Minyan Replay with Rabbi Lizzi — Parashat Re'eh

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 August 10th  session, Rabbi Lizzi led us through Parashat Re'eh meditating on the theme of choice.

The opening song in this episode was "Wonder / Asher Yatzar" by Rabbi Josh Warshawsky.

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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.

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

Transcript

Transcript

The theme that I'm going to be riding with this morning is the theme of choice and how we from the moment we wake up in the morning

how we orient ourselves to the world around us. And so I was poking around looking for music that lent itself to this theme and I'm gonna go with this it is version of the prayer a share yet star, which we often do in the morning and we'll look at

I woke up feeling very...what's the word when your muscles feel tight, tight tight this morning, my hamstrings in particular. You know, like the the band that sort of runs up the back of your leg. I don't know how far it goes down and how far it goes up. But I'm feeling like it goes from my ankle all the way to you know, basically the base of my spine. I'm going to stand up and invite you to join me if you're able, as we go into blessings of the morning.

Honestly, I woke up feeling like those were

like made made out of metal rods instead of made out of pliable, you know,

biological material that's supposed to bend and flex where I do. And every single morning we wake up with the opportunity to bless all these different faculties inside you know our minds, hearts, legs, arms, torsos, and okay so if my hamstrings aren't feeling 100% This morning the Seder Okay, all right, I can handle that. Maybe they'll get looser as the day goes on. I'll stretch them gently, gently. But what else can I bless? What else can I bless not not to ignore my hamstrings however, to put them in context to remember that they're one of many many many parts of a working functioning me that bring me to this day

baharu Hatha I don't I don't even matter how am I sharing a timelessness Vivi? Now I have seen when you're moving Lila I'm grateful for the ability to make distinctions between day and night. And I'm a

let's go down to this one by how Rohita I don't I don't even matter if I will. I'm Cher Sani Bukhari. I am grateful that you made me a free person created me with the ability to choose Baruch atah Adonai Elohim

Chessani sorrow Hey, I am grateful. You made me a Jew, a god wrestler me. We talked last Shabbat as we're beginning to take all of our new Jews are Jews by choice people who have gone to the conversion process

To the mikvah one by one by one so this blessing saying thank you God for making me a Jew

just reflects the beautiful partnership of each one of us choosing you know whether whether we came into this by descent or by consent you know by by inheriting it or by choosing it we choose every single morning to affirm it and when we do we partner with the Creator of the universe

in a really beautiful way so it's not just what happens to us it's what we choose by robots I don't I don't know man, that's how that happened. Okay, every am I'm grateful that my eyes open each day with new vision.

Gonna go down here to this particular ones Okay, full theme. And in my particular case, I'm going to take it very easy because bending is actually quite challenging for me this morning, I don't know how you're doing but whatever position you're in whatever whatever you're able to bend and be able to sort of make more aligned and straight when you come back up. Great. That'll be great. By Rakatan It

is okay if goofy and I'm grateful for my ability to strengthen a street and what is banned

whoo

hold that position for a moment. Don't push yourself too hard. We don't want anybody hurting themselves this morning.

By Ruha Tyrone I know he no matter how well I'm broke, ha ha ha ha ma e. I am grateful for the stability of earth over the water.

Let's go down to these ones here at the bottom. Baraka Tyrone. I don't know man, that's how I'm Oh Terry Israel booty Farah. I'm grateful that you crown me with dignity and beauty. And me. And since we just straightened back up, you're able to just make your kepe as as receptive as possible for the crown that sits on top of it. The crown is invisible. It is weightless. However, it is always there reminding you and everyone around you that you are royalty. I mean, so are all of they so that doesn't make you unique. Everyone is however, it does make you valuable. And beautiful. Crowning with T Farah. A connection to the divine. Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha ha. I know tender Yeah, of cola, that you give me strength when I am tired.

I mean,

sit back down here.

So this morning, I or this week,

I had the absolute pleasure of getting to

getting to interview. My next door neighbor from growing up in Hyde Park. I grew up in Hyde Park. Oh, hi, Marcy didn't see you there.

