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Contact Chai

Contact Chai is Mishkan Chicago’s podcast feed, where you can hear our Shabbat sermons, Morning Minyans, interviews with Jewish thought leaders, and more.

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Adira Happens — Morning Minyan

Like the mighty Leviathan, Adira rises from the depths to sow adorable chaos. Plus, reflections on the Psalms, media consumption, and Parshat Shoftim. Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen If…

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Building My Judaism — Manuel Gauto

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on August 7th, when we celebrated our graduating BluePrint students who explored Judaism this past year, many of them going on to choose conversion. We heard a drash from BluePrint graduate Manuel Gauto the allure of Judaism and how Mishkan has become a spiritual home. If Mishkan is your home, we encourage you to help us secure its future by…

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When Judaism Began — Rabbi Steven Bob

When did ancient Paleo-Hebrew script start to look like modern Hebrew letters? When did Judaism as we know it begin to take shape? Rabbi Simcha (Steven) Bob joins Rabbi Lizzi to explore these and so many more questions found in his new book When Judaism Began: Exploring the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The music that opens and ends this episode is Micah Shapiro's "Mah Gadlu/Mikolot Mayim Rabim." We…

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The Spiritual Danger of Abundance

Hello and welcome to Contact Chai. Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on Saturday, August 1st. We heard a guest drash from Irwin Lowenstein on the challenge of abundance. Sometimes, getting what we want is hard to accept, and harder still to accept that we didn’t really earn our blessings. If you’ve been blessed by this community, we ask you to consider giving out of a sense of…

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Eat And Be Satisfied — Rabbi Lizzi Returns!

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen If you value this down-to-earth Jewish wisdom, help us create more inspiration and community by becoming a Builder. Mishkan Chicago relies on Builders,…

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Tisha b'Av: Same Goals, Same God, Different Ways Of Getting There (Re-Release)

This evening marks the beginning of Tisha b'Av, and in recognition, today's episode is a re-release of Rabbi Lizzi's Tisha b'Av sermon from 2022 at an interfaith service with our longtime partners, Lawndale Community Christian Church on the West Side of Chicago. On August 2nd, we will join our friends from Lawndale for a special screening of "A Time To Yell," an award-winning documentary about the…

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Pride Shabbat! Ft. Daniel Kutcher and A Very Mishkan Auf Ruf

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our Pride Shabbat service on June 26th. We held an auf ruf for Team Mishkan’s own Michael Palmer and Jane Mintz. Then, we heard a special Pride guest drash from teen Daniel Kutcher and their parents (Matt Kutcher & Rebecca Richards). From all of us at Mishkan Chicago — happy Pride. 01:09 — Auf Ruf of Michael Palmer & Jane Mintz 09:35 — Lecha Dodi to…

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Morning Minyan w/ Rabbi Lizzi — June 24th, 2026

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen If you value this down-to-earth Jewish wisdom, help us create more inspiration and community by becoming a Builder. Mishkan Chicago relies on Builders,…

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On Juneteenth And Bold Moses — Rabbi Steven Sermon

Today’s episode is a Shabbat Replay of our service on June 20th. Rabbi Steven reflected on Juneteenth and America’s history of slavery through the lens of Exodus. Moses is portrayed as exceptionally bold in making demands of those in power in his fight to liberate his people. Moses even stood up to God! Maybe we’re not quite up to that level of chutzpah. But how can we boldly speak up for the…

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Morning Minyan w/ Rabbi Lizzi — June 17th, 2026

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. You can join in yourself , or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai. https://mishkan.shulcloud.com/form/reg-morning-minyan-evergreen If you value this down-to-earth Jewish wisdom, help us create more inspiration and community by becoming a Builder. Mishkan Chicago relies on Builders,…

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