IKAR Podcasts

Reflections from a Bomb Shelter - Rabbi Morris Panitz

Sharing a personal, first-hand account of my time in Israel during the war with Iran.

The Folly of Those Dark Fantasies - Rabbi Sharon Brous

Trauma, history, fear—all of these lead us down a path that is as futile as it is dangerous. At the end of one terrible war and in the midst of another, we can do better. We must grow in our ability to imagine one other.

Jeremy Ben-Ami (J Street Pres.) and Rabbi Sharon Brous in Conversation

Sight and Vision - Rabbi Deborah Silver

The ten spies who enter Canaan create 40 years of delay in the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land. What did they do wrong? And how can we avoid making the same mistake they did as we witness the brutality all around us?

Even Now, We Dream - Rabbi Sharon Brous

Amid ICE raids and ballistic missiles, here’s what I saw from the stage at a multifaith vigil in downtown Los Angeles, what I heard from my Iranian friend who yearns for home, and why I believe our most audacious dreams must be born in the darkest times

May You Be Blessed and Safe - Rabbi Hannah Jensen

This Pride Shabbat, we need to reckon with the current landscape for our trans siblings. We need to understand that trans people are being used as a wedge to divide Americans, and as a test case for increasing authoritarianism. What does our parsha teach us about the dangers of callousness, and what brighter, more beautiful future can we imagine?

What I Need You To Hear - Rabbi Morris Panitz

When trauma is acknowledged, not denied, not justified, not dismissed through comparison, only then can something new and hopeful be imagined. Read the sermon here.

Four Things I Know - Rabbi Sharon Brous

After the antisemitic murder of two young beloveds on a DC street, there are four things I know. Parashat Behar-Behukotai 5785

It’s Precisely Now that We Dream Big - Rabbi Sharon Brous

A strange, mysterious half-story told in the Torah hints at a failure of leadership and a failure of law, and calls us to be brave and bold, especially when our dreams seem furthest from reality.

A Letter to the Pope - Rabbi Sharon Brous

A blessing for strength in spirit and body for a new Pope in a time when spiritual and moral leadership matters more profoundly than ever.

“What Faith Means to Me” - Rabbi Brous in conversation at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2025

In a world roiled by seemingly unprecedented division and doubt, the longing for spiritual meaning and for a life rooted in faith appears to be growing ever stronger. In this session, speakers share their perspectives and experiences of faith, and the role faith and faith-driven communities can and should play in calming stormy seas. This is an archive of a live event from 5/7/2025 that took place as part of Milken Institute's Global Conference.

Rabbi Brous at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2025 - The Amen Effect Author Talk

To thine own self be true: Sharon Brous has let this advice illuminate her path to becoming a rabbi. She was raised with a strong social, but not religious, Jewish identity. The more she studied and admired the humanity in the sages’ writings, the more Brous felt her voice was silenced simply because she is a woman. Today, as an ordained rabbi, Brous’s decades of hands-on pastoral care in Los Angeles has cleared “a path to become myself.” Her book, The Amen Effect—and how to get it—is embraced b...

Don’t Tell Me There’s Nothing We Can Do About It - Rabbi Sharon Brous

…Because there is a space between stimulus and response. What we do in that space is our choice. So please: tell me you’re scared. I’m scared too. Tell me times are tough. Tell me we’re facing a narrowing landscape of possibilities. But please do not tell me there’s nothing we can do. There’s always a choice to make. Parashat Tazria-Metzora 5785—May 3, 2025

BBE: Psychedelic Imagery in the Torah

On today’s episode of Best Book Ever, Rabbi David Kasher is joined by Madison Margolin to talk about psychedelic experiences in the Torah. Madison is the author of Exile & Ecstasy: Growing Up with Ram Dass and Coming of Age in the Jewish Psychedelic Underground. She’s also Co-founder of the Jewish Psychedelic Summit and DoubleBlind, a print magazine and digital media startup covering psychedelics and where they intersect with mental health, environmental justice, social equity, and more, Mad...