And my neighbor is named Belle Kerman. My parents moved into the house in 1983. And she was our neighbor then. And it's 2003 or 2023. And she's still our neighbor. She was already in her mid 50s When we moved into the house, so to me, she was an old lady. And now she's 97. She just turned 97. And she doesn't actually even look or feel that much older. To me. She's She's just my neighbor, Belle. And she's the kind of person who when you talk to her, and hopefully, you'll get to see her at high holidays. She's the kind of person who like she just opens her mouth and starts like dropping history, you know, she'll be like, oh, right, just like Boober used to say, or Oh, yes, you know, you're reminding me of, you know, what, what Leo Beck used to say about Judaism's a revolution. Anyway, and I realized that unless I actually sat down and wrote down the things that she said, you know, she just says this stuff in passing. And sometimes it's like, yes, yes, I actually, I gotta go, you know, and you don't have time to really take it in. So I made the I made the point of like, taking the morning and going down to Hyde Park, and, you know, asking her about her life asking her about, you know, just her history, because really, she's seen Chicago history through the evolution of neighborhoods and through the evolution of, you know, like aldermen and culture and, you know, racial history and, you know, that really liked the development of the city. And she was an architect, you know, and she just like, it's like, so much, so much wisdom. Anyway, part of my question is, I mean, this woman is 97. And she wakes up every day and she goes to a couple of yoga classes every week. My question for her was like, how after how much of what she has been through, does she continue to? Does she continue to stay strong? No, most of her friends have died. How does she continue to have a

Positive attitude.

And she said, Well A is for appreciation. B is for

buoyancy C is for contentedness D determination and she got started go through the alphabet. And then she's like a is for and she starts with like a new category like like body parts A is for Appendix B is for an and then she's like, Oh, and people and then she starts going through and listing people A, B, C, D, and she's like, and you're and your mom is Helene and your dad is Peter, you know, I'm like why you get all the way down to p. Anyway, the point is, she makes a choice every single day to flex her brain, you know.

So I feel like I've asked us to do this here and there when we go into ashram because so many of the Jewish I know, just tell me about it. So many of the,

of so many of the psalms in Jewish poetry are based on like an acrostic and ABCDE alphabet, gimel Dalet. Hey, where the rabbi is just sort of in a playful, sweet, but also, I think, important way in terms of like intelligence and staying sharp, went through the alphabet to come up with ways to find appreciation and glory in the world. And they lived against the backdrop as I've talked about, of heartbreak and loss. And so I want to give us the opportunity this morning to do a bill Kerman, and to do to do a rabbi and come up with some words of appreciation and gratitude

for stuff happening in your own world this morning.

As we go on to ASHRAE so feel free, you can like open your mouth and unmute or drop in the chat just like a b c d

want to see if we want to go backwards we can start and see I'll think of resume

why?

Anyone? Anyone? We're not going to do 26 letters but come on. Somebody's got to why

Jean Debbie, I see you at work. Whoo yellow of sunrise, Roberta and you're in Colorado so you're really seeing it all you all of you

all right, if we skip letters, but like alright, so send it back. All right. Beautiful.

Family has a y at the end gorgeous. Yes.

X

U, T. S

W oh my gosh, I forgot W Thank you Roberta. That's what an important word what an important letter

Yes, the Apple you're eating for breakfast.

Anyway, this is a great challenge. I defy each one of us today to go through the day wherever you are. Yes X rays. Oh the universe beautiful. Bananas. I like how we got like both we're working both sides of the alphabet here. I defy you in any moment. If you feel bored or uninspired and to start looking around wherever you are to begin to find you know ABCD

and just start going through and maybe things that you appreciate or maybe just things that you notice about the world and to just come into the moment wherever you are

and you can keep going as we begin to see

ASHRAE

Oh

Oh

Pa che y'all ha

oh yeah

oh

ASHRAE Chicago Hello Australia. I'm sure I don't I know how

to he laughs out there PV international massage him could show

ya

Ah

yes

actually you know what I want to do this one I was thinking about this one and then we'll

trim in other areas. This is from Psalm 30

Often this is right at the end of suitcases Emre before going into bar who and it's like a turning a shifting

asking God to help us shift our own our own perspective from morning to dancing.

Recognizing we have both we do both both are important

but they're the there may be tears in the evening joy comes in the morning so

I don't die at CA The L Jo Na

Na

deny at

the door I add

this on Danny I don't

share my

bed

early Zelie Shem I don't die bear named me

deny hellos any share my

day

I don't I

share my

name

Zambelli

take us now

into the blessings of the Shma.

