Mishkan Blog
Three Years Ago Today
I remember three years ago today, waking up on the morning of Simchat Torah to the vague awareness that something terrible was happening in Israel. We didn’t yet know what, or how bad it would be. I remember driving over to Northwestern Hillel, where Mishkanites were...
Expressing Our Gratitude — High Holidays 5787
Thank you for choosing to spend your High Holidays with Mishkan Chicago! Whether you watched the livestream or attended in person, nearly 200 people came together to make your experience come to life. Our High Holiday services are only possible with the help and hard...
Six Jewish Values To Remember in America in 5787
This sermon was delivered at our 5786 Yom Kippur service. You can listen to this drash on Contact Chai Podcast or watch it on our YouTube channel. **** לוּלֵי תוֹרָתְךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי אָז אָבַדְתִּי בְעָנְיִי Lulei Torat’cha shuai as avadati b oni (sing) If Your Torah...
We Live Or Die Together — Kol Nidre 5787
This sermon was delivered at our 5787 Kol Nidre service. You can watch it on our YouTube channel or listen on Contact Chai Podcast. **** On the first Yom Kippur (which we’ll read about tomorrow), Aaron, the High Priest, offered a sacrifice to atone for his sins, then...
How to Pray While the World Burns
Hila Ratzabi offered this poem at our 5787 Rosh Hashanah service. It is republished with permission from There Are Still Woods, by Hila Ratzabi. **** How to Pray While the World Burns Go outside. Find a patch of grass, sand, dirt. Sit, kneel, place a hand or just A...
The Redemptive Promise of the Oscillating Narrative — Rosh Hashanah 5787
This sermon was delivered at our Rosh Hashanah 5787 service. You can watch it on our YouTube channel or listen on Contact Chai Podcast. **** “To be a Jew is to be part of two civilizations,” Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan wrote close to a century ago, as he tried to make...
My Prayer Didn’t Work — Erev Rosh Hashanah 5787
This sermon was delivered at our Erev Rosh Hashanah service on September 11th, 2026. You can watch this drash on our YouTube channel or listen on Contact Chai Podcast. **** It’s so nice to be here with you all. It’s crazy to think that it was eleven years ago on Rosh...
Building My Judaism
This sermon was delivered at our service on August 7th, 2026. You can listen to this drash on Contact Chai Podcast or watch on YouTube. **** My name is Manuel Gauto and I am a recent graduate of Mishkan’s Blueprint program. I am so honored to have the opportunity to...
The Spiritual Danger of Abundance
This sermon was delivered at our Saturday Morning Shabbat service on August 1st, 2026. You can listen on Contact Chai Podcast or watch on our YouTube channel. **** There's an apocryphal story about a Jewish man running late for an important job interview. He...
The Necessity of Moral Imagination: Reflections on Tisha B’Av
The picture above is me with Israeli educator, Alex Sinclair. For more than two decades, he’s worn a kippah that bears both an Israeli and Palestinian flag. With it, he’s saying three things: I’m a religious Jew, I care about Jewish identity and sovereignty, and I...
Arguing For The Sake Of Heaven — My Trip To Israel And The West Bank
Rabbi Lizzi in the West Bank town of Umm Al Kheir with Zach Witus of New Israel Fund, Rabbi Amichai Lau Lavie of Lab/Shul, and beloved Zohar teacher Dr. Melila Hellner-Eshed of the Sulha Peace Movement. They heard from one of the town’s leaders about the nightly...
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...