This Saturday marks Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating June 19, 1865, the day the enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned that slavery had been abolished, a full two years after the Emancipation Proclamation and six months before the passage of the 13th Amendment. Indeed, while Juneteenth is largely a day of celebration, embedded in its history […]
Mishkan Chicago is proud to announce our partnership with Edot HaMidwest: The Midwest Regional Jewish Diversity Collaborative. Mishkan is the inaugural member of the newly formed Edot Synagogue Partnership, a Program that focuses on training and coaching synagogues to strengthen Jewish diversity and Jewish racial justice. Edot Midwest Regional Jewish Diversity Collaborative is a set […]
From Ash Levine When I first read this portion, I was deeply uncomfortable with the portrait it painted. Korach and his collaborators were living in a difficult moment. The Israelites had just learned that they wouldn’t be permitted to enter the promised land in their lifetimes. Moses had sole political leadership of the community, and […]
From Catherine Miller Shabbat shalom everyone. I’m excited to be on the “other side” of this Friday night shabbat stream for the first time. Now, I don’t know about you but saying HAPPY PRIDE right now feels strange. It feels inauthentic. Not only do we have a global pandemic but we also are witnessing a […]
This spring, Mishkan welcomed a $25,000 COVID-19 Response Grant which allowed us to distribute funds to those in and beyond our community. In an effort to diversify our impact, we offered support to individuals, hospitals, healthcare workers, and vulnerable communities around Chicago — which you can read about here! But, you may remember that we also received […]
By: Rabbi Jessica Lott This week we begin to read the book of Bamidbar, the 4th book of the Torah, which, in English, is called Numbers. This is because the first instruction God gives is for Moses and Aaron to conduct a census. The Israelites have come to the point in their wanderings in the […]
Mishkan welcomed a wonderful gift this last month. We received a $25,000 COVID-19 Response Grant and an additional $5,000 Anonymous Grant, which allowed us to distribute funds to those in and beyond our community during this trying time. When we thought about what would make a meaningful distribution, we realized that to have the biggest […]
What’s the difference between a board of matzo and the box it comes in? Nothing. -Old Jewish Proverb In this year of our people, 5780, COVID-19 concerns are dominating Passover preparation in Jewish households across the world. We are all dealing with this new reality and the changes it will bring to the holiday. Many […]
Recently, I have been studying the story of the 10 plagues. Right now in the Torah the Israelites are being enslaved by the Egyptians, and they have been enslaved by them for about 400 years. In a moment, we’re going to read from the very beginning of the Torah portion about how the Israelites […]