I’m finding that many of my email exchanges are ending with sign-off’s like, “I hope you’re still breathing.” “Sending you breath.” Sending you breath. These words are well intentioned, of course– I’ve written them myself. And there’s something that twists in me when I see these words. ”Keep breathing.” Something we’re all too conscious of right […]
Michael and Doug’s wedding in March. The first of many joyful occasions through Zoom that enabled hundreds of people to celebrate together virtually. To watch Friday Night’s Shabbat Service, click here. One of the really hard parts of being a rabbi right now is witnessing the disappointment of the kids who had big plans, many […]
We are thrilled to announce that Rabbi Deena Cowans has accepted the Associate Rabbi position at Mishkan. Rabbi Deena, a Chicago native, wowed Mishkan community members and staff with her warmth, intelligence, and ability to build meaningful relationships with individuals and in groups. As the Family Programs Director at Congregation Ansche Chesed in NYC and […]
With a lot of love, we will say farewell to both Rabbi Lauren Henderson and Rabbi Jeff Stombaugh in mid-June. Rabbi Lauren recently accepted the position of Senior Rabbi at Or Hadash in Atlanta. Rabbi Jeff’s two-year Jewish Emergent Network Fellowship is coming to an end, and he has recently accepted the role of Rabbi/Executive Director at […]
You might remember the story of Hanukkah in Billings, Montana in 1993. Years of anti-Semitic rhetoric, pamphlets, and talk from the local Ku Klux Klan chapter culminated in someone throwing a cinderblock through a Hanukkah-decorated window of a 5 year old Jewish child. There were about 50 Jewish families in this town of 80,000 mostly-white, […]
People don’t know this, but Judaism is ALL ABOUT LOVE. The word in Hebrew is ahavah. Say it with me: inhale…, exhale a-ha-vah. Do it again! Feels good to say it, feels good to breathe it. I spent a lot of decades of life being single, enjoying Valentines’ Day vicariously though other peoples’ romances. I watched […]
By: Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann (As told at Light and Heat: Stories of Hope and Defiance, December 2018) A rabbinic mentor gave me this piece of advice when I was applying to rabbinical school: in any school, any movement within Judaism… you’re banging your head against a wall. The question is which wall. A movement is defined […]
By: Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann Being a Jew in America rocks. I know now is a strange time to be saying that, given the events of last week and the increase in anti-Semitic attacks across America since 2016, but guess what… have you ever tried to be a female rabbi, or queer rabbi, a female wearing […]
Kol Nidre: The Year of the Good Apology By: Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann I’m sorry to tell you this, but just by being here, by fasting, by listening to me talk, by striking our chests at the litany of sins for which we are all in one way or another guilty…it’s not like that affects atonement. […]
Rosh HaShannah: The Blast of Your Little Voice By: Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann We learn from the parts of the story we focus on. We learn from the parts of the story we tell over and over again. – Hannah Gadsby Both of the stories we read this morning feature the stories of, and particularly the VOICES, […]