal high imbecile high game at Morocco NEMA beam, some ethno clean verifier Halima Matera serene omocha Yemen when I told the Shen Alpha Maha Maha valuable wrote to me dome Ella Metis means Omaha you must be an issue. The Amana Tala hired me team Baraka, Tirana and FIA Amity the foundation shim have you done because shim shim act Ishimoto bitch me my Roma kaka to Val Jana me I have a Kara's Ma sha Allah Allah is Komodo dos Gatos, cudos shadow knights of oatmeal cola Iris kiboko Well my time borrow your marrow badru coveted a nine income barrel give him combos do you break which haka to lay more milk on Nightline? lol Hey See on the dove i don't or Hallelujah to them and a high ceiling the door by door hallelujah good good lesson. We're going to talk next I seem to do shot conductive so she hi hello hear me penal ambush. Little Lambo Ed Kia Melaka door the Kadosh Kadosh oh gosh

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
will leave this on for just a moment for some personal prayer and sharing that prayer with anybody who might need it

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
for anyone who's listening, may I feel safe and free from harm? Me I feel happy and free from suffering. The I feel loved just the way I am. May I feel peaceful and full of ease? Then feel free Send that prayer to anyone who needs it and especially the people who you might not like really need to hear this Amin Amin

Unknown Speaker  
okay

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
we'll go into Cadiz Chateau mourners Kaddish Is there anybody you're thinking of this morning? Do you want to say Caddyshack John for Florence ADA Feldman my mother? Rabbi Howard Kuma, a blessed memory. Rabbi sorry, I mean I mean

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
Julius yak sir, anybody who would find meaning and leading Kaddish this morning

Speaker 4  
I couldn't wait but she got to make the screen a little bigger. I'm sorry. No worries. There you go. Thanks. You sit down with us vs. Dash Ma Ba ba ba ma de Raku Xavier McMichael to book a call with your MC home of Ke to call bases for L but I got Allah who is mine Kobe V M ru Ahmed, Ishmael. Alon Omar Maia? Yes. Barak Are you Shabak we are be supermom business say we sedan is away. This allows me to cuccia or the LA macabre Katsav is shorter to supercar tab and eco Matata me round the Amarr via Maru. Amen. Hey, Shlomo Robins Shemaiah book I am Elena if y'all call us for LVM RU. Amen. Oh say Shalom Ben Remar. Who yet assess Shalom laning via I'll call you straight ale. They'll call us face. Hey, Val, VM RU. Amen. Amen. I know we're being recorded. But just to give you an idea of the humor of Rabbi humor, Kumar, it was sure. It was sure many years ago and we looking for minion there are a bunch of congregants standing outside. So he says, well, those outstanding people, please come in to the minion survey. Look, teacher they come in and we haven't many and he's happy. And then at 10 o'clock, they leave and he's like, wait a minute, what's going on you? We're not done with the service yet. Like But Rabbi We're driving to Foxwoods, and the bus is here. And he just looked exasperated, but except he's like, Well, this is my flock. They're standing at Foxwoods, which is a casino. It just opened up. So

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
very nice. Very nice. Alright, I feel like I want to play this song again so that you can actually hear it this time. So now I'm going to do that and you might see it's a very danceable songs so you know feel free to get up and move stay in front of the computer if you want to be inspiring I don't think I'm that brave I mic over here. Here we go all right. Share sound now I think it'll work. Here we go

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
better

Speaker 2  
if the weather Sam Azim ha Nana you've ever seen carboline Live enough to where the sham is seen bola? Bola Oh Who

Unknown Speaker  
hoo

Unknown Speaker  
Sam Sam Sam Sam Comboni

Unknown Speaker  
you gonna find out

Unknown Speaker  
find the man A

Unknown Speaker  
demo easy way to shame this seems a bit of esteem bolus

Unknown Speaker  
in the words of Sam Sam

Unknown Speaker  
DSN

Unknown Speaker  
right

Unknown Speaker  
what a bop as the kids say these days

Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann  
all right now I'm going to I'm going to stop recording because goodbye to everybody on the recording