Our Sermons
Passover: What Does Freedom Even Mean?
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 Great Pesach Bake Off: The Joys of Spiritual Spring Cleaning
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...
“Don’t Say Gay” And The Hate That Hides Our True Inheritance
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...
Purim: How To Erase The Past (While Also Remembering It)
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...
We Show Up
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...
To Life, to Life, L’chayim?
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...