One if by Land, Two if by Sea - Rabbi Hannah Jensen

This week was the 250th anniversary of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. In his story we see so many echoes of our current moment. What lessons can we take with us right now? And how does our parsha's story of Aaron, the high priest, help us step forward to carry out the tasks we are called to do?

Revisiting Creation - Rabbi Morris Panitz

Find the text study sheet here. There are a number of parallels between the creation of the world and the splitting of Yam Suf, casting this dramatic moment of the Exodus as a kind of “recreation story.” Which makes the appearance of a provocative midrash about an Israelite woman picking fruit from a tree and feeding it to another that much more fascinating… and I’d like to suggest, subversive. What exactly happened in the Garden of Eden, and what message does it hold for the generation crossing...

The Heart of Judaism: Preparing for Liberation - Rabbi Bradley Artson

From 4.12.2025 Prepare to embrace the bold vision of Passover (that we are all heading toward freedom, that pharaohs crumble and fall) requires focus. Let's affirm the twin pillars of the Hebrew Bible (chesed/lovingkindness and tzedek/justice) to gird ourselves for the battle ahead!

Sacred Symbols, Eternal Story - Rabbi Sharon Brous

Ours is not the first generation in which telling this story, reiterating these foundational ideas, is risky. Dangerous, even. And perhaps that is the greatest reason of all to tell this story truthfully. April 5, 2025 – Pesah 5785

A Rabbi, A Guy, and a Goddess - Best Book Ever with Rabbi Kasher

Guy Branum joins Rabbi David Kasher to discuss Ashera and the presence of a goddess in the Torah.

(Don’t Just) Tend Your Own Garden - Rabbi Sharon Brous

Let us not turn to the garden—or the theater, or the studio—to escape this world, but to enrich the soul, to strengthen our hearts to plant for a better future. Making art, tending gardens, telling stories, especially from within the narrowest constraints—all of these can be sacred acts of defiance.

The Amen Effect - Session 4 with Rabbi Brous

This is an archive of IKAR's Adult learning class: The Amen Effect with Rabbi Sharon Brous

"From the depths of our anguish, a cry for peace" - Rabbi Elad-Appelbaum in conversation with Rabbi Brous

Lunch & Learn from Shabbat 3.21.2025 - Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum in conversation with Rabbi Sharon Brous.

Shabbat Sermon - Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum

The Amen Effect with Rabbi Brous - Session 3

An archive of Rabbi Sharon Brous's The Amen Effect class from 3.11.2025

The Amen Effect with Rabbi Brous - Session 2

An archive of Rabbi Sharon Brous's The Amen Effect Class from 2.25.2025

Transforming Elijah - Rabbi Morris Panitz

The rabbis radically reinvent Elijah. From violent zealot to gentle peace builder. The path to the messianic era depends on this transformation.

I Am Not Your Pawn - Rabbi Sharon Brous

Using Jews as a wedge to break apart the world order is not new. We must be honest about what’s happening here.

Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah in conversation with Rabbi Sharon Brous

On March 3rd, we welcomed Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah, Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the forefront of a burgeoning new peace movement in conversation with Rabbi Sharon Brous.

Seeking the Hiding God - Rabbi Panitz in conversation with Prof. Arnold Eisen

Rabbi Morris Panitz is joined by Professor Arnold Eisen to discuss his new book. "Seeking the Hiding God: A Personal Theological Essay invites readers to join the author in asking, perhaps for the first time, what they actually believe about ultimate matters of faith and doubt – and rewards fellow- searchers for ultimate meaning with reassurance that the search itself can be a source of personal fulfillment, vibrant community, and great joy."

We Are Guardians of the Seeds of a Better World - Rabbi Sharon Brous

When your most precious resource faces grave risk, you create a sanctuary to protect and nurture it. You hold close the seeds, so that when the conditions are right, you can replant and rebuild.