So

sit up a little bit straighter. Or if you're lying whatever position you're in, of course because when you lie down and when you rise up, they shouldn't be on your lips when you walk on your way when you're sitting in your chair. So whatever position you're in is a fine position for shmatte The only point is that you are focused on it that it doesn't just happen to you that you intend intend to fulfill the words of the Holy One

to be attentive to listen

to connect

to connect with a oneness that is all of us

in connection with one another and the world around us

God

breathe in

Shema

Israel I

don't

know hey no

don't know why

they have to eight I don't I don't have

the whole of Africa overhaul. nappsa home in Odessa. They hi you had the very mela share I know he mitzvah ha ha yo Alibaba. Sheena Anton Levana have the bar to bomb. This you have to have a beta overlap to have a Dara Shakalaka of cometa Bookshare tablet Oh Alia Dafa they are usually tota forte benei naffaa buka TAFTA

Mazouz Oh beta ha we Shara.

I will go into me her mocha as a healing prayer this morning.

Who are the folks that you're thinking about wanting to send love to wanting to send energy for getting across the divide?

with a sense of hope,

a sense of community a sense of walking with a tribe walking with people not being alone

so go ahead and drop names in the chat and

and as we sing

me

by Aly Machado nice me he come

back

Oh sick bed. She said Does she fuck me clean their hair she said

Lambo Dooley Lee

welcome Mother's

Day Are you

okay

ay ay,

ay, ay ay ay ay.

Ay.

Ay ay ay ay.

Lesson, are you the one who rescues us? Ah,

Barry, I'm sorry to hear you and your family have COVID

Everyone in this room who is struggling with something and everyone who you love was struggling with something

being visible or invisible

prayers to get over the,

across the divide

through the hard part.

Refresh late

I mean,

I love I love seeing how we have like all the names of the people we're thinking about, and the places in the world we're thinking about. And then like everybody in minion, you know, and praying for each other, because we know what's going on with each other week to week to week.

I don't know if you all know this Rabbi Steven is from Hawaii. And yesterday, he was he was really he was like having a really rough time. You know, a lot of a lot of the places that they're showing the pictures of that are on fire or places he knows well and grew up.

So you can now just send him a thought or even drop him a note to saying, you know, you're thinking about him.

Yeah, like he's fine. I think everybody he knows is fine. But you know, like seeing seeing your home?

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Okay. So today, I'm reading from this book, Jonathan Sacks, Judaism's life changing ideas. And honestly, you could give this book to a friend who was like, if Judaism and whatever, not for me, I don't know organized religion, whatever. Every single parsha in here. He connects, I would say the Torah with the real world in a way that in a way that's refreshing, and also, just like, he's a good Rabbi. May his memory be a blessing. So just to show you where the Parsha begins, if you did not already know and this is literally the only thing we're gonna look at, Ray. I know he No. 10 Livni Pham. haYom bracha Ookla. See, Behold, I set before you this day blessing and curse,

blessing curse. There's both and it's before you all the time. You want to find the negative, go ahead, find the negative, it's there. You want to find the blessing, it's also there.

And I like this, even as he says, Behold, this is a commentary. Behold, Ray. And Moses is speaking to each individual. You know, this isn't like a generic you know, Alright everyone, this is like

You know God speaking to you, like actually you right now, blessing and curse.

So

the idea is repeated you know throughout the Torah but really like as the Torah begins to close, it draws into focus. And this is from a few chapters later this day I call the heavens in the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and curse now choose life. Choose life that you and your children may live.

The choice implies Moses is yours, individually and collectively, we cannot choose what happens to us.

But we can choose how we respond to what happens to us.

That choice between acting well and acting badly doing good committing evil is always there. Other people may harm us. But there is always some residue of freedom, something deep within the soul that gives us the resilience to survive.

He writes, I remember my first meeting with the Lubavitcher Rebbi in the summer of 1968. He asked me what I was going to do to strengthen Jewish life and my university.

And I answered with a painfully English circumlocution,

the situation in which I find myself and he interrupted me and said, you do not find yourself in a situation, you put yourself in a situation. And if you put yourself in one situation, you can put yourself in another situation, you always have a choice is what he was saying. We are not mere prisoners of circumstance.

Here is a life changing idea. We are bigger than what happens to us, there is always a choice of how to respond to what happens to us. And by exercising the strength to choose, we can rise above fate.

