Following the mass shooting in Highland Park on July 4th, R’Steven delivered a drash entitled “Despair Is Not A Strategy” at our service on July 8th. In seasons of sorrow, we turn to our tradition and to each other. We invite you to our upcoming services: a Virtual Friday Night Shabbat on July 15th and […]
On June 24th, 2022, shortly before the final Shabbat of Pride Month, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In a concurring opinion, Justice Thomas plainly stated his desire to “revisit” Obergefell v. Hodges, the decision which legalized gay marriage in America. To those who would roll back years of progress, we say: “We Will […]
On June 14th, 2022, the Jewish news and culture outlet Tablet Magazine published an article by Jennifer Bilek — an openly transphobic writer known for advocating against medical transition — entitled “The Billionaire Family Pushing Synthetic Sex Identities.” The following is an open letter written by Mishkan’s Directors and Rabbinic Team. **** Letter to the […]
In honor of Pride Month, this drash was originally delivered at the Friday Night Shabbat service on June 10th. Entitled “Judaism Is Kinda Gay,” Rabbi Steven shares three queer Jewish stories from our tradition. Mishkan invites you to our upcoming Pride programming, including a Pre-Shabbat Pride Happy Hour and Pride-Themed Friday Night Shabbat on June […]
Passover is a story about freedom. But what even is freedom? Rabbi Deena breaks it down ahead of Mishkan’s virtual Passover seder. This sermon was originally delivered at the Saturday Morning Shabbat service on April 8th. You can also listen to it in podcast form on the latest Shabbat Replay on Contact Chai or watch […]
As many Jews around the world get ready to prepare their kitchens for Passover, Rabbi Deena explores the spiritual wisdom of Judaism’s baking and spring cleaning traditions. This sermon was originally delivered at the Saturday Morning Shabbat service on April 2nd. You can also listen to it in podcast form on the latest Shabbat Replay […]
In the wake of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s threats against trans children and their families, Rabbi Steven delivers a passionate drash connecting the oppression of the LGBTQ+ community to the soul-crushing slavery our ancestors were born into which obscured the truth of their identity as bearers of the image […]
This drash was given by Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann on March 11th, 2022. You can listen to the full sermon on Shabbat Replay on Contact Chai. As the full moon rises, Jews all over the world will gather to celebrate the fun and singularly bizarre holiday of Purim. We will show up in costumes and masks […]
Rabbi Steven’s sermon given on Rosh Hashanah 5782 Back in June, I was about to head home from work when my husband texts me: “Could you take your kippah off when you’re on the train?” A Jewish man had just been the target of an antisemitic attack in Brooklyn. This was the latest in a […]
Rabbi Deena’s sermon from Erev Rosh Hashanah 5782 In her book “The Art of Dying Well”, journalist and motivational speaker Katy Butler writes that Western medicine has become focused on one, single metric: “not dying”. The medical system, propelled by mostly well meaning doctors, will throw every possible intervention at our problems for the sake […]