Hello, and welcome to Contact Chai. At our March 1st Saturday morning service, Rabbi Lizzi shared a drash about the dangers of trying to drown out our boredom with distraction and silence our doubts with idolatrous certainty. How can we find Go...

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 ...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our February 21st Friday service. Last week was very difficult, so we have included Rabbi Lizzi’s introductory remarks addressing our grief and pain after this opening segment. Then, you will hear a brief ...

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 ...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our Saturday morning service on February 15th, when Rabbi Steven delivered a personal sermon on the important nuances of teshuvah — repentance. Repentance and repair are core Jewish values, but what do...

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 ...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on February 7th, when we celebrated Shabbat Shira, the joyful Shabbos when we sing extra songs to recall the Splitting of the Sea. Rabbi Lizzi connected the momentous but rather frightening fir...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our Saturday morning service on February 1st, when Rabbi Steven shared about his recent rabbinic mission trip to Poland where he learned about the long history of Eastern European Jewish culture, a legacy ...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our Friday night service on January 24th when Builder Kalman Resnick, an immigration lawyer and legal expert, gave a detailed breakdown of the impact that Trump’s executive orders will have on millions of ...

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 ...

Our Saturday morning service on January 18th, 2025 fell just two days before Martin Luther King Day, which also just so happened to be Inauguration Day, ushering in the second term of the Trump presidency. Just like in the Exodus story of our p...

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 ...

At our Friday Night Shabbat service on January 10th, Rabbi Steven delivered a sermon on the strategic necessity of hope in dark times. In Joseph’s day, the land of Egypt was a refuge, and his family enjoyed wealth and prestige and political pow...

It is nearly the end of Mishkan’s 13th year of creating inspired, down-to-earth Judaism. If you value the work that we do, help us to sustain Mishkan for another year by making a donation by December 31st — think of it as a BMitzvah gift for ou...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our Saturday morning service on December 21st when Rabbi Steven delivered a vulnerable and fascinating sermon on the niceties of celebrating Hanukkah as a Jew-by-Choice and in a time of rising ant...

It is nearly the end of Mishkan’s 13th year of creating inspired, down-to-earth Judaism. If you value the work that we do, help us to sustain Mishkan for another year by making a donation by December 31st. Are you a Builder? Come celebrate 13 y...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our Friday service on December 13th. Rabbi Lizzi recounted the ancient tale of the rivalry between Jacob and Esau in light of the Festival of Lights. Just as Jacob learned from his youthful mistakes and Es...

It is nearly the end of Mishkan’s 13th year of creating inspired, down-to-earth Judaism. If you value the work that we do, help us to sustain Mishkan for another year by making a donation by December 31st. Are you a Builder? Come celebrate 13 y...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our Saturday Morning Service on December 7th. Rabbi Steven delivered a sermon in which he made us all jealous of a recent trip to see the Northern Lights, and also edified us on the nature of awe from both...

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 ...

At our services on November 22nd, we were honored to hear a guest drash from Sarah Garza Resnick, Mishkan Board Member and CEO of Personal PAC, an organization dedicated to advocating for women's rights and abortion access. How can we meet this...

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 ...

At our services on November 15th and 16th, Rabbi Lizzi sermonized on the sin of Sodom, which, the rabbis tell us, was primarily their failure to share their abundance with others. In contrast to Abraham, whose hospitality toward the three messe...

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 ...

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our Friday Night Shabbat service on November 8th. Rabbi Steven connected our post-election despair to the difficulties endured by Abraham and Sarah who, yes, were given a blessing and a mission by God, but...