They're like four more pages of that diverter. But recognizing the time, just wanted to leave us with that idea.

And for those who want to keep talking, I will be here after minion.

And

I recognize this morning we're here Debbie and Benji. Benji, this is your dad's yard sign, like today.

Go ahead. And you can you can unmute if you want. Yes, yesterday, yesterday.

Did you get a chance yesterday to say anything about your dad? Rabbi full time? Yeah, we did. We are kind of shifting toward that we realize we talked a lot about him as a as a rabbi. And we talked about the blurred line where he was, it was all him, it was all one he brought his

rabbi care to us. And he brought his fatherly care to to everyone around him too. But we're starting to remember more about just just Tim, his dad, and

a tremendous,

tremendous amount of love that he gave us off.

And in the end, in the very short time how much he was using a very, very big fan of Debi to but so is everybody. So you know, that's no big surprise.

Yeah, that's such a blessing that he got to he got to really see your relationship unfold. And see you so happy.

Also, to see what you created with Mishkan I know we've had this conversation a lot, but for everyone who's here,

Rabbi Lizzi and and team created a more evolved version of what my father attempted to do, which was a synagogue that was built on community and not so much on

the I guess, see the Yeah, thank you, doctor and of any particular denomination. Yeah, and, you know, just the lack of care that that would happen as they became more mechanical, was one way to look at it. But in any case, you know, we're all very fortunate for it and it was a real joy to see him see what, what you made and how and how touched he was bad and how enlivens us.

Thank you. Thank you.

Would you like to lead us in cash this morning?

I'm apologizing for the formatting of this. I still have not figured out how to fix it if there's any. If there's anybody who knows how to fix stuff like this after after minion maybe you can give me a tutorial. Oh.

Okay.

Is there anybody else this morning who wants to say a name or drop a name in the chat for who it is you're thinking about as we go into Khadija towel mourners Kaddish

Lauren Szalinski

unsane card is for my mother Muriel corn with

me all those things you

So when I Sorry, I was thinking of my dad this week because it was his birthday. Not officially, I say in college, but it's his

yard so it was only last week so still thinking if it bites Paul

Yeah, he's economically rasa. If anybody wants to stand for Kaddish Go ahead.

Get down read Kadesh Amin rapa the almighty frothier TV I'm Leif makuti If I only view my phone if I ate the whole baby Surah Al Baraka lob is mancha Rephaim ruining Haish may rub on MRI flail llamo male Maya, e per se Abbas RVH Romane VT na se he Uthai Darby it's la vie to allow she made a coup shot the la de la mia Cobra photon is sure I tend to stick on top and neck Amata that'd be run Velma the Maru a man yeah Haish llama Raba mentioned my Hyeme lady Valco isa LV ru I'm a session of oedema mouth. Who yes sir Sharon Lee new Falcone Chanel, the road.

I mean, a man

may their memories be blessings.

One year this week since Dame Olivia Newton John's passing all Brian thank you for bringing her in.

All right, she close out with a little a little tune. And then for anybody who wants to talk more Torah or just connect a little after minion, I'll stick around for a couple minutes.

Let's see here. Oh, and by the way, next week, Thursday, Scheffer gold is leading minion

she was in town for she's gonna be in town for the world Parliament of Religions. And we connected just to like make a plan to say hello. And I was like, you don't want to maybe lead our Thursday morning minion, do you?

Why is sage and treasurer of modern Jewish life? And she was like, oh, yeah, that sounds great. Just come to my hotel.

So that's happening next week. Don't miss it. Yeah, I know. I for those of you. I will record it. I will record it, Roberta.

Yeah. All right. Great. And close out with a little Oh say Shalom.

We did this one last week and services on Shabbat morning. This is one of Micah Shapiro's and it's just so pretty.

Oh say shallow minima. Who you say shallow.

Alcohol you throw away

the alcohol Yash vated.

Oh say Shalom membre man. Who you say Shiloh

call you thrower.

Then I'll coil che che van.

Oh say ciao.

Say Shiloh

Elena Valco yes

they are coil che che.

Oh say shadow me my man who say Sure.

I'll call you throwing

that I'll call your che che then.

You've been listening to Kontakt five miscounts podcast. If you enjoy the podcast, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts and help us rise in Jewish charts. And if you appreciate what we do, I invite you to join as a builder or make a donation on our website Mishcon chicago.org Shabbat shalom.