Contact Chai
Contact Chai is Mishkan Chicago’s podcast feed, where you can hear our Shabbat sermons, Morning Minyans, interviews with Jewish thought leaders, and more.
Episodes
399 episodes
Reflections On October 7th — Morning Minyan
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 koshe...
Sukkot Hallel — Morning Minyan
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 ...
The Symbolism of Sukkot — Morning Minyan
You can watch our Yizkor service and slideshow from Yom Kippur 5787 here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlcUpDVahWEEvery weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtua...
Six Jewish Values To Remember in America in 5787
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 Tze...
We Live Or Die Together — Rabbi Steven | Kol Nidre 5787
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 Campai...
God Metaphors & Kol Nidre — Morning Minyan
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 ...
The Redemptive Promise of the Oscillating Narrative — Rabbi Lizzi | Rosh Hashanah 5787
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, stat...
My Prayer Didn’t Work — R' Julie Fishbach | Erev Rosh Hashanah 5787
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, ...
Opening The High Holidays — Rerelease
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. ****<...
This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared — Morning Minyan
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:...
Breathing Our Way To Closeness With God — Morning Minyan
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 ...
Morning Minyan — Ki Teitzei
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 ...
Adira Happens — Morning Minyan
Like the mighty Leviathan, Adira rises from the depths to sow adorable chaos. Plus, reflections on the Psalms, media consumption, and Parshat Shoftim.Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. You can
Building My Judaism — Manuel Gauto
Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on August 7th, when we celebrated our graduating BluePrint students who explored Judaism this past year, many of them going on to choose conversion. We heard a drash from BluePrint graduate Man...
When Judaism Began — Rabbi Steven Bob
When did ancient Paleo-Hebrew script start to look like modern Hebrew letters? When did Judaism as we know it begin to take shape? Rabbi Simcha (Steven) Bob joins Rabbi Lizzi to explore these and so many more questions found in his new book
The Spiritual Danger of Abundance
Hello and welcome to Contact Chai. Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on Saturday, August 1st. We heard a guest drash from Irwin Lowenstein on the challenge of abundance. Sometimes, getting what we want is hard to accept, and ha...
Eat And Be Satisfied — Rabbi Lizzi Returns!
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 ...
Tisha b'Av: Same Goals, Same God, Different Ways Of Getting There (Re-Release)
This evening marks the beginning of Tisha b'Av, and in recognition, today's episode is a re-release of Rabbi Lizzi's Tisha b'Av sermon from 2022 at an interfaith service with our longtime partners, Lawndale Community Christian Church on the Wes...
Pride Shabbat! Ft. Daniel Kutcher and A Very Mishkan Auf Ruf
Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our Pride Shabbat service on June 26th. We held an auf ruf for Team Mishkan’s own Michael Palmer and Jane Mintz. Then, we heard a special Pride guest drash from teen Daniel Kutcher and their parents (Matt ...
Morning Minyan w/ Rabbi Lizzi — June 24th, 2026
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 ...
On Juneteenth And Bold Moses — Rabbi Steven Sermon
Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on June 20th. Rabbi Steven reflected on Juneteenth and America’s history of slavery through the lens of Exodus. Moses is portrayed as exceptionally bold in making demands of those in power in h...
Morning Minyan w/ Rabbi Lizzi — June 17th, 2026
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 ...
Progress Is Not Inevitable — It Is Promised
Hello and welcome to Contact Chai. Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on June 12th when Rabbi Steven delivered a sermon deflating the naive notion that progress is inevitable rather than the product of hard fought victories, lik...