Mishkan Blog
Pride Shabbat!
This guest sermon was delivered by the Richards-Kutcher family at our Pride Shabbat service on June 26th, 2026. You can listen to this drash on Contact Chai Podcast. **** MATT: Shabbat Shalom. We are the Richards-Kutchers – I’m Matt, this is Becca, and these are our...
On Juneteenth And Bold Moses
This sermon was delivered at our service on June 20th, 2026. You can listen to this drash on Contact Chai Podcast or watch it on our YouTube channel. **** A good story sticks around. It speaks to a person across their lifetime, and to many people across generations....
Progress Is Not Inevitable — It Is Promised
This drash was delivered at our service on June 12th, 2026. You can listen to this sermon on Contact Chai Podcast or watch it on YouTube. **** My generation was raised on the idea that progress was inevitable. Yes, there was still work to be done around racial...
We Are Here — The Roman Empire Is Not
This sermon was delivered at our service on June 6th, 2026. You can listen to this drash on Contact Chai Podcast or watch it on YouTube. **** I want to begin at the beginning of this week’s reading, which Esther read to us this morning, B’ha’alotkha et haNerot, mul...
When The South Side Rabbi Met The South Side Pope
Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann of Mishkan Chicago with Pope Leo XIV on May 28th, 2026. (Photo credit: Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media) **** It really happened — I met the pope. Last week, I joined a delegation of Chicago community and faith leaders on a visit to Rome. While...
The Poetry Of Torah — Shavuot Shabbat
This sermon was delivered at our 2026 Shavuot Shabbat service. You can watch it on YouTube or listen on Contact Chai Podcast. **** We know the Torah, which we received today at Sinai, begins: Bereishit bara Elohim et hashamayim v’et haarets. "When God was beginning...
We Can’t Ignore The Story Behind The Story
This sermon was delivered at our service on May 2nd, 2026. You can listen to this drash on Contact Chai Podcast or watch it on our YouTube channel. **** I loved hearing Gideon’s take on this week’s parashah. I love how he drew out the positive stuff, because...
The Obligation to Heal
This sermon was delivered at our April 18th service. You can listen to this drash on Contact Chai Podcast or watch it on our YouTube channel. **** Rabbi Brad Artson (a wonderful scholar that both R’Lizzi and I count among our teachers) describes Judaism as a...
Possibility Is Enough
This sermon was delivered at our service on March 27th, 2026. You can listen to this drash on Contact Chai Podcast or watch it on our YouTube channel. **** There is a tradition on Shabbat Ha’Gadol, the Shabbat preceding Passover, for the rabbi to give their longest...
Be a Plague on Pharoah’s House
I want to talk about ancient and modern plagues. Many of us will be sitting down to Passover seders in a few days and spilling a drop of wine in remembrance of the Ten Plagues of Egypt: Blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock disease, boils, hail and fire, locusts,...
Security At Mishkan Chicago
At Mishkan, we take the safety and security of our community seriously, while maintaining a commitment to our values of welcoming and inclusivity. We undergo regular security audits from the Jewish United Fund’s Security Department, and our staff attends trainings and...
Restoring Our Souls, Reclaiming Our Dignity
This sermon was delivered at our Saturday Morning Shabbat service on March 7th, 2026. You can listen to this drash on Contact Chai Podcast or watch it on our YouTube channel. **** In 1897, Jewish leaders and intellectuals gathered for the First Zionist Congress. Their...