Mishkan Blog
There is no chance that we will fall apart.
Earlier this week, in our morning minyan, Ilana Rossoff shared a very short poem by June Jordan that has been on my mind this whole week. It goes like this: There is no chance that we will fall apart. There is no chance. There are no parts. At this moment, it feels...
Announcing Rabbi Deena Cowans
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...
The next chapter for Rabbi Lauren and Rabbi Jeff
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...
Sam’s BMitzvah: Small Changes Against Injustice
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...
Hanukkah: Defying Darkness
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...
Chicago City Budget Vote Recap
On November 26, Chicago City Council passed a budget with a vote of 39-11. While the budget does include modest funding increases for mental health services and homelessness prevention, it does not reflect the values and priorities we and our allies at ONE Northside...